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

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1. - E0A07

How may dangerous levels of carbon monoxide from an emergency generator be detected?

Select	Answer
A	By the odor
B	Only with a carbon monoxide detector
C	Any ordinary smoke detector can be used
D	By the yellowish appearance of the gas

2. - E1A05

What is the maximum power output permitted on the 60 meter band?

Select	Answer
A	50 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to an isotropic radiator
B	100 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to an isotropic radiator
C	50 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to a dipole
D	100 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to the gain of a half-wave dipole

3. - E1B08

What limitations may the FCC place on an amateur station if its signal causes interference to domestic broadcast reception, assuming that the receivers involved are of good engineering design?

Select	Answer
A	The amateur station must avoid transmitting during certain hours on frequencies that cause the interference
B	The amateur station must cease operation
C	The amateur station must cease operation on all frequencies above 30 MHz
D	The amateur station must cease operation on all frequencies below 30 MHz

4. - E1C10

What is the permitted mean power of any spurious emission relative to the mean power of the fundamental emission from a station transmitter or external RF amplifier installed after January 1, 2003 and transmitting on a frequency below 30 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	At least 63 dB below
B	At least 73 dB below
C	At least 53 dB below
D	At least 43 dB below

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

6. - E1E09

What may be the penalty for a VE who fraudulently administers or certifies an examination?

Select	Answer
A	A fine of up to $1000 per occurrence
B	All these choices are correct
C	Revocation of the VE's amateur station license grant and the suspension of the VE's amateur operator license grant
D	A sentence of up to one year in prison

7. - E1F04

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

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

8. - E2A10

What type of satellite appears to stay in one position in the sky?

Select	Answer
A	HEO
B	Geomagnetic
C	Geostationary
D	LEO

9. - E2B06

What is vestigial sideband modulation?

Select	Answer
A	Spread spectrum modulation achieved by applying FM modulation following single sideband amplitude modulation
B	Amplitude modulation in which one complete sideband and a portion of the other are transmitted
C	A type of modulation in which one sideband is inverted
D	Narrow-band FM modulation achieved by filtering one sideband from the audio before frequency modulating the carrier

10. - E2C05

What is the function of a DX QSL Manager?

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

11. - E2D04

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

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

12. - E2E02

What do the letters FEC mean as they relate to digital operation?

Select	Answer
A	First Error Correction
B	Fatal Error Correction
C	Final Error Correction
D	Forward Error Correction

13. - E3A02

What characterizes libration fading of an EME signal?

Select	Answer
A	The returning echo is several hertz lower in frequency than the transmitted signal
B	A slow change in the pitch of the CW signal
C	A fluttery irregular fading
D	A gradual loss of signal as the sun rises

14. - E3B03

What is the best time of day for transequatorial propagation?

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

15. - E3C08

What does the space weather term G5 mean?

Select	Answer
A	Moderate solar wind
B	Very low solar activity
C	Waning sunspot numbers
D	An extreme geomagnetic storm

16. - E4A04

How is the compensation of an oscilloscope probe typically adjusted?

Select	Answer
A	A square wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the horizontal portions of the displayed wave are as nearly flat as possible
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 DC voltage standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the displayed voltage is accurate

17. - E4B05

What three test loads are used to calibrate an RF vector network analyzer?

Select	Answer
A	50 ohms, 75 ohms, and 90 ohms
B	Short circuit, open circuit, and 50 ohms
C	Short circuit, open circuit, and resonant circuit
D	50 ohms through 1/8 wavelength, 1/4 wavelength, and 1/2 wavelength of coaxial cable

18. - E4C03

What is the term for the suppression in an FM receiver of one signal by another stronger signal on the same frequency?

