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

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1. - E0A06

Why are there separate electric (E) and magnetic (H) field MPE limits?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	The body reacts to electromagnetic radiation from both the E and H fields
C	E field and H field radiation intensity peaks can occur at different locations
D	Ground reflections and scattering make the field strength vary with location

2. - E1A08

If a station in a message forwarding system inadvertently forwards a message that is in violation of FCC rules, who is primarily accountable for the rules violation?

Select	Answer
A	The control operators of all the stations in the system not authenticating the source from which they accept communications
B	The control operators of all the stations in the system
C	The control operator of the originating station
D	The control operator of the packet bulletin board station

3. - E1B12

What must the control operator of a repeater operating in the 70 cm band do if a radiolocation system experiences interference from that repeater?

Select	Answer
A	Cease operation or make changes to the repeater to mitigate the interference
B	Reduce the repeater antenna HAAT (Height Above Average Terrain)
C	File an FAA NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) with the repeater system's ERP, call sign, and six-character grid locator
D	All these choices are correct

4. - E1C09

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

Select	Answer
A	2.0
B	1.0
C	3.0
D	0.5

5. - E1D10

Which amateur stations are eligible to be telecommand stations of space stations (subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held by the control operator of the station)?

Select	Answer
A	Any amateur station so designated by the ITU
B	Any amateur station designated by NASA
C	All these choices are correct
D	Any amateur station so designated by the space station licensee

6. - E1E06

Who is responsible for the proper conduct and necessary supervision during an amateur operator license examination session?

Select	Answer
A	The VEC coordinating the session
B	Each administering VE
C	The FCC
D	The VE session manager

7. - E1F09

Which of the following conditions apply when transmitting spread spectrum emissions?

Select	Answer
A	The transmission must not be used to obscure the meaning of any communication
B	A station transmitting SS emission must not cause harmful interference to other stations employing other authorized emissions
C	All these choices are correct
D	The transmitting station must be in an area regulated by the FCC or in a country that permits SS emissions

8. - E2A09

What do the terms L band and S band specify regarding satellite communications?

Select	Answer
A	Which sideband to use
B	The 23 centimeter and 13 centimeter bands
C	The 2 meter and 70 centimeter bands
D	FM and Digital Store-and-Forward systems

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. - E2C06

During a VHF/UHF contest, in which band segment would you expect to find the highest level of SSB or CW activity?

Select	Answer
A	In the weak signal segment of the band, with most of the activity near the calling frequency
B	In the middle of the band, usually 25 kHz above the national calling frequency
C	At the top of each band, usually in a segment reserved for contests
D	In the middle of each band, usually on the national calling frequency

11. - E2D02

Which of the following is a good technique for making meteor scatter contacts?

Select	Answer
A	Short transmissions with rapidly repeated call signs and signal reports
B	15-second timed transmission sequences with stations alternating based on location
C	Use of special digital modes
D	All these choices are correct

12. - E2E04

What is indicated when one of the ellipses in an FSK crossed-ellipse display suddenly disappears?

Select	Answer
A	One of the signal filters is saturated
B	The mark and space signal have been inverted
C	The receiver has drifted 5 kHz from the desired receive frequency
D	Selective fading has occurred

13. - E3A13

Which of these emission modes is best for auroral propagation?

Select	Answer
A	FM
B	CW
C	SSB
D	RTTY

14. - E3B04

What is meant by the terms "extraordinary" and "ordinary" waves?

Select	Answer
A	Refracted rays and reflected waves
B	Independent waves created in the ionosphere that are elliptically polarized
C	Long-path and short-path waves
D	Extraordinary waves describe rare long-skip propagation compared to ordinary waves, which travel shorter distances

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

16. - E4A11

How should an antenna analyzer be connected when measuring antenna resonance and feed point impedance?

Select	Answer
A	Loosely couple the analyzer near the antenna base
B	Connect the antenna feed line directly to the analyzer's connector
C	Connect the analyzer via a high-impedance transformer to the antenna
D	Loosely couple the antenna and a dummy load to the analyzer

17. - E4B10

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

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

18. - E4C02

Which of the following receiver circuits can be effective in eliminating interference from strong out-of-band signals?

Select	Answer
A	A narrow IF filter
B	A properly adjusted product detector
C	A notch filter
D	A front-end filter or pre-selector

19. - E4D09

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

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

20. - E4E05

How can radio frequency interference from an AC motor be suppressed?

Select	Answer
A	By installing a bypass capacitor in series with the motor leads
B	By installing a brute-force AC-line filter in series with the motor leads
C	By using a ground-fault current interrupter in the circuit used to power the motor
D	By installing a high-pass filter in series with the motor's power leads

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

22. - E5B06

What is susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	The imaginary part of admittance
B	A measure of the efficiency of a transformer
C	The magnetic impedance of a circuit
D	The ratio of magnetic field to electric field

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	Elliptical coordinates
C	Faraday grid
D	Maidenhead grid

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 increase the thermal time constant
C	To avoid unwanted inductive reactance
D	To maintain component lifetime

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	Holes in P-type material and electrons in the N-type material are separated by the applied voltage, widening the depletion region
D	Excess holes in P-type material combine with the electrons in N-type material, converting the entire diode into an insulator

26. - E6B07

What is the failure mechanism when a junction diode fails due to excessive current?

Select	Answer
A	Insufficient forward voltage
B	Excessive inverse voltage
C	Charge carrier depletion
D	Excessive junction temperature

27. - E6C05

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

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

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 have greater initial permeability
C	Powdered-iron cores generally require fewer turns to produce a given inductance
D	Powdered-iron cores use smaller diameter wire for the same inductance

29. - E6E05

Which of the following noise figure values is typical of a low-noise UHF preamplifier?

