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

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1. - E0A08

What does SAR measure?

Select	Answer
A	The rate of RF energy reflected from stationary terrain
B	Signal Amplification Rating
C	Synthetic Aperture Ratio of the human body
D	The rate at which RF energy is absorbed by the body

2. - E1A12

What special operating frequency restrictions are imposed on slow scan TV transmissions?

Select	Answer
A	They are restricted to 7.245 MHz, 14.245 MHz, 21.345 MHz, and 28.945 MHz
B	They are restricted to phone band segments
C	They are not permitted above 54 MHz
D	None; they are allowed on all amateur frequencies

3. - E1B01

Which of the following constitutes a spurious emission?

Select	Answer
A	An amateur station transmission made without the proper call sign identification
B	Any transmitted signal that unintentionally interferes with another licensed radio station
C	An emission outside the signal's necessary bandwidth that can be reduced or eliminated without affecting the information transmitted
D	A signal transmitted to prevent its detection by any station other than the intended recipient

4. - E1C14

How long must an operator wait after filing a notification with the Utilities Technology Council (UTC) before operating on the 2200 meter or 630 meter band?

Select	Answer
A	Operators must not operate until approval is received
B	Operations may commence immediately, and may continue unless interference is reported by the UTC
C	Operators may operate after 30 days, providing they have not been told that their station is within 1 km of PLC systems using those frequencies
D	Operators may not operate until a test signal has been transmitted in coordination with the local power company

5. - E1D03

What is a space telecommand station?

Select	Answer
A	An amateur station that receives telemetry from a satellite or balloon more than 50 kilometers above the surface of the Earth
B	An amateur station that transmits communications to initiate, modify or terminate functions of a space station
C	An amateur station located in a satellite or a balloon more than 50 kilometers above the surface of the Earth
D	An amateur station located on the surface of the Earth for communication with other Earth stations by means of Earth satellites

6. - E1E08

To which of the following examinees may a VE not administer an examination?

Select	Answer
A	Friends of the VE
B	Employees of the VE
C	Relatives of the VE as listed in the FCC rules
D	All these choices are correct

7. - E1F04

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

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

8. - E2A08

Why should effective radiated power to a satellite that uses a linear transponder be limited?

Select	Answer
A	To prevent the satellite from emitting out-of-band signals
B	To prevent creating errors in the satellite telemetry
C	To avoid reducing the downlink power to all other users
D	To avoid interfering with terrestrial QSOs

9. - E2B04

How is color information sent in analog SSTV?

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

10. - E2C10

Why might a DX station state that they are listening on another frequency?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	To separate the calling stations from the DX station
C	Because the DX station may be transmitting on a frequency that is prohibited to some responding stations
D	To improve operating efficiency by reducing interference

11. - E2D07

What digital protocol is used by APRS?

Select	Answer
A	AX.25
B	802.11
C	AMTOR
D	PACTOR

12. - E2E02

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

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

13. - E3A06

What might help to restore contact when DX signals become too weak to copy across an entire HF band a few hours after sunset?

Select	Answer
A	Wait 90 minutes or so for the signal degradation to pass
B	Wait 24 hours before attempting another communication on the band
C	Switch to a higher frequency HF band
D	Switch to a lower frequency HF band

14. - E3B02

What is the approximate maximum range for signals using transequatorial propagation?

Select	Answer
A	1000 miles
B	5000 miles
C	7500 miles
D	2500 miles

15. - E3C14

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

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

16. - E4A11

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

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

17. - E4B02

What is the significance of voltmeter sensitivity expressed in ohms per volt?

Select	Answer
A	When used as an ohmmeter, the reading in ohms divided by the ohms per volt rating will determine the voltage applied to the circuit
B	The full scale reading of the voltmeter multiplied by its ohms per volt rating will indicate the input impedance of the voltmeter
C	When used as a galvanometer, the reading in volts multiplied by the ohms per volt rating will determine the power drawn by the device under test
D	When used as an ammeter, the full scale reading in amps divided by ohms per volt rating will determine the size of shunt needed

18. - E4C11

Why can an attenuator be used to reduce receiver overload on the lower frequency HF bands with little or no impact on signal-to-noise ratio?

Select	Answer
A	The attenuator has a low-pass filter to increase the strength of lower frequency signals
B	Signals are attenuated separately from the noise
C	Atmospheric noise is generally greater than internally generated noise even after attenuation
D	The attenuator has a noise filter to suppress interference

19. - E4D08

What causes intermodulation in an electronic circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Nonlinear circuits or devices
B	Positive feedback
C	Too little gain
D	Lack of neutralization

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 have a sharply peaked frequency distribution
C	Signals that are constant at all IF levels
D	Signals that appear at one IF but not another

21. - E5A01

What can cause the voltage across reactances in a series RLC circuit to be higher than the voltage applied to the entire circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Capacitance
B	Resistance
C	Resonance
D	Conductance

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	220 seconds
D	440 seconds

23. - E5C06

What does the impedance 50-j25 represent?

