US Amateur Radio - Amateur Extra (Element 4, 2020-2024) Practice Test

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1. - E0A11

Which of the following injuries can result from using high-power UHF or microwave transmitters?

Select	Answer
A	Blood clotting from the intense magnetic field
B	Ingestion of ozone gas from the cooling system
C	Localized heating of the body from RF exposure in excess of the MPE limits
D	Hearing loss caused by high voltage corona discharge

2. - E1A02

When using a transceiver that displays the carrier frequency of phone signals, which of the following displayed frequencies represents the lowest frequency at which a properly adjusted LSB emission will be totally within the band?

Select	Answer
A	300 Hz above the lower band edge
B	The exact lower band edge
C	3 kHz above the lower band edge
D	1 kHz above the lower band edge

3. - E1B08

What limitations may the FCC place on an amateur station if its signal causes interference to domestic broadcast reception, assuming that the receivers involved are of good engineering design?

Select	Answer
A	The amateur station must cease operation on all frequencies below 30 MHz
B	The amateur station must avoid transmitting during certain hours on frequencies that cause the interference
C	The amateur station must cease operation
D	The amateur station must cease operation on all frequencies above 30 MHz

4. - E1C05

When may an automatically controlled station originate third party communications?

Select	Answer
A	When approved by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration
B	Never
C	Only when transmitting RTTY or data emissions
D	When agreed upon by the sending or receiving station

5. - E1D03

What is a space telecommand station?

Select	Answer
A	An amateur station that receives telemetry from a satellite or balloon more than 50 kilometers above the surface of the Earth
B	An amateur station that transmits communications to initiate, modify or terminate functions of a space station
C	An amateur station located in a satellite or a balloon more than 50 kilometers above the surface of the Earth
D	An amateur station located on the surface of the Earth for communication with other Earth stations by means of Earth satellites

6. - E1E04

Which of the following best describes the Volunteer Examiner accreditation process?

Select	Answer
A	The amateur operator applying must pass a VE examination administered by the FCC Enforcement Bureau
B	The prospective VE obtains accreditation from the FCC
C	The procedure by which a VEC confirms that the VE applicant meets FCC requirements to serve as an examiner
D	Each General, Advanced and Amateur Extra Class operator is automatically accredited as a VE when the license is granted

7. - E1F07

When may an amateur station send a message to a business?

Select	Answer
A	When transmitting international third-party communications
B	When neither the amateur nor his or her employer has a pecuniary interest in the communications
C	When the control operator is employed by the FCC or another government agency
D	When the total money involved does not exceed $25

8. - E2A05

What do the letters in a satellite's mode designator specify?

Select	Answer
A	The uplink and downlink frequency ranges
B	Power limits for uplink and downlink transmissions
C	The polarization of uplink and downlink signals
D	The location of the ground control station

9. - E2B03

How is an interlaced scanning pattern generated in a fast-scan (NTSC) television system?

Select	Answer
A	By scanning odd numbered lines in one field and even numbered lines in the next
B	By scanning lines from left to right in one field and right to left in the next
C	By scanning two fields simultaneously
D	By scanning each field from bottom to top

10. - E2C04

Which of the following frequencies are sometimes used for amateur radio mesh networks?

Select	Answer
A	Frequencies shared with various unlicensed wireless data services
B	Cable TV channels 41 through 43
C	The 60 meter band channel centered on 5373 kHz
D	HF frequencies where digital communications are permitted

11. - E2D01

Which of the following digital modes is designed for meteor scatter communications?

Select	Answer
A	APRS
B	MSK144
C	Hellschreiber
D	WSPR

12. - E2E11

What is the difference between direct FSK and audio FSK?

Select	Answer
A	Only direct FSK can be decoded by computer
B	Direct FSK can transmit faster baud rates
C	Direct FSK applies the data signal to the transmitter VFO, while AFSK transmits tones via phone
D	Direct FSK occupies less bandwidth

13. - E3A06

What might help to restore contact when DX signals become too weak to copy across an entire HF band a few hours after sunset?

Select	Answer
A	Switch to a lower frequency HF band
B	Wait 24 hours before attempting another communication on the band
C	Wait 90 minutes or so for the signal degradation to pass
D	Switch to a higher frequency HF band

14. - E3B07

What happens to linearly polarized radio waves that split into ordinary and extraordinary waves in the ionosphere?

Select	Answer
A	They are bent toward the magnetic poles
B	They become elliptically polarized
C	They become phase locked
D	They become depolarized

15. - E3C03

Which of the following signal paths is most likely to experience high levels of absorption when the A index or K index is elevated?

Select	Answer
A	Sporadic E
B	Polar
C	Transequatorial
D	NVIS

16. - E4A05

What is the purpose of the prescaler function on a frequency counter?