Select	Answer
A	2 dB
B	-20 dBm
C	-10 dB
D	44 dBm

30. - E6F09

What is the efficiency of a photovoltaic cell?

Select	Answer
A	The output RF power divided by the input DC power
B	The relative fraction of light that is converted to current
C	Cost per kilowatt-hour generated
D	The open-circuit voltage divided by the short-circuit current under full illumination

31. - E7A09

What logical operation is performed by an exclusive NOR gate?

Select	Answer
A	It produces logic 0 at its output only if all inputs are logic 0
B	It produces logic 1 at its output only if all inputs are logic 1
C	It produces logic 0 at its output if only one input is logic 1
D	It produces logic 1 at its output if only one input is logic 1

32. - E7B08

How can an RF power amplifier be neutralized?

Select	Answer
A	By increasing the driving power
B	By feeding an in-phase component of the output back to the input
C	By feeding a 180-degree out-of-phase portion of the output back to the input
D	By reducing the driving power

33. - E7C09

What is a crystal lattice filter?

Select	Answer
A	A power supply filter made with interlaced quartz crystals
B	An audio filter made with four quartz crystals that resonate at 1 kHz intervals
C	A filter using lattice-shaped quartz crystals for high-Q performance
D	A filter with narrow bandwidth and steep skirts made using quartz crystals

34. - E7D14

What is the purpose of connecting equal-value resistors across power supply filter capacitors connected in series?

Select	Answer
A	Provide a minimum load on the supply
B	All these choices are correct
C	Equalize the voltage across each capacitor
D	Discharge the capacitors when voltage is removed

35. - E7E02

What is the function of a reactance modulator?

Select	Answer
A	To produce PM signals by using an electrically variable resistance
B	To produce AM signals by using an electrically variable inductance or capacitance
C	To produce AM signals by using an electrically variable resistance
D	To produce PM or FM signals by using an electrically variable inductance or capacitance

36. - E7F04

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

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

37. - E7G11

What absolute voltage gain can be expected from the circuit in Figure E7-3 when R1 is 3300 ohms and RF is 47 kilohms?

Select	Answer
A	0.07
B	28
C	7
D	14

38. - E7H07

How can an oscillator's microphonic responses be reduced?

Select	Answer
A	Mechanically isolate the oscillator circuitry from its enclosure
B	Use NP0 capacitors
C	Reduce noise on the oscillator's power supply
D	Increase the bias voltage

39. - E8A04

What is "dither" with respect to analog-to-digital converters?

Select	Answer
A	An error caused by irregular quantization step size
B	A small amount of noise added to the input signal to allow more precise representation of a signal over time
C	An abnormal condition where the converter cannot settle on a value to represent the signal
D	A method of decimation by randomly skipping samples

40. - E8B11

What is digital time division multiplexing?

Select	Answer
A	Two or more signals are quadrature modulated to increase bandwidth efficiency
B	Two or more data streams are assigned to discrete sub-carriers on an FM transmitter
C	Two or more data streams share the same channel by transmitting time of transmission as the sub-carrier
D	Two or more signals are arranged to share discrete time slots of a data transmission

41. - E8C02

What is the definition of symbol rate in a digital transmission?

Select	Answer
A	The rate at which the waveform changes to convey information
B	The duration of each bit in a message sent over the air
C	The number of control characters in a message packet
D	The number of characters carried per second by the station-to-station link

42. - E8D10

What are some of the differences between the Baudot digital code and ASCII?

Select	Answer
A	Baudot uses 5 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot uses 2 characters as letters/figures shift codes, ASCII has no letters/figures shift code
B	Baudot uses 4 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot uses 1 character as a letters/figures shift code, ASCII has no letters/figures code
C	Baudot uses 6 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes
D	Baudot uses 7 data bits per character, ASCII uses 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes

43. - E9A08

What is antenna bandwidth?

Select	Answer
A	The angle formed between two imaginary lines drawn through the element ends
B	Antenna length divided by the number of elements
C	The frequency range over which an antenna satisfies a performance requirement
D	The angle between the half-power radiation points

44. - E9B04

What is the front-to-back ratio of the radiation pattern shown in Figure E92?

Select	Answer
A	15 dB
B	28 dB
C	3 dB
D	38 dB

45. - E9C03

What is the radiation pattern of two 1/4-wavelength vertical antennas spaced 1/2-wavelength apart and fed in phase?

Select	Answer
A	Omni-directional
B	A Figure-8 end-fire along the axis of the array
C	A Figure-8 broadside to the axis of the array
D	Cardioid

46. - E9D09

What is the function of a loading coil used as part of an HF mobile antenna?

Select	Answer
A	To cancel capacitive reactance
B	To lower the losses
C	To increase the SWR bandwidth
D	To lower the Q

47. - E9E04

What is the purpose of the series capacitor in a gamma-type antenna matching network?

Select	Answer
A	To provide a rejection notch that prevents the radiation of harmonics
B	To provide DC isolation between the feed line and the antenna
C	To transform the antenna impedance to a higher value
D	To cancel the inductive reactance of the matching network

48. - E9F12

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

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

49. - E9G02

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

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

50. - E9H11

What feature of a cardioid pattern antenna makes it useful for direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	A very sharp peak
B	High radiation angle
C	Broadband response
D	A very sharp single null

Figure E7-3