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

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

3. - E1B03

Within what distance must an amateur station protect an FCC monitoring facility from harmful interference?

Select	Answer
A	10 miles
B	1 mile
C	30 miles
D	3 miles

4. - E1C06

Which of the following is required in order to operate in accordance with CEPT rules in foreign countries where permitted?

Select	Answer
A	You must append "/CEPT" to your call sign
B	The U.S. embassy must approve of your operation
C	You must identify in the official language of the country in which you are operating
D	You must bring a copy of FCC Public Notice DA 16-1048

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

6. - E1E12

What must the VE team do with the application form if the examinee does not pass the exam?

Select	Answer
A	Destroy the application form
B	Return the application document to the examinee
C	Send the application form to the FCC and inform the FCC of the grade
D	Maintain the application form with the VEC's records

7. - E1F09

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

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

8. - E2A06

What are Keplerian elements?

Select	Answer
A	Parameters that define the orbit of a satellite
B	High-emission heater filaments used in magnetron tubes
C	Encrypting codes used for spread spectrum modulation
D	Phase reversing elements in a Yagi antenna

9. - E2B01

How many times per second is a new frame transmitted in a fast-scan (NTSC) television system?

Select	Answer
A	30
B	120
C	60
D	90

10. - E2C04

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

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

11. - E2D08

What type of packet frame is used to transmit APRS beacon data?

Select	Answer
A	Unnumbered Information
B	Acknowledgement
C	Disconnect
D	Connect

12. - E2E02

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

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

13. - E3A11

What is a typical range for tropospheric propagation of microwave signals?

Select	Answer
A	2500 miles
B	10 miles to 50 miles
C	1200 miles
D	100 miles to 300 miles

14. - E3B02

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

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

15. - E3C10

What does the 304A solar parameter measure?

Select	Answer
A	The solar emission at 304 GHz, correlated to x-ray flare levels
B	UV emissions at 304 angstroms, correlated to the solar flux index
C	The solar wind velocity at 304 degrees from the solar equator, correlated to solar activity
D	The ratio of x-ray flux to radio flux, correlated to sunspot number

16. - E4A10

Which of the following displays multiple digital signal states simultaneously?

Select	Answer
A	Bit error rate tester
B	Network analyzer
C	Modulation monitor
D	Logic analyzer

17. - E4B05

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

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

18. - E4C10

What is an advantage of having a variety of receiver IF bandwidths from which to select?

Select	Answer
A	Multiple frequencies can be received simultaneously if desired
B	Receiver power consumption can be reduced when wider bandwidth is not required
C	Receive bandwidth can be set to match the modulation bandwidth, maximizing signal-to-noise ratio and minimizing interference
D	The noise figure of the RF amplifier can be adjusted to match the modulation type, thus increasing receiver sensitivity

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	The receiver can tolerate signals up to 40 dB above the noise floor without producing third-order intermodulation products
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. - E4E08

What current flows equally on all conductors of an unshielded multi-conductor cable?

Select	Answer
A	Reactive current only
B	Return current
C	Common-mode current
D	Differential-mode current

21. - E5A06

What is the magnitude of the circulating current within the components of a parallel LC circuit at resonance?

Select	Answer
A	It is at a maximum
B	It equals 2 multiplied by pi, multiplied by frequency, multiplied by inductance
C	It equals 1 divided by the quantity 2 times pi, multiplied by the square root of inductance L multiplied by capacitance C
D	It is at a minimum

22. - E5B06

What is susceptance?

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

23. - E5C02

How are impedances described in polar coordinates?

Select	Answer
A	By phase angle and magnitude
B	By Y and G values
C	By X and R values
D	By real and imaginary parts

24. - E5D04

Why are short connections used at microwave frequencies?

Select	Answer
A	To reduce phase shift along the connection
B	To increase compensating capacitance
C	To increase neutralizing resistance
D	To reduce noise figure

25. - E6A01

In what application is gallium arsenide used as a semiconductor material?

Select	Answer
A	In high-current rectifier circuits
B	In very low-frequency RF circuits
C	In high-power audio circuits
D	In microwave circuits

26. - E6B11

What is used to control the attenuation of RF signals by a PIN diode?

Select	Answer
A	Capacitance of an RF coupling capacitor
B	Forward DC bias current
C	A sub-harmonic pump signal
D	Reverse voltage larger than the RF signal

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 changes its output state
C	The comparator enters latch-up
D	The IC input can be damaged

28. - E6D07

What is current in the primary winding of a transformer called if no load is attached to the secondary?

