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

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1. - E0A04

When evaluating a site with multiple transmitters operating at the same time, the operators and licensees of which transmitters are responsible for mitigating over-exposure situations?

Select	Answer
A	Only the most powerful transmitter
B	Each transmitter that produces 5 percent or more of its MPE limit in areas where the total MPE limit is exceeded.
C	Each transmitter operating with a duty cycle greater than 50 percent
D	Only commercial transmitters

2. - E1A03

What is the maximum legal carrier frequency on the 20 meter band for transmitting USB AFSK digital signals having a 1 kHz bandwidth?

Select	Answer
A	14.070 MHz
B	14.100 MHz
C	14.349 MHz
D	14.149 MHz

3. - E1B03

Within what distance must an amateur station protect an FCC monitoring facility from harmful interference?

Select	Answer
A	3 miles
B	10 miles
C	1 mile
D	30 miles

4. - E1C07

At what level below a signal's mean power level is its bandwidth determined according to FCC rules?

Select	Answer
A	23 dB
B	6 dB
C	26 dB
D	3 dB

5. - E1D01

What is the definition of telemetry?

Select	Answer
A	One-way transmission of measurements at a distance from the measuring instrument
B	One-way transmission that initiates, modifies, or terminates the functions of a device at a distance
C	Two-way transmissions of data
D	Two-way transmissions in excess of 1000 feet

6. - E1E10

What must the administering VEs do after the administration of a successful examination for an amateur operator license?

Select	Answer
A	They must collect and send the documents to the NCVEC for grading
B	They must collect and send the documents to the FCC according to instructions
C	They must collect and submit the documents to the coordinating VEC for grading
D	They must submit the application document to the coordinating VEC according to the coordinating VEC instructions

7. - E1F04

Which of the following geographic descriptions approximately describes "Line A"?

Select	Answer
A	A line roughly parallel to and north of the border between the U.S. and Mexico
B	A line roughly parallel to and east of the U.S. Pacific coastline
C	A line roughly parallel to and south of the border between the U.S. and Canada
D	A line roughly parallel to and west of the U.S. Atlantic coastline

8. - E2A13

Which of the following techniques is normally used by low Earth orbiting digital satellites to relay messages around the world?

Select	Answer
A	Multi-satellite relaying
B	Node hopping
C	Store-and-forward
D	Digipeating

9. - E2B08

What technique allows commercial analog TV receivers to be used for fast-scan TV operations on the 70 cm band?

Select	Answer
A	Transmitting on the abandoned TV channel 2
B	Transmitting on channels shared with cable TV
C	Using USB and demodulating the signal with a computer sound card
D	Using converted satellite TV dishes

10. - E2C12

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

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

11. - E2D10

How can an APRS station be used to help support a public service communications activity?

Select	Answer
A	APRS stations with General Personnel Scanners can automatically relay the participant numbers and time as they pass the check points
B	An APRS station with an emergency medical technician can automatically transmit medical data to the nearest hospital
C	An APRS station with a Global Positioning System unit can automatically transmit information to show a mobile station's position during the event
D	All these choices are correct

12. - E2E13

Which of these digital modes has the fastest data throughput under clear communication conditions?

Select	Answer
A	170 Hz shift, 45 baud RTTY
B	300 baud packet
C	AMTOR
D	PSK31

13. - E3A14

What is meant by circularly polarized electromagnetic waves?

Select	Answer
A	Waves that circle the Earth
B	Waves with a rotating electric field
C	Waves with an electric field bent into a circular shape
D	Waves produced by a loop antenna

14. - E3B11

At what time of day can sporadic E propagation occur?

Select	Answer
A	Only around sunset
B	Only around sunset and sunrise
C	Only in hours of darkness
D	Any time

15. - E3C01

What does the radio communication term "ray tracing" describe?

Select	Answer
A	Modeling a radio wave's path through the ionosphere
B	Determining the radiation pattern from an array of antennas
C	The process in which an electronic display presents a pattern
D	Evaluating high voltage sources for x-rays

16. - E4A01

Which of the following limits the highest frequency signal that can be accurately displayed on a digital oscilloscope?

Select	Answer
A	Amount of memory
B	Q of the circuit
C	All these choices are correct
D	Sampling rate of the analog-to-digital converter

17. - E4B10

Which of the following methods measures intermodulation distortion in an SSB transmitter?

