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

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1. - E0A10

What toxic material may be present in some electronic components such as high voltage capacitors and transformers?

Select	Answer
A	Polychlorinated biphenyls
B	Polymorphic silicon
C	Polytetrafluoroethylene
D	Polyethylene

2. - E1A14

Except in some parts of Alaska, what is the maximum power permitted on the 630 meter band?

Select	Answer
A	1 watt EIRP
B	100 watts PEP
C	50 watts PEP
D	5 watts EIRP

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

4. - E1C07

At what level below a signal's mean power level is its bandwidth determined according to FCC rules?

Select	Answer
A	23 dB
B	26 dB
C	6 dB
D	3 dB

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. - E1E11

What must the VE team do if an examinee scores a passing grade on all examination elements needed for an upgrade or new license?

Select	Answer
A	Three VEs must certify that the examinee is qualified for the license grant and that they have complied with the administering VE requirements
B	Photocopy all examination documents and forward them to the FCC for processing
C	Issue the examinee the new or upgrade license
D	All these choices are correct

7. - E1F01

On what frequencies are spread spectrum transmissions permitted?

Select	Answer
A	Only on amateur frequencies above 222 MHz
B	Only on amateur frequencies above 420 MHz
C	Only on amateur frequencies above 144 MHz
D	Only on amateur frequencies above 50 MHz

8. - E2A07

Which of the following types of signals can be relayed through a linear transponder?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	SSB and SSTV
C	FM and CW
D	PSK and packet

9. - E2B04

How is color information sent in analog SSTV?

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

10. - E2C08

Which of the following contacts may be confirmed through the U.S. QSL bureau system?

Select	Answer
A	Contacts between a U.S. station and a non-U.S. station
B	Repeater contacts between U.S. club members
C	Special event contacts between stations in the U.S.
D	Contacts using tactical call signs

11. - E2D10

How can an APRS station be used to help support a public service communications activity?

Select	Answer
A	An APRS station with an emergency medical technician can automatically transmit medical data to the nearest hospital
B	An APRS station with a Global Positioning System unit can automatically transmit information to show a mobile station's position during the event
C	APRS stations with General Personnel Scanners can automatically relay the participant numbers and time as they pass the check points
D	All these choices are correct

12. - E2E07

Which of the following is a possible reason that attempts to initiate contact with a digital station on a clear frequency are unsuccessful?

Select	Answer
A	Another station you are unable to hear is using the frequency
B	Your transmit frequency is incorrect
C	The protocol version you are using is not supported by the digital station
D	All these choices are correct

13. - E3A01

What is the approximate maximum separation measured along the surface of the Earth between two stations communicating by EME?

Select	Answer
A	500 miles, if the moon is at perigee
B	12,000 miles, if the moon is visible by both stations
C	5000 miles, if the moon is at perigee
D	2000 miles, if the moon is at apogee

14. - E3B12

What is the primary characteristic of chordal hop propagation?

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

15. - E3C11

What does VOACAP software model?

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

16. - E4A06

What is the effect of aliasing on a digital oscilloscope caused by setting the time base too slow?

Select	Answer
A	All signals will have a DC offset
B	Calibration of the vertical scale is no longer valid
C	Excessive blanking occurs, which prevents display of the signal
D	A false, jittery low-frequency version of the signal is displayed

17. - E4B08

Which of the following can be used to measure the Q of a series-tuned circuit?

Select	Answer
A	The inductance to capacitance ratio
B	The bandwidth of the circuit's frequency response
C	The frequency shift
D	The resonant frequency of the circuit

18. - E4C14

What transmit frequency might generate an image response signal in a receiver tuned to 14.300 MHz and that uses a 455 kHz IF frequency?

Select	Answer
A	14.755 MHz
B	14.445 MHz
C	15.210 MHz
D	13.845 MHz

19. - E4D10

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

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

20. - E4E03

Which of the following signals might a receiver noise blanker be able to remove from desired signals?

Select	Answer
A	Signals that appear across a wide bandwidth
B	Signals that are constant at all IF levels
C	Signals that have a sharply peaked frequency distribution
D	Signals that appear at one IF but not another

21. - E5A11

What is the half-power bandwidth of a resonant circuit that has a resonant frequency of 7.1 MHz and a Q of 150?

Select	Answer
A	315.6 Hz
B	157.8 Hz
C	47.3 kHz
D	23.67 kHz

22. - E5B06

What is susceptance?

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

23. - E5C03

Which of the following represents an inductive reactance in polar coordinates?