Select	Answer
A	Cross-modulation interference
B	Desensitization
C	Frequency discrimination
D	Capture effect

19. - E4D05

What transmitter frequencies would cause an intermodulation-product signal in a receiver tuned to 146.70 MHz when a nearby station transmits on 146.52 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	173.35 MHz and 139.40 MHz
B	146.34 MHz and 146.61 MHz
C	146.10 MHz and 147.30 MHz
D	146.88 MHz and 146.34 MHz

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

21. - E5A09

How is the Q of an RLC parallel resonant circuit calculated?

Select	Answer
A	Reactance of either the inductance or capacitance multiplied by the resistance
B	Resistance divided by the reactance of either the inductance or capacitance
C	Reactance of the inductance multiplied by the reactance of the capacitance
D	Reactance of either the inductance or capacitance divided by the resistance

22. - E5B10

What is the relationship between the AC current through an inductor and the voltage across an inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Voltage and current are in phase
B	Voltage and current are 180 degrees out of phase
C	Voltage leads current by 90 degrees
D	Current leads voltage by 90 degrees

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. - E5D12

How many watts are consumed in a circuit having a power factor of 0.2 if the input is 100 VAC at 4 amperes?

Select	Answer
A	50 watts
B	80 watts
C	2000 watts
D	400 watts

25. - E6A03

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

Select	Answer
A	Holes in P-type material and electrons in the N-type material are separated by the applied voltage, widening the depletion region
B	Excess holes in P-type material combine with the electrons in N-type material, converting the entire diode into an insulator
C	Only P-type semiconductor material can conduct current
D	Only N-type semiconductor material can conduct current

26. - E6B03

What type of bias is required for an LED to emit light?

Select	Answer
A	Zero bias
B	Reverse bias
C	Forward bias
D	Inductive bias

27. - E6C08

In Figure E6-3, what is the schematic symbol for a NAND gate?

Select	Answer
A	3
B	1
C	2
D	4

28. - E6D04

Which materials are commonly used as a core in an inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Polystyrene and polyethylene
B	Cobalt and aluminum
C	Teflon and Delrin
D	Ferrite and brass

29. - E6E08

How is power supplied to the most common type of MMIC?

Select	Answer
A	Directly to the bias voltage (VCC IN) lead
B	Through a capacitor and RF choke connected to the amplifier input lead
C	Through a resistor and/or RF choke connected to the amplifier output lead
D	MMICs require no operating bias

30. - E6F05

Which describes an optical shaft encoder?

Select	Answer
A	A device for generating RTTY signals by means of a rotating light source
B	A device that detects rotation of a control by interrupting a light source with a patterned wheel
C	A digital encryption device often used to encrypt spacecraft control signals
D	A device that measures the strength of a beam of light using analog to digital conversion

31. - E7A02

What is the function of a decade counter?

Select	Answer
A	It produces one output pulse for every 10 input pulses
B	It decodes a decimal number for display on a seven-segment LED display
C	It produces 10 output pulses for every input pulse
D	It decodes a binary number for display on a seven-segment LED display

32. - E7B12

What type of amplifier circuit is shown in Figure E7-1?

Select	Answer
A	Emitter follower
B	Common base
C	Common collector
D	Common emitter

33. - E7C02

Which of the following is a property of a T-network with series capacitors and a parallel shunt inductor?

Select	Answer
A	It is a band-pass filter
B	It is a notch filter
C	It is a low-pass filter
D	It is a high-pass filter

34. - E7D09

What is the main reason to use a charge controller with a solar power system?

Select	Answer
A	Prevention of battery undercharge
B	Control of electrolyte levels during battery discharge
C	Matching of day and night charge rates
D	Prevention of battery damage due to overcharge

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 PM or FM signals by using an electrically variable inductance or capacitance
C	To produce AM signals by using an electrically variable resistance
D	To produce AM 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	Varying quartz crystal characteristics emulated in digital form
B	Signals are combined in quadrature phase relationship
C	A frequency synthesizer removes the unwanted sidebands
D	Mixing products are converted to voltages and subtracted by adder circuits

37. - E7G05

How can unwanted ringing and audio instability be prevented in an op-amp RC audio filter circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Restrict both gain and Q
B	Increase both gain and Q
C	Restrict gain but increase Q
D	Restrict Q but increase gain

38. - E7H05

How is positive feedback supplied in a Pierce oscillator?