Select	Answer
A	Modulate the transmitter using two AF signals having non-harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a spectrum analyzer
B	Modulate the transmitter using two RF signals having non-harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a spectrum analyzer
C	Modulate the transmitter using two RF signals having harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a logic analyzer
D	Modulate the transmitter using two AF signals having harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a peak reading wattmeter

18. - E4C12

Which of the following has the largest effect on an SDR receiver's dynamic range?

Select	Answer
A	RAM speed used for data storage
B	CPU register width in bits
C	Anti-aliasing input filter bandwidth
D	Analog-to-digital converter sample width in bits

19. - E4D03

How can intermodulation interference between two repeaters occur?

Select	Answer
A	When the repeaters are in close proximity and the signals mix in the final amplifier of one or both transmitters
B	When the repeaters are in close proximity and the signals cause feedback in the final amplifier of one or both transmitters
C	When the signals from the transmitters are reflected out of phase from airplanes passing overhead
D	When the signals from the transmitters are reflected in phase from airplanes passing overhead

20. - E4E10

What might be the cause of a loud roaring or buzzing AC line interference that comes and goes at intervals?

Select	Answer
A	A defective doorbell or doorbell transformer inside a nearby residence
B	All these choices are correct
C	Arcing contacts in a thermostatically controlled device
D	A malfunctioning illuminated advertising display

21. - E5A06

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

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

22. - E5B11

What is the phase angle between the voltage across and the current through a series RLC circuit if XC is 25 ohms, R is 100 ohms, and XL is 50 ohms?

Select	Answer
A	76 degrees with the voltage lagging the current
B	14 degrees with the voltage leading the current
C	14 degrees with the voltage lagging the current
D	76 degrees with the voltage leading the current

23. - E5C09

When using rectangular coordinates to graph the impedance of a circuit, what do the axes represent?

Select	Answer
A	The X axis represents the magnitude and the Y axis represents the phase angle
B	The X axis represents the resistive component and the Y axis represents the reactive component
C	The X axis represents the reactive component and the Y axis represents the resistive component
D	The X axis represents the phase angle and the Y axis represents the magnitude

24. - E5D11

What is the power factor of an RL circuit having a 60-degree phase angle between the voltage and the current?

Select	Answer
A	1.414
B	0.5
C	0.866
D	1.73

25. - E6A07

Which of the following indicates that a silicon NPN junction transistor is biased on?

Select	Answer
A	Base-to-emitter voltage of approximately 6 to 7 volts
B	Base-to-emitter resistance of approximately 0.6 to 0.7 ohms
C	Base-to-emitter voltage of approximately 0.6 to 0.7 volts
D	Base-to-emitter resistance of approximately 6 to 7 ohms

26. - E6B06

Which of the following is a common use of a Schottky diode?

Select	Answer
A	As a rectifier in high current power supplies
B	As a VHF/UHF mixer or detector
C	As a variable capacitance in an automatic frequency control circuit
D	As a constant voltage reference in a power supply

27. - E6C04

Which of the following is an advantage of BiCMOS logic?

Select	Answer
A	It is immune to electrostatic damage
B	Its simplicity results in much less expensive devices than standard CMOS
C	All these choices are correct
D	It has the high input impedance of CMOS and the low output impedance of bipolar transistors

28. - E6D07

What is current in the primary winding of a transformer called if no load is attached to the secondary?

Select	Answer
A	Excitation current
B	Magnetizing current
C	Stabilizing current
D	Direct current

29. - E6E11

What is a characteristic of DIP packaging used for integrated circuits?

Select	Answer
A	Low leakage doubly insulated package
B	Package mounts in a direct inverted position
C	Two chips in each package (Dual In Package)
D	A total of two rows of connecting pins placed on opposite sides of the package (Dual In-line Package)

30. - E6F03

What is the most common configuration of an optoisolator or optocoupler?

Select	Answer
A	An amplitude modulated helium-neon laser
B	A frequency modulated helium-neon laser
C	A lens and a photomultiplier
D	An LED and a phototransistor

31. - E7A07

What logical operation does a NAND gate perform?

Select	Answer
A	It produces logic 0 at its output only when all inputs are logic 1
B	It produces logic 0 at its output only when all inputs are logic 0
C	It produces logic 1 at its output only when all inputs are logic 1
D	It produces logic 0 at its output if some but not all inputs are logic 1

32. - E7B15

What is one way to prevent thermal runaway in a bipolar transistor amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	Select transistors with high beta
C	Use a resistor in series with the emitter
D	Neutralization

33. - E7C12

What is one advantage of a Pi-matching network over an L-matching network consisting of a single inductor and a single capacitor?