Select	Answer
A	Stabilizing current
B	Excitation current
C	Magnetizing current
D	Direct current

29. - E6E09

Which of the following component package types would be most suitable for use at frequencies above the HF range?

Select	Answer
A	Surface mount
B	Radial lead
C	TO-220
D	Axial lead

30. - E6F01

What absorbs the energy from light falling on a photovoltaic cell?

Select	Answer
A	Holes
B	Photons
C	Electrons
D	Protons

31. - E7A07

What logical operation does a NAND gate perform?

Select	Answer
A	It produces logic 0 at its output if some but not all inputs are logic 1
B	It produces logic 0 at its output only when all inputs are logic 1
C	It produces logic 0 at its output only when all inputs are logic 0
D	It produces logic 1 at its output only when all inputs are logic 1

32. - E7B09

Which of the following describes how the loading and tuning capacitors are to be adjusted when tuning a vacuum tube RF power amplifier that employs a Pi-network output circuit?

Select	Answer
A	The tuning capacitor is adjusted for minimum plate current, and the loading capacitor is adjusted for maximum permissible plate current
B	The loading capacitor is adjusted to minimum plate current while alternately adjusting the tuning capacitor for maximum allowable plate current
C	The loading capacitor is set to maximum capacitance and the tuning capacitor is adjusted for minimum allowable plate current
D	The tuning capacitor is set to maximum capacitance and the loading capacitor is adjusted for minimum plate permissible current

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 notch filter
B	It is a band-pass filter
C	It is a low-pass filter
D	It is a high-pass 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. - E7E03

What is a frequency discriminator stage in a FM receiver?

Select	Answer
A	A circuit for filtering two closely adjacent signals
B	A circuit for detecting FM signals
C	An FM generator circuit
D	An automatic band-switching circuit

36. - E7F05

How frequently must an analog signal be sampled by an analog-to-digital converter so that the signal can be accurately reproduced?

Select	Answer
A	At four times the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
B	At least twice the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
C	At least half the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
D	At the same rate as the highest frequency component of the signal

37. - E7G04

What is meant by the "op-amp input offset voltage"?

Select	Answer
A	The potential between the amplifier input terminals of the op-amp in an open loop condition
B	The differential input voltage needed to bring the open loop output voltage to zero
C	The output voltage of the op-amp minus its input voltage
D	The difference between the output voltage of the op-amp and the input voltage required in the immediately following stage

38. - E7H02

What is a microphonic?

Select	Answer
A	Changes in oscillator frequency due to mechanical vibration
B	An IC used for amplifying microphone signals
C	Excess loading of the microphone by an oscillator
D	Distortion caused by RF pickup on the microphone cable

39. - E8A06

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

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

40. - E8B06

What is the deviation ratio of an FM-phone signal having a maximum frequency swing of plus or minus 7.5 kHz when the maximum modulation frequency is 3.5 kHz?

Select	Answer
A	2.14
B	47
C	0.214
D	0.47

41. - E8C07

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

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

42. - E8D09

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

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

43. - E9A10

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

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

44. - E9B03

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

Select	Answer
A	18 dB
B	24 dB
C	14 dB
D	12 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 wide band dipole using shorted coaxial cable for the radiating elements and fed with a�4:1 balun
D	A phased array antenna consisting of multiple loops

46. - E9D01

How much does the gain of an ideal parabolic dish antenna change when the operating frequency is doubled?

Select	Answer
A	2 dB
B	6 dB
C	4 dB
D	3 dB

47. - E9E04

What is the purpose of the series capacitor in a gamma-type antenna matching network?

Select	Answer
A	To provide a rejection notch that prevents the radiation of harmonics
B	To cancel the inductive reactance of the matching network
C	To provide DC isolation between the feed line and the antenna
D	To transform the antenna impedance to a higher value

48. - E9F02

Which of the following has the biggest effect on the velocity factor of a transmission line?

Select	Answer
A	The line length
B	Dielectric materials used in the line
C	The center conductor resistivity
D	The termination impedance

49. - E9G10

What do the arcs on a Smith chart represent?

Select	Answer
A	SWR
B	Frequency
C	Points with constant reactance
D	Points with constant resistance

50. - E9H03

What is Receiving Directivity Factor (RDF)?

Select	Answer
A	Relative directivity compared to isotropic
B	Forward gain compared to the gain in the reverse direction
C	Forward gain compared to average gain over the entire hemisphere
D	Relative directivity compared to a dipole

Figure E9-1