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

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1. - E0A05

What is one of the potential hazards of operating in the amateur radio microwave bands?

Select	Answer
A	Microwaves are ionizing radiation
B	Microwaves often travel long distances by ionospheric reflection
C	The high gain antennas commonly used can result in high exposure levels
D	The extremely high frequency energy can damage the joints of antenna structures

2. - E1A04

With your transceiver displaying the carrier frequency of phone signals, you hear a DX station calling CQ on 3.601 MHz LSB. Is it legal to return the call using lower sideband on the same frequency?

Select	Answer
A	No, U.S. stations are not permitted to use phone emissions below 3.610 MHz
B	Yes, because the DX station initiated the contact
C	No, the sideband will extend beyond the edge of the phone band segment
D	Yes, because the displayed frequency is within the 75 meter phone band segment

3. - E1B05

What is the National Radio Quiet Zone?

Select	Answer
A	An area in New Mexico surrounding the White Sands Test Area
B	An area in Puerto Rico surrounding the Arecibo Radio Telescope
C	An area in Florida surrounding Cape Canaveral
D	An area surrounding the National Radio Astronomy Observatory

4. - E1C11

Which of the following operating arrangements allows an FCC-licensed U.S. citizen to operate in many European countries, and alien amateurs from many European countries to operate in the U.S.?

Select	Answer
A	IARP agreement
B	ITU reciprocal license
C	CEPT agreement
D	All these choices are correct

5. - E1D05

What must be posted at the station location of a station being operated by telecommand on or within 50 km of the earth's surface?

Select	Answer
A	A photocopy of the station license
B	A label with the name, address, and telephone number of the control operator
C	A label with the name, address, and telephone number of the station licensee
D	All these choices are correct

6. - E1E05

What is the minimum passing score on all amateur operator license examinations?

Select	Answer
A	Minimum passing score of 70%
B	Minimum passing score of 77%
C	Minimum passing score of 80%
D	Minimum passing score of 74%

7. - E1F11

Which of the following best describes one of the standards that must be met by an external RF power amplifier if it is to qualify for a grant of FCC certification?

Select	Answer
A	It must exhibit a gain of 0 dB or less over its full output range
B	It must satisfy the FCC's spurious emission standards when operated at the lesser of 1500 watts or its full output power
C	It must be capable of external RF switching between its input and output networks
D	It must produce full legal output when driven by not more than 5 watts of mean RF input power

8. - E2A11

What type of antenna can be used to minimize the effects of spin modulation and Faraday rotation?

Select	Answer
A	An isotropic antenna
B	A circularly polarized antenna
C	A linearly polarized antenna
D	A log-periodic dipole array

9. - E2B03

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

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

10. - E2C03

From which of the following bands is amateur radio contesting generally excluded?

Select	Answer
A	30 meters
B	6 meters
C	33 centimeters
D	2 meters

11. - E2D04

What technology is used to track, in real time, balloons carrying amateur radio transmitters?

Select	Answer
A	Bandwidth compressed LORAN
B	Ultrasonics
C	APRS
D	Doppler shift of beacon signals

12. - E2E01

Which of the following types of modulation is common for data emissions below 30 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	FSK
B	Spread spectrum
C	Pulse modulation
D	DTMF tones modulating an FM signal

13. - E3A04

What do Hepburn maps predict?

Select	Answer
A	Sporadic E propagation
B	Locations of auroral reflecting zones
C	Likelihood of rain scatter along cold or warm fronts
D	Probability of tropospheric propagation

14. - E3B12

What is the primary characteristic of chordal hop propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Propagation across the geomagnetic equator
B	Signals reflected back toward the transmitting station
C	Propagation away from the great circle bearing between stations
D	Successive ionospheric refractions without an intermediate reflection from the ground

15. - E3C13

What type of polarization is best for ground-wave propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Elliptical
B	Vertical
C	Horizontal
D	Circular

16. - E4A07

Which of the following is an advantage of using an antenna analyzer compared to an SWR bridge to measure antenna SWR?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	Antenna analyzers do not need an external RF source
C	Antenna analyzers automatically tune your antenna for resonance
D	Antenna analyzers display a time-varying representation of the modulation envelope

17. - E4B02

What is the significance of voltmeter sensitivity expressed in ohms per volt?

Select	Answer
A	When used as a galvanometer, the reading in volts multiplied by the ohms per volt rating will determine the power drawn by the device under test
B	When used as an ohmmeter, the reading in ohms divided by the ohms per volt rating will determine the voltage applied to the circuit
C	When used as an ammeter, the full scale reading in amps divided by ohms per volt rating will determine the size of shunt needed
D	The full scale reading of the voltmeter multiplied by its ohms per volt rating will indicate the input impedance of the voltmeter

18. - E4C05

What does a receiver noise floor of -174 dBm represent?

Select	Answer
A	The noise figure of a 1 Hz bandwidth receiver
B	The galactic noise contribution to minimum detectable signal
C	The minimum detectable signal as a function of receive frequency
D	The theoretical noise in a 1 Hz bandwidth at the input of a perfect receiver at room temperature

19. - E4D09

What is the purpose of the preselector in a communications receiver?

Select	Answer
A	To store often-used frequencies
B	To provide a range of AGC time constants
C	To allow selection of the optimum RF amplifier device
D	To increase rejection of signals outside the desired band

20. - E4E04

How can conducted and radiated noise caused by an automobile alternator be suppressed?

Select	Answer
A	By connecting the radio's power leads directly to the battery and by installing coaxial capacitors in line with the alternator leads
B	By installing a high-pass filter in series with the radio's power lead and a low-pass filter in parallel with the field lead
C	By installing filter capacitors in series with the DC power lead and a blocking capacitor in the field lead
D	By installing a noise suppression resistor and a blocking capacitor in both leads

21. - E5A14

What is the resonant frequency of an RLC circuit if R is 22 ohms, L is 50 microhenries and C is 40 picofarads?