Select	Answer
A	It amplifies low-level signals for more accurate counting
B	It prevents oscillation in a low-frequency counter circuit
C	It multiplies a higher frequency signal so a low-frequency counter can display the operating frequency
D	It divides a higher frequency signal so a low-frequency counter can display the input frequency

17. - E4B06

How much power is being absorbed by the load when a directional power meter connected between a transmitter and a terminating load reads 100 watts forward power and 25 watts reflected power?

Select	Answer
A	125 watts
B	100 watts
C	75 watts
D	25 watts

18. - E4C14

What transmit frequency might generate an image response signal in a receiver tuned to 14.300 MHz and that uses a 455 kHz IF frequency?

Select	Answer
A	14.445 MHz
B	15.210 MHz
C	14.755 MHz
D	13.845 MHz

19. - E4D04

Which of the following may reduce or eliminate intermodulation interference in a repeater caused by another transmitter operating in close proximity?

Select	Answer
A	Utilizing a Class C final amplifier
B	Utilizing a Class D final amplifier
C	A band-pass filter in the feed line between the transmitter and receiver
D	A properly terminated circulator at the output of the repeater's transmitter

20. - E4E02

Which of the following types of noise can often be reduced with a digital signal processing noise filter?

Select	Answer
A	Ignition noise
B	Power line noise
C	All these choices are correct
D	Broadband white noise

21. - E5A15

Which of the following increases Q for inductors and capacitors?

Select	Answer
A	Lower self-resonant frequency
B	Higher self-resonant frequency
C	Lower losses
D	Lower reactance

22. - E5B02

What letter is commonly used to represent susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	Y
B	B
C	G
D	X

23. - E5C04

What coordinate system is often used to display the resistive, inductive, and/or capacitive reactance components of impedance?

Select	Answer
A	Rectangular coordinates
B	Maidenhead grid
C	Elliptical coordinates
D	Faraday grid

24. - E5D10

How can the true power be determined in an AC circuit where the voltage and current are out of phase?

Select	Answer
A	By multiplying the reactive power by the power factor
B	By dividing the reactive power by the power factor
C	By multiplying the apparent power by the power factor
D	By dividing the apparent power by the power factor

25. - E6A12

Why do many MOSFET devices have internally connected Zener diodes on the gates?

Select	Answer
A	To reduce the chance of static damage to the gate
B	To keep the gate voltage within specifications and prevent the device from overheating
C	To protect the substrate from excessive voltages
D	To provide a voltage reference for the correct amount of reverse-bias gate voltage

26. - E6B03

What type of bias is required for an LED to emit light?

Select	Answer
A	Inductive bias
B	Forward bias
C	Zero bias
D	Reverse bias

27. - E6C06

Why do CMOS digital integrated circuits have high immunity to noise on the input signal or power supply?

Select	Answer
A	The input switching threshold is about two times the power supply voltage
B	Large bypass capacitance is inherent
C	The input switching threshold is about one-half the power supply voltage
D	Bandwidth is very limited

28. - E6D13

What is the primary cause of inductor self-resonance?

Select	Answer
A	Inter-turn capacitance
B	Non-linear core hysteresis
C	Inductive kickback
D	The skin effect

29. - E6E08

How is power supplied to the most common type of MMIC?

Select	Answer
A	Through a resistor and/or RF choke connected to the amplifier output lead
B	Directly to the bias voltage (VCC IN) lead
C	MMICs require no operating bias
D	Through a capacitor and RF choke connected to the amplifier input lead

30. - E6F08

Why are optoisolators often used in conjunction with solid-state circuits when switching 120 VAC?

Select	Answer
A	Optoisolators provide a low impedance link between a control circuit and a power circuit
B	Optoisolators provide a very high degree of electrical isolation between a control circuit and the circuit being switched
C	Optoisolators eliminate the effects of reflected light in the control circuit
D	Optoisolators provide impedance matching between the control circuit and power circuit

31. - E7A10

What is a truth table?

Select	Answer
A	A diagram showing logic states when the digital device output is true
B	A table of logic symbols that indicate the logic states of an op-amp
C	A table of logic symbols that indicate the high logic states of an op-amp
D	A list of inputs and corresponding outputs for a digital device

32. - E7B09

Which of the following describes how the loading and tuning capacitors are to be adjusted when tuning a vacuum tube RF power amplifier that employs a Pi-network output circuit?

Select	Answer
A	The tuning capacitor is set to maximum capacitance and the loading capacitor is adjusted for minimum plate permissible current
B	The loading capacitor is set to maximum capacitance and the tuning capacitor is adjusted for minimum allowable plate current
C	The tuning capacitor is adjusted for minimum plate current, and the loading capacitor is adjusted for maximum permissible plate current
D	The loading capacitor is adjusted to minimum plate current while alternately adjusting the tuning capacitor for maximum allowable plate current

33. - E7C05

Which filter type is described as having ripple in the passband and a sharp cutoff?

