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	Polymorphic silicon
B	Polychlorinated biphenyls
C	Polyethylene
D	Polytetrafluoroethylene

2. - E1A09

What action or actions should you take if your digital message forwarding station inadvertently forwards a communication that violates FCC rules?

Select	Answer
A	Discontinue forwarding the communication as soon as you become aware of it
B	Notify the nearest FCC Field Engineers office
C	Notify the originating station that the communication does not comply with FCC rules
D	All these choices are correct

3. - E1B09

Which amateur stations may be operated under RACES rules?

Select	Answer
A	Only those club stations licensed to Amateur Extra Class operators
B	Any FCC-licensed amateur station participating in the Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS)
C	Any FCC-licensed amateur station except a Technician Class
D	Any FCC-licensed amateur station certified by the responsible civil defense organization for the area served

4. - E1C09

What is the highest modulation index permitted at the highest modulation frequency for angle modulation below 29.0 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	2.0
B	1.0
C	0.5
D	3.0

5. - E1D11

Which amateur stations are eligible to operate as Earth stations?

Select	Answer
A	Any amateur station, subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held by the control operator
B	Any amateur station whose licensee has filed a pre-space notification with the FCC's International Bureau
C	Only those of Amateur Extra Class operators
D	Only those of General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operators

6. - E1E01

For which types of out-of-pocket expenses do the Part 97 rules state that VEs and VECs may be reimbursed?

Select	Answer
A	Providing amateur operator license examination preparation training materials
B	No expenses are authorized for reimbursement
C	Preparing, processing, administering, and coordinating an examination for an amateur radio operator license
D	Teaching an amateur operator license examination preparation course

7. - E1F06

Under what circumstances might the FCC issue a Special Temporary Authority (STA) to an amateur station?

Select	Answer
A	To provide for experimental amateur communications
B	To provide additional spectrum for personal use
C	To allow regular operation on Land Mobile channels
D	To provide temporary operation while awaiting normal licensing

8. - E2A13

Which of the following techniques is normally used by low Earth orbiting digital satellites to relay messages around the world?

Select	Answer
A	Multi-satellite relaying
B	Store-and-forward
C	Node hopping
D	Digipeating

9. - E2B08

What technique allows commercial analog TV receivers to be used for fast-scan TV operations on the 70 cm band?

Select	Answer
A	Using USB and demodulating the signal with a computer sound card
B	Transmitting on channels shared with cable TV
C	Transmitting on the abandoned TV channel 2
D	Using converted satellite TV dishes

10. - E2C05

What is the function of a DX QSL Manager?

Select	Answer
A	To run a net to allow many stations to contact a rare DX station
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 allocate frequencies for DXpeditions

11. - E2D05

What is one advantage of the JT65 mode?

Select	Answer
A	The ability to decode signals which have a very low signal-to-noise ratio
B	Uses only a 65 Hz bandwidth
C	Easily copied by ear if necessary
D	Permits fast-scan TV transmissions over narrow bandwidth

12. - E2E13

Which of these digital modes has the fastest data throughput under clear communication conditions?

Select	Answer
A	PSK31
B	AMTOR
C	300 baud packet
D	170 Hz shift, 45 baud RTTY

13. - E3A10

Which type of atmospheric structure can create a path for microwave propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Wind shear
B	Temperature inversion
C	The jet stream
D	Dust devil

14. - E3B03

What is the best time of day for transequatorial propagation?

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

15. - E3C02

What is indicated by a rising A or K index?

Select	Answer
A	Increasing disruption of the geomagnetic field
B	Decreasing disruption of the geomagnetic field
C	Higher levels of solar UV radiation
D	An increase in the critical frequency

16. - E4A07

Which of the following is an advantage of using an antenna analyzer compared to an SWR bridge to measure antenna SWR?

Select	Answer
A	Antenna analyzers display a time-varying representation of the modulation envelope
B	All these choices are correct
C	Antenna analyzers automatically tune your antenna for resonance
D	Antenna analyzers do not need an external RF source

17. - E4B08

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

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

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

19. - E4D03

How can intermodulation interference between two repeaters occur?

Select	Answer
A	When the repeaters are in close proximity and the signals cause feedback in the final amplifier of one or both transmitters
B	When the repeaters are in close proximity and the signals mix in the final amplifier of one or both transmitters
C	When the signals from the transmitters are reflected out of phase from airplanes passing overhead
D	When the signals from the transmitters are reflected in phase from airplanes passing overhead

20. - E4E01

What problem can occur when using an automatic notch filter (ANF) to remove interfering carriers while receiving CW signals?

Select	Answer
A	Ringing in the DSP filter will completely remove the spaces between the CW characters
B	Any nearby signal passing through the DSP system will overwhelm the desired signal
C	Removal of the CW signal as well as the interfering carrier
D	Received CW signals will appear to be modulated at the DSP clock frequency

21. - E5A10

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

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

22. - E5B07

What is the phase angle between the voltage across and the current through a series RLC circuit if XC is 500 ohms, R is 1 kilohm, and XL is 250 ohms?

Select	Answer
A	68.2 degrees with the voltage lagging the current
B	68.2 degrees with the voltage leading the current
C	14.0 degrees with the voltage leading the current
D	14.0 degrees with the voltage lagging the current

23. - E5C09

When using rectangular coordinates to graph the impedance of a circuit, what do the axes represent?

