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

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1. - E0A09

Which insulating material commonly used as a thermal conductor for some types of electronic devices is extremely toxic if broken or crushed and the particles are accidentally inhaled?

Select	Answer
A	Mica
B	Beryllium Oxide
C	Uranium Hexafluoride
D	Zinc oxide

2. - E1A12

What special operating frequency restrictions are imposed on slow scan TV transmissions?

Select	Answer
A	None; they are allowed on all amateur frequencies
B	They are restricted to phone band segments
C	They are restricted to 7.245 MHz, 14.245 MHz, 21.345 MHz, and 28.945 MHz
D	They are not permitted above 54 MHz

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

4. - E1C09

What is the highest modulation index permitted at the highest modulation frequency for angle modulation below 29.0 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	1.0
B	2.0
C	3.0
D	0.5

5. - E1D08

Which VHF amateur bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?

Select	Answer
A	2 meters and 1.25 meters
B	2 meters
C	6 meters and 2 meters
D	6 meters, 2 meters, and 1.25 meters

6. - E1E01

For which types of out-of-pocket expenses do the Part 97 rules state that VEs and VECs may be reimbursed?

Select	Answer
A	No expenses are authorized for reimbursement
B	Providing amateur operator license examination preparation training materials
C	Teaching an amateur operator license examination preparation course
D	Preparing, processing, administering, and coordinating an examination for an amateur radio operator license

7. - E1F05

Amateur stations may not transmit in which of the following frequency segments if they are located in the contiguous 48 states and north of Line A?

Select	Answer
A	420 MHz - 430 MHz
B	440 MHz - 450 MHz
C	53 MHz - 54 MHz
D	222 MHz - 223 MHz

8. - E2A10

What type of satellite appears to stay in one position in the sky?

Select	Answer
A	Geomagnetic
B	Geostationary
C	HEO
D	LEO

9. - E2B11

What is the function of the Vertical Interval Signaling (VIS) code sent as part of an SSTV transmission?

Select	Answer
A	To provide vertical synchronization
B	To identify the call sign of the station transmitting
C	To lock the color burst oscillator in color SSTV images
D	To identify the SSTV mode being used

10. - E2C12

What technique do individual nodes use to form a mesh network?

Select	Answer
A	Forward error correction and Viterbi codes
B	Discovery and link establishment protocols
C	Custom code plugs for the local trunking systems
D	Acting as store-and-forward digipeaters

11. - E2D07

What digital protocol is used by APRS?

Select	Answer
A	AX.25
B	802.11
C	AMTOR
D	PACTOR

12. - E2E02

What do the letters FEC mean as they relate to digital operation?

Select	Answer
A	First Error Correction
B	Final Error Correction
C	Fatal Error Correction
D	Forward Error Correction

13. - E3A03

When scheduling EME contacts, which of these conditions will generally result in the least path loss?

Select	Answer
A	When the moon is full
B	When the MUF is above 30 MHz
C	When the moon is at perigee
D	When the moon is at apogee

14. - E3B05

Which amateur bands typically support long-path propagation?

Select	Answer
A	160 meters to 10 meters
B	Only 30 meters to 10 meters
C	Only 160 meters to 40 meters
D	6 meters to 2 meters

15. - E3C15

What might be indicated by a sudden rise in radio background noise across a large portion of the HF spectrum?

Select	Answer
A	A temperature inversion has occurred
B	Increased transequatorial propagation is likely
C	Long-path propagation is likely
D	A solar flare has occurred

16. - E4A08

Which of the following measures SWR?

Select	Answer
A	A Q meter
B	An antenna analyzer
C	A spectrum analyzer
D	An ohmmeter

17. - E4B01

Which of the following factors most affects the accuracy of a frequency counter?

Select	Answer
A	Time base accuracy
B	Decade divider accuracy
C	Temperature coefficient of the logic
D	Input attenuator accuracy

18. - E4C01

What is an effect of excessive phase noise in a receiver's local oscillator?