Select	Answer
A	An active LC filter
B	A passive op-amp filter
C	A Butterworth filter
D	A Chebyshev filter

34. - E7D12

What is the dropout voltage of an analog voltage regulator?

Select	Answer
A	Minimum input-to-output voltage required to maintain regulation
B	Maximum output voltage drops when the input voltage is varied over its specified range
C	Maximum that the output voltage may decrease at rated load
D	Minimum input voltage for rated power dissipation

35. - E7E03

What is a frequency discriminator stage in a FM receiver?

Select	Answer
A	An automatic band-switching circuit
B	A circuit for detecting FM signals
C	A circuit for filtering two closely adjacent signals
D	An FM generator circuit

36. - E7F09

Why is an anti-aliasing digital filter required in a digital decimator?

Select	Answer
A	It notches out the sampling frequency to avoid sampling errors
B	It peaks the response of the decimator, improving bandwidth
C	It removes high-frequency signal components that would otherwise be reproduced as lower frequency components
D	It removes low-frequency signal components to eliminate the need for DC restoration

37. - E7G12

What is an operational amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	A RF amplifier used in the UHF and microwave regions
B	A high-gain, direct-coupled differential amplifier with very high input impedance and very low output impedance
C	An amplifier used to increase the average output of frequency modulated amateur signals to the legal limit
D	A digital audio amplifier whose characteristics are determined by components external to the amplifier

38. - E7H09

What type of frequency synthesizer circuit uses a phase accumulator, lookup table, digital to analog converter, and a low-pass anti-alias filter?

Select	Answer
A	A phase-locked loop synthesizer
B	A diode-switching matrix synthesizer
C	A hybrid synthesizer
D	A direct digital synthesizer

39. - E8A08

Why would a direct or flash conversion analog-to-digital converter be useful for a software defined radio?

Select	Answer
A	Very low power consumption decreases frequency drift
B	All these choices are correct
C	Very high speed allows digitizing high frequencies
D	Immunity to out-of-sequence coding reduces spurious responses

40. - E8B08

What describes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing?

Select	Answer
A	A digital mode for narrow-band, slow-speed transmissions
B	A digital modulation technique using subcarriers at frequencies chosen to avoid intersymbol interference
C	A bandwidth compression technique using Fourier transforms
D	A frequency modulation technique that uses non-harmonically related frequencies

41. - E8C04

What technique minimizes the bandwidth of a PSK31 signal?

Select	Answer
A	Zero-sum character encoding
B	Use of sinusoidal data pulses
C	Use of trapezoidal data pulses
D	Reed-Solomon character encoding

42. - E8D05

What is the most common method of reducing key clicks?

Select	Answer
A	High-pass filters at the transmitter output
B	Reduce keying waveform rise and fall times
C	Increase keying waveform rise and fall times
D	Low-pass filters at the transmitter output

43. - E9A07

What is the effective isotropic radiated power of a repeater station with 200 watts transmitter power output, 2 dB feed line loss, 2.8 dB duplexer loss, 1.2 dB circulator loss, and 7 dBi antenna gain?

Select	Answer
A	632 watts
B	252 watts
C	159 watts
D	63.2 watts

44. - E9B09

What type of computer program technique is commonly used for modeling antennas?

Select	Answer
A	Mutual impedance analysis
B	Graphical analysis
C	Calculus differentiation with respect to physical properties
D	Method of Moments

45. - E9C14

How does the performance of a horizontally polarized antenna mounted on the side of a hill compare with the same antenna mounted on flat ground?

Select	Answer
A	The horizontal beamwidth decreases in the downhill direction
B	The main lobe takeoff angle decreases in the downhill direction
C	The horizontal beamwidth increases in the uphill direction
D	The main lobe takeoff angle increases in the downhill direction

46. - E9D10

What happens to feed-point impedance at the base of a fixed length HF mobile antenna when operated below its resonant frequency?

Select	Answer
A	The radiation resistance increases and the capacitive reactance decreases
B	The radiation resistance decreases and the capacitive reactance increases
C	The radiation resistance increases and the capacitive reactance increases
D	The radiation resistance decreases and the capacitive reactance decreases

47. - E9E07

What parameter describes the interactions at the load end of a mismatched transmission line?

Select	Answer
A	Reflection coefficient
B	Velocity factor
C	Dielectric constant
D	Characteristic impedance

48. - E9F05

What is the approximate physical length of a solid polyethylene dielectric coaxial transmission line that is electrically 1/4 wavelength long at 14.1 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	5.3 meters
B	10.6 meters
C	4.3 meters
D	3.5 meters

49. - E9G02

What type of coordinate system is used in a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Resistance lines and reactance chords
B	Voltage lines and current chords
C	Resistance circles and reactance arcs
D	Voltage circles and current arcs

50. - E9H05

What is the main drawback of a small wire-loop antenna for direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	It has a bidirectional pattern
B	It is practical for use only on VHF and higher bands
C	All these choices are correct
D	It has no clearly defined null