Select	Answer
A	Through a neutralizing capacitor
B	Through a tapped coil
C	Through a quartz crystal
D	Through link coupling

39. - E8A01

What is the name of the process that shows that a square wave is made up of a sine wave plus all its odd harmonics?

Select	Answer
A	Numerical analysis
B	Fourier analysis
C	Vector analysis
D	Differential analysis

40. - E8B10

What is frequency division multiplexing?

Select	Answer
A	The transmitted signal jumps from band to band at a predetermined rate
B	The transmitted signal is divided into packets of information
C	Two or more information streams are merged into a baseband, which then modulates the transmitter
D	Two or more information streams are merged into a digital combiner, which then pulse position modulates the transmitter

41. - E8C01

How is Forward Error Correction implemented?

Select	Answer
A	By transmitting a special algorithm to the receiving station along with the data characters
B	By transmitting extra data that may be used to detect and correct transmission errors
C	By the receiving station repeating each block of three data characters
D	By varying the frequency shift of the transmitted signal according to a predefined algorithm

42. - E8D05

What is the most common method of reducing key clicks?

Select	Answer
A	Low-pass filters at the transmitter output
B	Reduce keying waveform rise and fall times
C	High-pass filters at the transmitter output
D	Increase keying waveform rise and fall times

43. - E9A02

What is the effective radiated power relative to a dipole of a repeater station with 150 watts transmitter power output, 2 dB feed line loss, 2.2 dB duplexer loss, and 7 dBd antenna gain?

Select	Answer
A	286 watts
B	1977 watts
C	420 watts
D	78.7 watts

44. - E9B07

How does the total amount of radiation emitted by a directional gain antenna compare with the total amount of radiation emitted from a theoretical isotropic antenna, assuming each is driven by the same amount of power?

Select	Answer
A	The total amount of radiation from the directional antenna is increased by the gain of the antenna
B	The total amount of radiation from the directional antenna is stronger by its front-to-back ratio
C	They are the same
D	The radiation from the isotropic antenna is 2.15 dB stronger than that from the directional antenna

45. - E9C12

Which of the following describes an Extended Double Zepp antenna?

Select	Answer
A	An end-fed folded dipole antenna
B	A wideband vertical antenna constructed from precisely tapered aluminum tubing
C	A portable antenna erected using two push support poles
D	A center-fed 1.25-wavelength antenna (two 5/8-wave elements in phase)

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

47. - E9E10

Which of these choices is an effective way to match an antenna with a 100-ohm feed point impedance to a 50-ohm coaxial cable feed line?

Select	Answer
A	Connect a 1/4-wavelength open stub of 300-ohm twinlead in parallel with the coaxial feed line where it connects to the antenna
B	Connect a 1/2 wavelength shorted stub of 75-ohm cable in parallel with the 50-ohm cable where it attaches to the antenna
C	Insert a 1/4-wavelength piece of 75-ohm coaxial cable transmission line in series between the antenna terminals and the 50-ohm feed cable
D	Insert a 1/2 wavelength piece of 300-ohm twinlead in series between the antenna terminals and the 50-ohm feed cable

48. - E9F01

What is the velocity factor of a transmission line?

Select	Answer
A	The velocity of the wave in the transmission line multiplied by the velocity of light in a vacuum
B	The index of shielding for coaxial cable
C	The ratio of the characteristic impedance of the line to the terminating impedance
D	The velocity of the wave in the transmission line divided by the velocity of light in a vacuum

49. - E9G01

Which of the following can be calculated using a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Radiation resistance
B	Radio propagation
C	Antenna radiation pattern
D	Impedance along transmission lines

50. - E9H07

Why is RF attenuation used when direction-finding?

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

Figure E5-1

Figure E6-3

Figure E7-1