Select	Answer
A	It decreases receiver third-order intercept point
B	It limits the receiver's ability to receive strong signals
C	It can affect the receiver's frequency calibration
D	It can combine with strong signals on nearby frequencies to generate interference

19. - E4D05

What transmitter frequencies would cause an intermodulation-product signal in a receiver tuned to 146.70 MHz when a nearby station transmits on 146.52 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	146.34 MHz and 146.61 MHz
B	173.35 MHz and 139.40 MHz
C	146.10 MHz and 147.30 MHz
D	146.88 MHz and 146.34 MHz

20. - E4E09

What undesirable effect can occur when using an IF noise blanker?

Select	Answer
A	Received audio in the speech range might have an echo effect
B	FM signals can no longer be demodulated
C	The audio frequency bandwidth of the received signal might be compressed
D	Nearby signals may appear to be excessively wide even if they meet emission standards

21. - E5A06

What is the magnitude of the circulating current within the components of a parallel LC circuit at resonance?

Select	Answer
A	It is at a minimum
B	It equals 2 multiplied by pi, multiplied by frequency, multiplied by inductance
C	It is at a maximum
D	It equals 1 divided by the quantity 2 times pi, multiplied by the square root of inductance L multiplied by capacitance C

22. - E5B04

What is the time constant of a circuit having two 220-microfarad capacitors and two 1-megohm resistors, all in parallel?

Select	Answer
A	440 seconds
B	55 seconds
C	110 seconds
D	220 seconds

23. - E5C11

Which point in Figure E5-1 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 300-ohm resistor and an 18-microhenry inductor at 3.505 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	Point 1
B	Point 8
C	Point 3
D	Point 7

24. - E5D02

Why is it important to keep lead lengths short for components used in circuits for VHF and above?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	To maintain component lifetime
C	To avoid unwanted inductive reactance
D	To increase the thermal time constant

25. - E6A03

Why does a PN-junction diode not conduct current when reverse biased?

Select	Answer
A	Only P-type semiconductor material can conduct current
B	Only N-type semiconductor material can conduct current
C	Excess holes in P-type material combine with the electrons in N-type material, converting the entire diode into an insulator
D	Holes in P-type material and electrons in the N-type material are separated by the applied voltage, widening the depletion region

26. - E6B02

What is an important characteristic of a Schottky diode as compared to an ordinary silicon diode when used as a power supply rectifier?

Select	Answer
A	Longer carrier retention time
B	More constant reverse avalanche voltage
C	Much higher reverse voltage breakdown
D	Less forward voltage drop

27. - E6C05

What is an advantage of CMOS logic devices over TTL devices?

Select	Answer
A	Differential output capability
B	Lower distortion
C	Lower power consumption
D	Immune to damage from static discharge

28. - E6D02

What is the equivalent circuit of a quartz crystal?

Select	Answer
A	Motional capacitance, motional inductance, and loss resistance in series, all in parallel with a shunt capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance
B	Motional capacitance, motional inductance, loss resistance, and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance all in series
C	Motional inductance and loss resistance in series, paralleled with motional capacitance and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance
D	Motional capacitance, motional inductance, loss resistance, and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance all in parallel

29. - E6E10

What advantage does surface-mount technology offer at RF compared to using through-hole components?

Select	Answer
A	Smaller circuit area
B	Shorter circuit-board traces
C	All these choices are correct
D	Components have less parasitic inductance and capacitance

30. - E6F07

What is a solid-state relay?

Select	Answer
A	A relay using transistors to drive the relay coil
B	A device that uses semiconductors to implement the functions of an electromechanical relay
C	A mechanical relay that latches in the on or off state each time it is pulsed
D	A semiconductor passive delay line

31. - E7A06

What is a characteristic of a monostable multivibrator?

Select	Answer
A	It produces a continuous square wave oscillating between 1 and 0
B	It maintains a constant output voltage, regardless of variations in the input voltage
C	It switches momentarily to the opposite binary state and then returns to its original state after a set time
D	It stores one bit of data in either a 0 or 1 state

32. - E7B02

What is a Class D amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	An amplifier that uses drift-mode FETs for high efficiency
B	A low power amplifier that uses a differential amplifier for improved linearity
C	A type of amplifier that uses switching technology to achieve high efficiency
D	A frequency doubling amplifier

33. - E7C03

What advantage does a series-L Pi-L-network have over a series-L Pi-network for impedance matching between the final amplifier of a vacuum-tube transmitter and an antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Does not require a capacitor
B	Greater harmonic suppression
C	Higher efficiency
D	Greater transformation range

34. - E7D15

What is the purpose of a step-start circuit in a high-voltage power supply?