Select	Answer
A	22.36 MHz
B	1.78 MHz
C	44.72 MHz
D	3.56 MHz

22. - E5B03

How is impedance in polar form converted to an equivalent admittance?

Select	Answer
A	Take the reciprocal of the angle and change the sign of the magnitude
B	Square the magnitude and subtract 90 degrees from the angle
C	Take the reciprocal of the magnitude and change the sign of the angle
D	Take the square root of the magnitude and add 180 degrees to the angle

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

24. - E5D09

What happens to reactive power in an AC circuit that has both ideal inductors and ideal capacitors?

Select	Answer
A	It is dissipated in the formation of inductive and capacitive fields
B	It is repeatedly exchanged between the associated magnetic and electric fields, but is not dissipated
C	It is dissipated as heat in the circuit
D	It is dissipated as kinetic energy in the circuit

25. - E6A01

In what application is gallium arsenide used as a semiconductor material?

Select	Answer
A	In high-current rectifier circuits
B	In high-power audio circuits
C	In microwave circuits
D	In very low-frequency RF circuits

26. - E6B11

What is used to control the attenuation of RF signals by a PIN diode?

Select	Answer
A	A sub-harmonic pump signal
B	Reverse voltage larger than the RF signal
C	Forward DC bias current
D	Capacitance of an RF coupling capacitor

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	The input switching threshold is about one-half the power supply voltage
C	Bandwidth is very limited
D	Large bypass capacitance is inherent

28. - E6D08

What is one reason for using powdered-iron cores rather than ferrite cores in an inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Powdered-iron cores generally maintain their characteristics at higher currents
B	Powdered-iron cores generally require fewer turns to produce a given inductance
C	Powdered-iron cores generally have greater initial permeability
D	Powdered-iron cores use smaller diameter wire for the same inductance

29. - E6E11

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

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

30. - E6F07

What is a solid-state relay?

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

31. - E7A04

How many flip-flops are required to divide a signal frequency by 4?

Select	Answer
A	2
B	1
C	4
D	8

32. - E7B13

Which of the following describes an emitter follower (or common collector) amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	A differential amplifier with both inputs fed to the emitter of the input transistor
B	An amplifier with a low impedance output that follows the base input voltage
C	A two-transistor amplifier with the emitters sharing a common bias resistor
D	An OR circuit with only one emitter used for output

33. - E7C08

Which of the following factors has the greatest effect on the bandwidth and response shape of a crystal ladder filter?

Select	Answer
A	The relative frequencies of the individual crystals
B	The DC voltage applied to the quartz crystal
C	The gain of the RF stage preceding the filter
D	The amplitude of the signals passing through the filter

34. - E7D13

What is the equation for calculating power dissipated by a series linear voltage regulator?

Select	Answer
A	Output voltage multiplied by output current
B	Input voltage divided by output current
C	Voltage difference from input to output multiplied by output current
D	Input voltage multiplied by input current

35. - E7E06

Why is de-emphasis commonly used in FM communications receivers?

Select	Answer
A	To reduce impulse noise reception
B	For compatibility with transmitters using phase modulation
C	For higher efficiency
D	To remove third-order distortion products

36. - E7F04

What is a common method of generating an SSB signal using digital signal processing?

Select	Answer
A	Signals are combined in quadrature phase relationship
B	Varying quartz crystal characteristics emulated in digital form
C	A frequency synthesizer removes the unwanted sidebands
D	Mixing products are converted to voltages and subtracted by adder circuits

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 link coupling
B	Through a tapped coil
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	Improve accuracy by removing out-of-sequence codes from the input
D	All these choices are correct

40. - E8B08

What describes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing?

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

41. - E8C07

What is the bandwidth of a 4800-Hz frequency shift, 9600-baud ASCII FM transmission?

Select	Answer
A	5.76 kHz
B	4.8 kHz
C	9.6 kHz
D	15.36 kHz

42. - E8D11

What is one advantage of using ASCII code for data communications?

Select	Answer
A	It includes built-in error correction features
B	It contains fewer information bits per character than any other code
C	It is possible to transmit both upper and lower case text
D	It uses one character as a shift code to send numeric and special characters

43. - E9A13

What term describes station output, taking into account all gains and losses?

Select	Answer
A	Effective radiated power
B	Apparent power
C	Power factor
D	Half-power bandwidth

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

45. - E9C04

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

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

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 increases and the capacitive reactance increases
C	The radiation resistance decreases and the capacitive reactance decreases
D	The radiation resistance decreases and the capacitive reactance increases

47. - E9E03

What is the name of the matching system that uses a section of transmission line connected in parallel with the feed line at or near the feed point?

Select	Answer
A	The omega match
B	The gamma match
C	The stub match
D	The delta match

48. - E9F13

What impedance does a 1/4-wavelength transmission line present to a generator when the line is shorted at the far end?

Select	Answer
A	Very high impedance
B	The same as the generator output impedance
C	Very low impedance
D	The same as the characteristic impedance of the transmission line

49. - E9G04

What are the two families of circles and arcs that make up a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Resistance and reactance
B	Reactance and voltage
C	Resistance and voltage
D	Voltage and impedance

50. - E9H03

What is Receiving Directivity Factor (RDF)?

Select	Answer
A	Relative directivity compared to a dipole
B	Relative directivity compared to isotropic
C	Forward gain compared to average gain over the entire hemisphere
D	Forward gain compared to the gain in the reverse direction

Figure E7-3