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

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

3. - E1B10

What frequencies are authorized to an amateur station operating under RACES rules?

Select	Answer
A	Specific local government channels
B	All amateur service frequencies authorized to the control operator
C	Specific segments in the amateur service MF, HF, VHF and UHF bands
D	Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) channels

4. - E1C03

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

Select	Answer
A	Under local control a control operator is not required to be present at a control point
B	Under automatic control there is no control operator
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. - E1D12

Which of the following amateur stations may transmit one-way communications?

Select	Answer
A	A space station, beacon station, or telecommand station
B	A local repeater or linked repeater station
C	A message forwarding station or automatically controlled digital station
D	All these choices are correct

6. - E1E04

Which of the following best describes the Volunteer Examiner accreditation process?

Select	Answer
A	The procedure by which a VEC confirms that the VE applicant meets FCC requirements to serve as an examiner
B	The amateur operator applying must pass a VE examination administered by the FCC Enforcement Bureau
C	The prospective VE obtains accreditation from the FCC
D	Each General, Advanced and Amateur Extra Class operator is automatically accredited as a VE when the license is granted

7. - E1F10

Who may be the control operator of an auxiliary station?

Select	Answer
A	Only General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operators
B	Any licensed amateur operator
C	Only Technician, General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operators
D	Only Amateur Extra Class operators

8. - E2A11

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

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

9. - E2B12

What signals SSTV receiving software to begin a new picture line?

Select	Answer
A	Elapsed time
B	Specific tone frequencies
C	Specific tone amplitudes
D	A two-tone signal

10. - E2C05

What is the function of a DX QSL Manager?

Select	Answer
A	To allocate frequencies for DXpeditions
B	To run a net to allow many stations to contact a rare DX station
C	To handle the receiving and sending of confirmation cards for a DX station
D	To relay calls to and from a DX station

11. - E2D06

Which of the following describes a method of establishing EME contacts?

Select	Answer
A	Time synchronous transmissions alternately from each station
B	Judging optimum transmission times by monitoring beacons reflected from the moon
C	Storing and forwarding digital messages
D	High-speed CW identification to avoid fading

12. - E2E01

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

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

13. - E3A12

What is the cause of auroral activity?

Select	Answer
A	Meteor showers concentrated in the extreme northern and southern latitudes
B	An extreme low-pressure area in the polar regions
C	The interaction in the F2 layer between the solar wind and the Van Allen belt
D	The interaction in the E layer of charged particles from the Sun with the Earth's magnetic field

14. - E3B01

What is transequatorial propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Propagation between points at the same latitude
B	Propagation between points located on the magnetic equator
C	Propagation between two mid-latitude points at approximately the same distance north and south of the magnetic equator
D	Propagation between a point on the equator and its antipodal point

15. - E3C11

What does VOACAP software model?

Select	Answer
A	AC voltage and impedance
B	AC current and impedance
C	HF propagation
D	VHF radio propagation

16. - E4A04

How is the compensation of an oscilloscope probe typically adjusted?

Select	Answer
A	A DC voltage standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the displayed voltage is accurate
B	A high frequency sine wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted for maximum amplitude
C	A frequency standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the deflection time is accurate
D	A square wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the horizontal portions of the displayed wave are as nearly flat as possible

17. - E4B04

Which S parameter represents input port return loss or reflection coefficient (equivalent to VSWR)?

Select	Answer
A	S12
B	S11
C	S22
D	S21

18. - E4C06

A CW receiver with the AGC off has an equivalent input noise power density of -174 dBm/Hz. What would be the level of an unmodulated carrier input to this receiver that would yield an audio output SNR of 0 dB in a 400 Hz noise bandwidth?

Select	Answer
A	-174 dBm
B	-148 dBm
C	-164 dBm
D	-155 dBm

19. - E4D07

Which of the following reduces the likelihood of receiver desensitization?

Select	Answer
A	Raise the receiver IF frequency
B	Decrease the RF bandwidth of the receiver
C	Switch from fast AGC to slow AGC
D	Increase the receiver front end gain

20. - E4E06

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

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

21. - E5A04

What is the magnitude of the impedance of a parallel RLC circuit at resonance?

Select	Answer
A	High compared to the circuit resistance
B	Approximately equal to inductive reactance
C	Approximately equal to circuit resistance
D	Low compared to the circuit resistance

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	110 seconds
B	55 seconds
C	440 seconds
D	220 seconds

23. - E5C07

Where is the impedance of a pure resistance plotted on rectangular coordinates?

Select	Answer
A	On the horizontal axis
B	On a line through the origin, slanted at 45 degrees
C	On a horizontal line, offset vertically above the horizontal axis
D	On the vertical axis

24. - E5D10

How can the true power be determined in an AC circuit where the voltage and current are out of phase?

Select	Answer
A	By dividing the reactive power by the power factor
B	By multiplying the reactive power by the power factor
C	By multiplying the apparent power by the power factor
D	By dividing the apparent power by the power factor

25. - E6A03

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

Select	Answer
A	Only N-type semiconductor material can conduct current
B	Only P-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. - E6B10

In Figure E6-2, what is the schematic symbol for a light-emitting diode?