Select	Answer
A	To compensate for variations of the incoming line voltage
B	To allow the filter capacitors to charge gradually
C	To allow for remote control of the power supply
D	To provide a dual-voltage output for reduced power applications

35. - E7E01

Which of the following can be used to generate FM phone emissions?

Select	Answer
A	A reactance modulator on the final amplifier
B	A reactance modulator on the oscillator
C	A balanced modulator on the oscillator
D	A balanced modulator on the audio amplifier

36. - E7F05

How frequently must an analog signal be sampled by an analog-to-digital converter so that the signal can be accurately reproduced?

Select	Answer
A	At four times the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
B	At least half the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
C	At the same rate as the highest frequency component of the signal
D	At least twice the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal

37. - E7G12

What is an operational amplifier?

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

38. - E7H05

How is positive feedback supplied in a Pierce oscillator?

Select	Answer
A	Through a neutralizing capacitor
B	Through link coupling
C	Through a quartz crystal
D	Through a tapped coil

39. - E8A01

What is the name of the process that shows that a square wave is made up of a sine wave plus all its odd harmonics?

Select	Answer
A	Fourier analysis
B	Vector analysis
C	Numerical analysis
D	Differential analysis

40. - E8B08

What describes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing?

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

41. - E8C03

Why should phase-shifting of a PSK signal be done at the zero crossing of the RF signal?

Select	Answer
A	To improve carrier suppression
B	To minimize bandwidth
C	To simplify modulation
D	All these choices are correct

42. - E8D04

What is the primary effect of extremely short rise or fall time on a CW signal?

Select	Answer
A	More difficult to copy
B	Limits data speed
C	The generation of RF harmonics
D	The generation of key clicks

43. - E9A02

What is the effective radiated power relative to a dipole of a repeater station with 150 watts transmitter power output, 2 dB feed line loss, 2.2 dB duplexer loss, and 7 dBd antenna gain?

Select	Answer
A	78.7 watts
B	286 watts
C	420 watts
D	1977 watts

44. - E9B08

What is the far field of an antenna?

Select	Answer
A	The region where radiated power dissipates over a specified time period
B	The region of the ionosphere where radiated power is not refracted
C	The region where radiated field strengths are constant
D	The region where the shape of the antenna pattern is independent of distance

45. - E9C04

What happens to the radiation pattern of an unterminated long wire antenna as the wire length is increased?

Select	Answer
A	The vertical angle increases
B	The lobes align more in the direction of the wire
C	The lobes become more perpendicular to the wire
D	The front-to-back ratio decreases

46. - E9D06

What happens to the SWR bandwidth when one or more loading coils are used to resonate an electrically short antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It is unchanged if the loading coil is located at the feed point
B	It is decreased
C	It is unchanged if the loading coil is located at a voltage maximum point
D	It is increased

47. - E9E05

How must an antenna's driven element be tuned to use a hairpin matching system?

Select	Answer
A	The driven element resonance must be lower than the operating frequency
B	The driven element reactance must be capacitive
C	The driven element radiation resistance must be higher than the characteristic impedance of the transmission line
D	The driven element reactance must be inductive

48. - E9F01

What is the velocity factor of a transmission line?

Select	Answer
A	The velocity of the wave in the transmission line multiplied by the velocity of light in a vacuum
B	The ratio of the characteristic impedance of the line to the terminating impedance
C	The velocity of the wave in the transmission line divided by the velocity of light in a vacuum
D	The index of shielding for coaxial cable

49. - E9G10

What do the arcs on a Smith chart represent?

Select	Answer
A	Points with constant reactance
B	Frequency
C	SWR
D	Points with constant resistance

50. - E9H09

What is a Pennant antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A stealth antenna built to look like a flagpole
B	A small, vertically oriented receiving antenna consisting of a triangular loop terminated in approximately 900 ohms
C	A four-element, high-gain vertical array invented by George Pennant
D	A form of rhombic antenna terminated in a variable capacitor to provide frequency diversity

Figure E5-1