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

Logging in (or registering) will help the system to select questions that you need to focus on.

1. - E0A06

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

Select	Answer
A	The body reacts to electromagnetic radiation from both the E and H fields
B	All these choices are correct
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 operator of the packet bulletin board station
C	The control operators of all the stations in the system
D	The control operator of the originating station

3. - E1B02

Which of the following is an acceptable bandwidth for Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) based voice or SSTV digital transmissions made on the HF amateur bands?

Select	Answer
A	20 kHz
B	3 kHz
C	10 kHz
D	15 kHz

4. - E1C03

How do the control operator responsibilities of a station under automatic control differ from one under local control?

Select	Answer
A	Under automatic control there is no control operator
B	Under local control a control operator is not required to be present at a control point
C	Under local control there is no control operator
D	Under automatic control the control operator is not required to be present at the control point

5. - E1D02

Which of the following may transmit special codes intended to obscure the meaning of messages?

Select	Answer
A	Auxiliary relay links carrying repeater audio
B	Binary control characters
C	Telecommand signals from a space telecommand station
D	Data containing personal information

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	The FCC
C	The VE session manager
D	Each administering VE

7. - E1F09

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

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

8. - E2A02

Which of the following occurs when a satellite is using an inverting linear transponder?

Select	Answer
A	Upper sideband on the uplink becomes lower sideband on the downlink, and vice versa
B	Doppler shift is reduced because the uplink and downlink shifts are in opposite directions
C	Signal position in the band is reversed
D	All these choices are correct

9. - E2B04

How is color information sent in analog SSTV?

Select	Answer
A	Color information is sent on a 2.8 kHz subcarrier
B	Color lines are sent sequentially
C	Color is amplitude modulated on the frequency modulated intensity signal
D	Color is sent in a color burst at the end of each line

10. - E2C04

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

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

11. - E2D11

Which of the following data are used by the APRS network to communicate station location?

Select	Answer
A	Polar coordinates
B	Time and frequency
C	Latitude and longitude
D	Radio direction finding spectrum analysis

12. - E2E06

What is the most common data rate used for HF packet?

Select	Answer
A	1200 baud
B	110 baud
C	300 baud
D	48 baud

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. - E3B03

What is the best time of day for transequatorial propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Noon
B	Late at night
C	Morning
D	Afternoon or early evening

15. - E3C14

Why does the radio-path horizon distance exceed the geometric horizon?

Select	Answer
A	Downward bending due to density variations in the atmosphere
B	D-region skip
C	Due to the Doppler effect
D	E-region skip

16. - E4A01

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

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

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	25 watts
B	75 watts
C	100 watts
D	125 watts

18. - E4C07

What does the MDS of a receiver represent?

Select	Answer
A	The minimum discernible signal
B	The multiplex distortion stability
C	The meter display sensitivity
D	The maximum detectable spectrum

19. - E4D10

What does a third-order intercept level of 40 dBm mean with respect to receiver performance?

Select	Answer
A	A pair of 1 mW input signals will produce a third-order intermodulation product that is 40 dB stronger than the input signal
B	Signals less than 40 dBm will not generate audible third-order intermodulation products
C	A pair of 40 dBm input signals will theoretically generate a third-order intermodulation product that has the same output amplitude as either of the input signals
D	The receiver can tolerate signals up to 40 dB above the noise floor without producing third-order intermodulation products

20. - E4E06

What is one type of electrical interference that might be caused by a nearby personal computer?

Select	Answer
A	A whining type noise that continually pulses off and on
B	A clicking noise at intervals of a few seconds
C	The appearance of unstable modulated or unmodulated signals at specific frequencies
D	A loud AC hum in the audio output of your station receiver

21. - E5A13

What is an effect of increasing Q in a series resonant circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Internal voltages increase
B	Phase shift can become uncontrolled
C	Fewer components are needed for the same performance
D	Parasitic effects are minimized

22. - E5B08

What is the phase angle between the voltage across and the current through a series RLC circuit if XC is 100 ohms, R is 100 ohms, and XL is 75 ohms?

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

23. - E5C12

Which point on Figure E5-1 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 300-ohm resistor and a 19-picofarad capacitor at 21.200 MHz?

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

24. - E5D02

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

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

25. - E6A02

Which of the following semiconductor materials contains excess free electrons?

Select	Answer
A	Bipolar
B	P-type
C	Insulated gate
D	N-type

26. - E6B07

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

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

27. - E6C02

What happens when the level of a comparator's input signal crosses the threshold?

Select	Answer
A	The feedback loop becomes unstable
B	The comparator enters latch-up
C	The IC input can be damaged
D	The comparator changes its output state

28. - E6D13

What is the primary cause of inductor self-resonance?