Select	Answer
A	7
B	1
C	6
D	5

27. - E6C10

In Figure E6-3, what is the schematic symbol for a NOR gate?

Select	Answer
A	2
B	1
C	3
D	4

28. - E6D13

What is the primary cause of inductor self-resonance?

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

29. - E6E03

Which of the following materials is likely to provide the highest frequency of operation when used in MMICs?

Select	Answer
A	Gallium nitride
B	Silicon dioxide
C	Silicon nitride
D	Silicon

30. - E6F06

Which of these materials is most commonly used to create photoconductive devices?

Select	Answer
A	A liquid semiconductor
B	A crystalline semiconductor
C	An ordinary metal
D	A heavy metal

31. - E7A09

What logical operation is performed by an exclusive NOR gate?

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

32. - E7B01

For what portion of the signal cycle does each active element in a push-pull Class AB amplifier conduct?

Select	Answer
A	The entire cycle
B	Less than 180 degrees
C	Exactly 180 degrees
D	More than 180 degrees but less than 360 degrees

33. - E7C01

How are the capacitors and inductors of a low-pass filter Pi-network arranged between the network's input and output?

Select	Answer
A	Two capacitors are in series between the input and output, and an inductor is connected between the two capacitors and ground
B	An inductor is connected between the input and ground, another inductor is connected between the output and ground, and a capacitor is connected between the input and output
C	A capacitor is connected between the input and ground, another capacitor is connected between the output and ground, and an inductor is connected between input and output
D	Two inductors are in series between the input and output, and a capacitor is connected between the two inductors and ground

34. - E7D07

What is the purpose of C2 in the circuit shown in Figure E7-2?

Select	Answer
A	To self-resonate at the hum frequency
B	It bypasses rectifier output ripple around D1
C	To provide fixed DC bias for Q1
D	It is a brute force filter for the output

35. - E7E04

What is one way a single-sideband phone signal can be generated?

Select	Answer
A	By using a balanced modulator followed by a filter
B	By using a loop modulator followed by a mixer
C	By driving a product detector with a DSB signal
D	By using a reactance modulator followed by a mixer

36. - E7F12

Which of the following is an advantage of a Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filter vs an Infinite Impulse Response (IIR) digital filter?

Select	Answer
A	FIR filters are easier to implement for a given set of passband rolloff requirements
B	FIR filters can respond faster to impulses
C	FIR filters can delay all frequency components of the signal by the same amount
D	All these choices are correct

37. - E7G07

What magnitude of voltage gain can be expected from the circuit in Figure E73 when R1 is 10 ohms and RF is 470 ohms?

Select	Answer
A	47
B	94
C	0.21
D	24

38. - E7H13

Which of the following is a technique for providing highly accurate and stable oscillators needed for microwave transmission and reception?

Select	Answer
A	Use a rubidium stabilized reference oscillator
B	All these choices are correct
C	Use a temperature-controlled high Q dielectric resonator
D	Use a GPS signal reference

39. - E8A06

What is the approximate ratio of PEP-to-average power in a typical single-sideband phone signal?

Select	Answer
A	1 to 1
B	2.5 to 1
C	25 to 1
D	100 to 1

40. - E8B03

What is the modulation index of an FM-phone signal having a maximum frequency deviation of 3000 Hz either side of the carrier frequency when the modulating frequency is 1000 Hz?

Select	Answer
A	3000
B	0.3
C	3
D	1000

41. - E8C11

What is the relationship between symbol rate and baud?

Select	Answer
A	Baud is only used for RTTY
B	Baud is twice the symbol rate
C	Symbol rate is only used for packet-based modes
D	They are the same

42. - E8D06

What is the advantage of including parity bits in ASCII characters?

Select	Answer
A	Faster transmission rate
B	The signal can overpower interfering signals
C	Some types of errors can be detected
D	Foreign language characters can be sent

43. - E9A13

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

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

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

45. - E9C10

Which of the following describes a Zepp antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A dipole constructed from zip cord
B	An end-fed dipole antenna
C	A vertical array capable of quickly changing the direction of maximum radiation by changing phasing lines
D	An omni-directional antenna commonly used for satellite communications

46. - E9D03

Where should a high Q loading coil be placed to minimize losses in a shortened vertical antenna?

Select	Answer
A	At a voltage node
B	Near the center of the vertical radiator
C	As low as possible on the vertical radiator
D	As close to the transmitter as possible

47. - E9E05

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

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

48. - E9F03

Why is the physical length of a coaxial cable transmission line shorter than its electrical length?

Select	Answer
A	The surge impedance is higher in a parallel feed line
B	The characteristic impedance is higher in a parallel feed line
C	Skin effect is less pronounced in the coaxial cable
D	Electrical signals move more slowly in a coaxial cable than in air

49. - E9G11

How are the wavelength scales on a Smith chart calibrated?

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

50. - E9H06

What is the triangulation method of direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	A fixed receiving station plots three headings to the signal source
B	Antenna headings from several different receiving locations are used to locate the signal source
C	The geometric angles of sky waves from the source are used to determine its position
D	A fixed receiving station uses three different antennas to plot the location of the signal source

Figure E6-2

Figure E6-3

Figure E7-2