Select	Answer
A	The X axis represents the phase angle and the Y axis represents the magnitude
B	The X axis represents the magnitude and the Y axis represents the phase angle
C	The X axis represents the resistive component and the Y axis represents the reactive component
D	The X axis represents the reactive component and the Y axis represents the resistive component

24. - E5D02

Why is it important to keep lead lengths short for components used in circuits for VHF and above?

Select	Answer
A	To increase the thermal time constant
B	All these choices are correct
C	To avoid unwanted inductive reactance
D	To maintain component lifetime

25. - E6A08

What term indicates the frequency at which the grounded-base current gain of a transistor has decreased to 0.7 of the gain obtainable at 1 kHz?

Select	Answer
A	Alpha cutoff frequency
B	Alpha rejection frequency
C	Beta cutoff frequency
D	Corner frequency

26. - E6B07

What is the failure mechanism when a junction diode fails due to excessive current?

Select	Answer
A	Excessive junction temperature
B	Charge carrier depletion
C	Excessive inverse voltage
D	Insufficient forward voltage

27. - E6C11

In Figure E6-3, what is the schematic symbol for the NOT operation (inverter)?

Select	Answer
A	5
B	6
C	4
D	2

28. - E6D05

What is one reason for using ferrite cores rather than powdered iron in an inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Ferrite toroids generally have lower initial permeability
B	Ferrite toroids are easier to use with surface mount technology
C	Ferrite toroids generally have better temperature stability
D	Ferrite toroids generally require fewer turns to produce a given inductance value

29. - E6E04

Which is the most common input and output impedance of circuits that use MMICs?

Select	Answer
A	300 ohms
B	450 ohms
C	10 ohms
D	50 ohms

30. - E6F07

What is a solid-state relay?

Select	Answer
A	A mechanical relay that latches in the on or off state each time it is pulsed
B	A semiconductor passive delay line
C	A device that uses semiconductors to implement the functions of an electromechanical relay
D	A relay using transistors to drive the relay coil

31. - E7A03

Which of the following can divide the frequency of a pulse train by 2?

Select	Answer
A	An OR gate
B	An XOR gate
C	A flip-flop
D	A multiplexer

32. - E7B11

In Figure E7-1, what is the purpose of R3?

Select	Answer
A	Fixed bias
B	Self bias
C	Output load resistor
D	Emitter bypass

33. - E7C10

Which of the following filters would be the best choice for use in a 2 meter band repeater duplexer?

Select	Answer
A	A crystal filter
B	An L-C filter
C	A cavity filter
D	A DSP filter

34. - E7D02

What is a characteristic of a switching electronic voltage regulator?

Select	Answer
A	It gives a ramp voltage at its output
B	The controlled device's duty cycle is changed to produce a constant average output voltage
C	It is generally less efficient than a linear regulator
D	The resistance of a control element is varied in direct proportion to the line voltage or load current

35. - E7E03

What is a frequency discriminator stage in a FM receiver?

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

36. - E7F13

What is the function of taps in a digital signal processing filter?

Select	Answer
A	To reduce excess signal pressure levels
B	Provide incremental signal delays for filter algorithms
C	Provide access for debugging software
D	Select the point at which baseband signals are generated

37. - E7G01

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

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

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

39. - E8A08

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

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

40. - E8B08

What describes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing?

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

41. - E8C07

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

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

42. - E8D01

Why are received spread spectrum signals resistant to interference?

Select	Answer
A	If interference is detected by the receiver it will signal the transmitter to change frequencies
B	Signals not using the spread spectrum algorithm are suppressed in the receiver
C	The receiver is always equipped with a digital blanker
D	The high power used by a spread spectrum transmitter keeps its signal from being easily overpowered

43. - E9A12

How much gain does an antenna have compared to a 1/2-wavelength dipole when it has 6 dB gain over an isotropic antenna?

Select	Answer
A	3.85 dB
B	2.79 dB
C	8.15 dB
D	6.0 dB

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

45. - E9C02

What is the radiation pattern of two 1/4-wavelength vertical antennas spaced 1/4 wavelength apart and fed 90 degrees out of phase?

Select	Answer
A	A figure-8 end-fire along the axis of the array
B	Omni-directional
C	A figure-8 broadside to the axis of the array
D	Cardioid

46. - E9D12

Which of the following would provide the best RF ground for your station?

Select	Answer
A	An electrically short connection to 3 or 4 interconnected ground rods driven into the Earth
B	An electrically short connection to 3 or 4 interconnected ground rods via a series RF choke
C	A 50-ohm resistor connected to ground
D	An electrically short connection to a metal water pipe

47. - E9E03

What is the name of the matching system that uses a section of transmission line connected in parallel with the feed line at or near the feed point?

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

48. - E9F13

What impedance does a 1/4-wavelength transmission line present to a generator when the line is shorted at the far end?

Select	Answer
A	Very low impedance
B	The same as the characteristic impedance of the transmission line
C	Very high impedance
D	The same as the generator output impedance

49. - E9G03

Which of the following is often determined using a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Satellite azimuth and elevation bearings
B	Impedance and SWR values in transmission lines
C	Beam headings and radiation patterns
D	Trigonometric functions

50. - E9H05

What is the main drawback of a small wire-loop antenna for direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	It has no clearly defined null
B	All these choices are correct
C	It is practical for use only on VHF and higher bands
D	It has a bidirectional pattern

Figure E6-3

Figure E7-1