Select	Answer
A	25 ohms resistance in series with 50 ohms inductive reactance
B	50 ohms resistance in series with 25 ohms inductive reactance
C	25 ohms resistance in series with 50 ohms capacitive reactance
D	50 ohms resistance in series with 25 ohms capacitive reactance

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	400 watts
B	2000 watts
C	80 watts
D	50 watts

25. - E6A09

What is a depletion-mode FET?

Select	Answer
A	An FET that has no current flow between source and drain when no gate voltage is applied
B	An FET that exhibits a 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. - 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. - E6C01

What is the function of hysteresis in a comparator?

Select	Answer
A	To cause the output to change states continually
B	To prevent input noise from causing unstable output signals
C	To allow the comparator to be used with AC input signals
D	To increase the sensitivity

28. - E6D02

What is the equivalent circuit of a quartz crystal?

Select	Answer
A	Motional inductance and loss resistance in series, paralleled with motional capacitance and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance
B	Motional capacitance, motional inductance, loss resistance, and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance all in series
C	Motional capacitance, motional inductance, loss resistance, and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance all in parallel
D	Motional capacitance, motional inductance, and loss resistance in series, all in parallel with a shunt capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance

29. - E6E07

What type of transmission line is used for connections to MMICs?

Select	Answer
A	Parallel wire
B	Microstrip
C	Miniature coax
D	Circular waveguide

30. - E6F02

What happens to the conductivity of a photoconductive material when light shines on it?

Select	Answer
A	It becomes unstable
B	It stays the same
C	It decreases
D	It increases

31. - E7A01

Which circuit is bistable?

Select	Answer
A	An OR gate
B	A bipolar amplifier
C	An AND gate
D	A flip-flop

32. - E7B17

Why are odd-order rather than even-order intermodulation distortion products of concern in linear power amplifiers?

Select	Answer
A	Because they invert the sidebands causing distortion
B	Because they maintain the sidebands, thus causing multiple duplicate signals
C	Because they are relatively close in frequency to the desired signal
D	Because they are relatively far in frequency from the desired signal

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

34. - E7D15

What is the purpose of a step-start circuit in a high-voltage power supply?

Select	Answer
A	To provide a dual-voltage output for reduced power applications
B	To allow for remote control of the power supply
C	To compensate for variations of the incoming line voltage
D	To allow the filter capacitors to charge gradually

35. - E7E06

Why is de-emphasis commonly used in FM communications receivers?

Select	Answer
A	To reduce impulse noise reception
B	For higher efficiency
C	For compatibility with transmitters using phase modulation
D	To remove third-order distortion products

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

37. - E7G01

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

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

38. - E7H01

What are three oscillator circuits used in amateur radio equipment?

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

39. - E8A10

What is the purpose of a low-pass filter used in conjunction with a digital-to-analog converter?

Select	Answer
A	Lower the input bandwidth to increase the effective resolution
B	Remove harmonics from the output caused by the discrete analog levels generated
C	All these choices are correct
D	Improve accuracy by removing out-of-sequence codes from the input

40. - E8B08

What describes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing?

Select	Answer
A	A bandwidth compression technique using Fourier transforms
B	A digital modulation technique using subcarriers at frequencies chosen to avoid intersymbol interference
C	A frequency modulation technique that uses non-harmonically related frequencies
D	A digital mode for narrow-band, slow-speed transmissions

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. - E8D06

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

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

43. - E9A10

Which of the following improves the efficiency of a ground-mounted quarter-wave vertical antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Installing a radial system
B	Isolating the coax shield from ground
C	All these choices are correct
D	Shortening the radiating element

44. - E9B08

What is the far field of an antenna?

Select	Answer
A	The region where the shape of the antenna pattern is independent of distance
B	The region where radiated field strengths are constant
C	The region where radiated power dissipates over a specified time period
D	The region of the ionosphere where radiated power is not refracted

45. - E9C07

What is the approximate feed point impedance at the center of a two-wire folded dipole antenna?

Select	Answer
A	300 ohms
B	450 ohms
C	72 ohms
D	50 ohms

46. - E9D05

What usually occurs if a Yagi antenna is designed solely for maximum forward gain?

Select	Answer
A	The SWR is reduced
B	The front-to-back ratio decreases
C	The frequency response is widened over the whole frequency band
D	The front-to-back ratio increases

47. - E9E02

What is the name of an antenna matching system that matches an unbalanced feed line to an antenna by feeding the driven element both at the center of the element and at a fraction of a wavelength to one side of center?

Select	Answer
A	The stub match
B	The epsilon match
C	The delta match
D	The gamma match

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	8.3 meters
B	10.4 meters
C	6.9 meters
D	5.2 meters

49. - E9G09

What third family of circles is often added to a Smith chart during the process of solving problems?

Select	Answer
A	Standing wave ratio circles
B	Antenna-length circles
C	Radiation-pattern circles
D	Coaxial-length circles

50. - E9H09

What is a Pennant antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A stealth antenna built to look like a flagpole
B	A four-element, high-gain vertical array invented by George Pennant
C	A form of rhombic antenna terminated in a variable capacitor to provide frequency diversity
D	A small, vertically oriented receiving antenna consisting of a triangular loop terminated in approximately 900 ohms