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

29. - E6E06

What characteristics of the MMIC make it a popular choice for VHF through microwave circuits?

Select	Answer
A	Nearly infinite gain, very high input impedance, and very low output impedance
B	Controlled gain, low noise figure, and constant input and output impedance over the specified frequency range
C	The ability to retrieve information from a single signal even in the presence of other strong signals
D	Plate current that is controlled by a control grid

30. - E6F09

What is the efficiency of a photovoltaic cell?

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

31. - E7A04

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

Select	Answer
A	2
B	4
C	8
D	1

32. - E7B15

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

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

33. - E7C05

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

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

34. - E7D04

Which of the following types of linear voltage regulator usually make the most efficient use of the primary power source?

Select	Answer
A	A series regulator
B	A shunt regulator
C	A series current source
D	A shunt current source

35. - E7E09

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

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

36. - E7F11

What sets the minimum detectable signal level for a direct-sampling SDR receiver in the absence of atmospheric or thermal noise?

Select	Answer
A	Data storage transfer rate
B	Reference voltage level and sample width in bits
C	Sample clock phase noise
D	Missing codes and jitter

37. - E7G01

What is the typical output impedance of an op-amp?

Select	Answer
A	Very high
B	1000 ohms
C	100 ohms
D	Very low

38. - E7H01

What are three oscillator circuits used in amateur radio equipment?

Select	Answer
A	Taft, Pierce and negative feedback
B	Pierce, Fenner and Beane
C	Taft, Hartley and Pierce
D	Colpitts, Hartley and Pierce

39. - E8A03

What type of wave does a Fourier analysis show to be made up of sine waves of a given fundamental frequency plus all its harmonics?

Select	Answer
A	A sine wave
B	A sawtooth wave
C	A square wave
D	A cosine wave

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 signals are arranged to share discrete time slots of a data transmission
C	Two or more data streams are assigned to discrete sub-carriers on an FM transmitter
D	Two or more data streams share the same channel by transmitting time of transmission as the sub-carrier

41. - E8C12

What factors affect the bandwidth of a transmitted CW signal?

Select	Answer
A	IF bandwidth and Q
B	Modulation index and output power
C	All these choices are correct
D	Keying speed and shape factor (rise and fall time)

42. - E8D08

What parameter evaluates distortion of an AFSK signal caused by excessive input audio levels?

Select	Answer
A	Baud rate
B	Repeat Request Rate (RRR)
C	Signal-to-noise ratio
D	Intermodulation Distortion (IMD)

43. - E9A11

Which of the following factors determines ground losses for a ground-mounted vertical antenna operating in the 3 MHz to 30 MHz range?

Select	Answer
A	The standing wave ratio
B	Distance from the transmitter
C	Take-off angle
D	Soil conductivity

44. - E9B06

What is the elevation angle of peak response in the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-2?

Select	Answer
A	45 degrees
B	7.5 degrees
C	25 degrees
D	75 degrees

45. - E9C06

What is the effect of adding a terminating resistor to a rhombic antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It reflects the standing waves on the antenna elements back to the transmitter
B	It changes the radiation pattern from horizontal to vertical polarization
C	It changes the radiation pattern from bidirectional to unidirectional
D	It decreases the ground loss

46. - E9D11

Which of the following conductors would be best for minimizing losses in a station's RF ground system?

Select	Answer
A	Wide flat copper strap
B	Stranded wire
C	Resistive wire, such as spark plug wire
D	Solid wire

47. - E9E01

What system matches a higher-impedance transmission line to a lower-impedance antenna by connecting the line to the driven element in two places spaced a fraction of a wavelength each side of element center?

Select	Answer
A	The gamma matching system
B	The omega matching system
C	The delta matching system
D	The stub matching system

48. - E9F06

What is the approximate physical length of an air-insulated, parallel conductor transmission line that is electrically 1/2 wavelength long at 14.10 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	10.6 meters
B	8.5 meters
C	13.3 meters
D	7.0 meters

49. - E9G11

How are the wavelength scales on a Smith chart calibrated?

Select	Answer
A	In fractions of antenna electrical wavelength
B	In fractions of transmission line electrical frequency
C	In fractions of transmission line electrical wavelength
D	In fractions of antenna electrical frequency

50. - E9H04

What is an advantage of placing a grounded electrostatic shield around a small loop direction-finding antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It increases signal strength by providing a better match to the feed line
B	It adds capacitive loading, increasing the bandwidth of the antenna
C	It eliminates tracking errors caused by strong out-of-band signals
D	It eliminates unbalanced capacitive coupling to the surroundings, improving the nulls

Figure E5-1

Figure E9-2