Select	Answer
A	A negative phase angle
B	A positive phase angle
C	A positive magnitude
D	A negative magnitude

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

25. - E6A09

What is a depletion-mode FET?

Select	Answer
A	An FET that exhibits a current flow between source and drain when no gate voltage is applied
B	An FET that has no current flow between source and drain when no gate voltage is applied
C	Any FET for which holes are the majority carriers
D	Any FET without a channel

26. - E6B02

What is an important characteristic of a Schottky diode as compared to an ordinary silicon diode when used as a power supply rectifier?

Select	Answer
A	Less forward voltage drop
B	More constant reverse avalanche voltage
C	Longer carrier retention time
D	Much higher reverse voltage breakdown

27. - E6C08

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

Select	Answer
A	1
B	2
C	4
D	3

28. - E6D09

What devices are commonly used as VHF and UHF parasitic suppressors at the input and output terminals of a transistor HF amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	Electrolytic capacitors
B	Ferrite beads
C	Butterworth filters
D	Steel-core toroids

29. - E6E11

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

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

30. - E6F09

What is the efficiency of a photovoltaic cell?

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

31. - E7A04

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

Select	Answer
A	8
B	4
C	2
D	1

32. - E7B13

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

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

33. - E7C06

What are the distinguishing features of an elliptical filter?

Select	Answer
A	Extremely sharp cutoff with one or more notches in the stop band
B	Gradual passband rolloff with minimal stop band ripple
C	Extremely flat response over its pass band with gradually rounded stop band corners
D	Gradual passband rolloff with extreme stop band ripple

34. - E7D03

What device is typically used as a stable voltage reference in a linear voltage regulator?

Select	Answer
A	A Zener diode
B	An SCR
C	A tunnel diode
D	A varactor diode

35. - E7E07

What is meant by the term "baseband" in radio communications?

Select	Answer
A	The frequency range occupied by a message signal prior to modulation
B	The unmodulated bandwidth of the transmitted signal
C	The basic oscillator frequency in an FM transmitter that is multiplied to increase the deviation and carrier frequency
D	The lowest frequency band that the transmitter or receiver covers

36. - E7F06

What is the minimum number of bits required for an analog-to-digital converter to sample a signal with a range of 1 volt at a resolution of 1 millivolt?

Select	Answer
A	8 bits
B	10 bits
C	6 bits
D	4 bits

37. - E7G03

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

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

38. - E7H09

What type of frequency synthesizer circuit uses a phase accumulator, lookup table, digital to analog converter, and a low-pass anti-alias filter?

Select	Answer
A	A phase-locked loop synthesizer
B	A hybrid synthesizer
C	A diode-switching matrix synthesizer
D	A direct digital synthesizer

39. - E8A08

Why would a direct or flash conversion analog-to-digital converter be useful for a software defined radio?

Select	Answer
A	Very low power consumption decreases frequency drift
B	Immunity to out-of-sequence coding reduces spurious responses
C	Very high speed allows digitizing high frequencies
D	All these choices are correct

40. - E8B10

What is frequency division multiplexing?

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

41. - E8C07

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

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

42. - E8D09

What is considered an acceptable maximum IMD level for an idling PSK signal?

Select	Answer
A	-20 dB
B	+10 dB
C	+15 dB
D	-30 dB

43. - E9A09

What is antenna efficiency?

Select	Answer
A	Total resistance divided by radiation resistance
B	Radiation resistance divided by total resistance
C	Effective radiated power divided by transmitter output
D	Radiation resistance divided by transmission resistance

44. - E9B02

In the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-1, what is the front-to-back ratio?

Select	Answer
A	24 dB
B	18 dB
C	36 dB
D	14 dB

45. - E9C09

Which of the following describes a G5RV antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A multi-band dipole antenna fed with coax and a balun through a selected length of open wire transmission line
B	A multi-band trap antenna
C	A phased array antenna consisting of multiple loops
D	A wide band dipole using shorted coaxial cable for the radiating elements and fed with a�4:1 balun

46. - E9D11

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

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

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

48. - E9F09

What is the approximate physical length of a foam polyethylene dielectric coaxial transmission line that is electrically 1/4 wavelength long at 7.2 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	5.2 meters
B	8.3 meters
C	6.9 meters
D	10.4 meters

49. - E9G05

Which of the following is a common use for a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Determine the impedance of a transmission line, given the physical dimensions
B	Determine the length and position of an impedance matching stub
C	Determine the gain of an antenna given the physical and electrical parameters
D	Determine the loss/100 feet of a transmission line, given the velocity factor and conductor materials

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 E6-3

Figure E9-1