Select	Answer
A	The Q of Pi-networks can be controlled
B	Pi-networks are more stable
C	L-networks cannot perform impedance transformation
D	Pi-networks provide balanced input and output

34. - E7D10

What is the primary reason that a high-frequency switching type high-voltage power supply can be both less expensive and lighter in weight than a conventional power supply?

Select	Answer
A	It uses a large power factor compensation capacitor to recover power from the unused portion of the AC cycle
B	It uses a diode bridge rectifier for increased output
C	The high frequency inverter design uses much smaller transformers and filter components for an equivalent power output
D	The inverter design does not require any output filtering

35. - E7E09

What occurs when an excessive amount of signal energy reaches a mixer circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Mixer blanking occurs
B	A beat frequency is generated
C	Automatic limiting occurs
D	Spurious mixer products are generated

36. - E7F14

Which of the following would allow a digital signal processing filter to create a sharper filter response?

Select	Answer
A	Double-precision math routines
B	Complex phasor representations
C	Higher data rate
D	More taps

37. - E7G09

What will be the output voltage of the circuit shown in Figure E7-3 if R1 is 1000 ohms, RF is 10,000 ohms, and 0.23 volts DC is applied to the input?

Select	Answer
A	-2.3 volts
B	-0.23 volts
C	2.3 volts
D	0.23 volts

38. - E7H03

How is positive feedback supplied in a Hartley oscillator?

Select	Answer
A	Through a tapped coil
B	Through link coupling
C	Through a capacitive divider
D	Through a neutralizing capacitor

39. - E8A10

What is the purpose of a low-pass filter used in conjunction with a digital-to-analog converter?

Select	Answer
A	Lower the input bandwidth to increase the effective resolution
B	Remove harmonics from the output caused by the discrete analog levels generated
C	All these choices are correct
D	Improve accuracy by removing out-of-sequence codes from the input

40. - E8B08

What describes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing?

Select	Answer
A	A bandwidth compression technique using Fourier transforms
B	A digital mode for narrow-band, slow-speed transmissions
C	A digital modulation technique using subcarriers at frequencies chosen to avoid intersymbol interference
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	Reed-Solomon character encoding
B	Use of sinusoidal data pulses
C	Use of trapezoidal data pulses
D	Zero-sum character encoding

42. - E8D09

What is considered an acceptable maximum IMD level for an idling PSK signal?

Select	Answer
A	-30 dB
B	+15 dB
C	+10 dB
D	-20 dB

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	252 watts
B	159 watts
C	632 watts
D	63.2 watts

44. - E9B11

What is a disadvantage of decreasing the number of wire segments in an antenna model below 10 segments per half-wavelength?

Select	Answer
A	The computed feed point impedance may be incorrect
B	The resulting design will favor radiation of harmonic energy
C	The antenna will become mechanically unstable
D	Ground conductivity will not be accurately modeled

45. - E9C05

Which of the following is a type of OCFD antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A folded dipole center-fed with 300-ohm transmission line
B	A remotely tunable dipole antenna using orthogonally controlled frequency diversity
C	A dipole fed approximately 1/3 the way from one end with a 4:1 balun to provide multiband operation
D	A multiband dipole antenna using one-way circular polarization for frequency diversity

46. - E9D05

What usually occurs if a Yagi antenna is designed solely for maximum forward gain?

Select	Answer
A	The frequency response is widened over the whole frequency band
B	The SWR is reduced
C	The front-to-back ratio decreases
D	The front-to-back ratio increases

47. - E9E11

What is the primary purpose of phasing lines when used with an antenna having multiple driven elements?

Select	Answer
A	It allows single-band antennas to operate on other bands
B	It prevents reflected power from traveling back down the feed line and causing harmonic radiation from the transmitter
C	It creates a low-angle radiation pattern
D	It ensures that each driven element operates in concert with the others to create the desired antenna pattern

48. - E9F09

What is the approximate physical length of a foam polyethylene dielectric coaxial transmission line that is electrically 1/4 wavelength long at 7.2 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	8.3 meters
B	6.9 meters
C	5.2 meters
D	10.4 meters

49. - E9G03

Which of the following is often determined using a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Impedance and SWR values in transmission lines
B	Beam headings and radiation patterns
C	Trigonometric functions
D	Satellite azimuth and elevation bearings

50. - E9H07

Why is RF attenuation used when direction-finding?

Select	Answer
A	To increase receiver sensitivity
B	To prevent receiver overload which reduces pattern nulls
C	To narrow the receiver bandwidth
D	To compensate for isotropic directivity and the antenna effect of feed lines

Figure E7-3