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	Polyethylene
C	Polymorphic silicon
D	Polytetrafluoroethylene

2. - E1A14

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

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

3. - E1B02

Which of the following is an acceptable bandwidth for Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) based voice or SSTV digital transmissions made on the HF amateur bands?

Select	Answer
A	15 kHz
B	3 kHz
C	20 kHz
D	10 kHz

4. - E1C09

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

Select	Answer
A	3.0
B	1.0
C	2.0
D	0.5

5. - E1D09

Which UHF amateur bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?

Select	Answer
A	70 cm only
B	70 cm and 33 cm
C	33 cm and 13 cm
D	70 cm and 13 cm

6. - E1E10

What must the administering VEs do after the administration of a successful examination for an amateur operator license?

Select	Answer
A	They must collect and send the documents to the FCC according to instructions
B	They must submit the application document to the coordinating VEC according to the coordinating VEC instructions
C	They must collect and send the documents to the NCVEC for grading
D	They must collect and submit the documents to the coordinating VEC for grading

7. - E1F05

Amateur stations may not transmit in which of the following frequency segments if they are located in the contiguous 48 states and north of Line A?

Select	Answer
A	440 MHz - 450 MHz
B	222 MHz - 223 MHz
C	53 MHz - 54 MHz
D	420 MHz - 430 MHz

8. - E2A03

How is the signal inverted by an inverting linear transponder?

Select	Answer
A	The signal is detected and remodulated on the reverse sideband
B	The signal is passed through a mixer and the difference rather than the sum is transmitted
C	The signal is reduced to I and Q components and the Q component is filtered out
D	The signal is passed through a non-linear filter

9. - E2B10

What aspect of an analog slow-scan television signal encodes the brightness of the picture?

Select	Answer
A	Tone amplitude
B	Sync amplitude
C	Tone frequency
D	Sync frequency

10. - E2C08

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

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

11. - E2D06

Which of the following describes a method of establishing EME contacts?

Select	Answer
A	Time synchronous transmissions alternately from each station
B	High-speed CW identification to avoid fading
C	Storing and forwarding digital messages
D	Judging optimum transmission times by monitoring beacons reflected from the moon

12. - E2E11

What is the difference between direct FSK and audio FSK?

Select	Answer
A	Direct FSK applies the data signal to the transmitter VFO, while AFSK transmits tones via phone
B	Direct FSK can transmit faster baud rates
C	Only direct FSK can be decoded by computer
D	Direct FSK occupies less bandwidth

13. - E3A07

Atmospheric ducts capable of propagating microwave signals often form over what geographic feature?

Select	Answer
A	Mountain ranges
B	Bodies of water
C	Urban areas
D	Forests

14. - E3B03

What is the best time of day for transequatorial propagation?

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

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	The solar wind velocity at 304 degrees from the solar equator, correlated to solar activity
C	UV emissions at 304 angstroms, correlated to the solar flux index
D	The ratio of x-ray flux to radio flux, correlated to sunspot number

16. - E4A02

Which of the following parameters does a spectrum analyzer display on the vertical and horizontal axes?

Select	Answer
A	SWR and frequency
B	RF amplitude and frequency
C	SWR and time
D	RF amplitude and time

17. - E4B10

Which of the following methods measures intermodulation distortion in an SSB transmitter?

Select	Answer
A	Modulate the transmitter using two AF signals having harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a peak reading wattmeter
B	Modulate the transmitter using two AF signals having non-harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a spectrum analyzer
C	Modulate the transmitter using two RF signals having harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a logic analyzer
D	Modulate the transmitter using two RF signals having non-harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a spectrum analyzer

18. - E4C05

What does a receiver noise floor of -174 dBm represent?

Select	Answer
A	The noise figure of a 1 Hz bandwidth receiver
B	The theoretical noise in a 1 Hz bandwidth at the input of a perfect receiver at room temperature
C	The galactic noise contribution to minimum detectable signal
D	The minimum detectable signal as a function of receive frequency

19. - E4D07

Which of the following reduces the likelihood of receiver desensitization?

Select	Answer
A	Decrease the RF bandwidth of the receiver
B	Increase the receiver front end gain
C	Switch from fast AGC to slow AGC
D	Raise the receiver IF frequency

20. - E4E03

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

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

21. - E5A09

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

Select	Answer
A	Reactance of the inductance multiplied by the reactance of the capacitance
B	Reactance of either the inductance or capacitance divided by the resistance
C	Resistance divided by the reactance of either the inductance or capacitance
D	Reactance of either the inductance or capacitance multiplied 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	Current leads voltage by 90 degrees
D	Voltage leads current by 90 degrees

23. - E5C05

What is the name of the diagram used to show the phase relationship between impedances at a given frequency?

Select	Answer
A	Near field diagram
B	Venn diagram
C	Far field diagram
D	Phasor diagram

24. - E5D13

How many watts are consumed in a circuit consisting of a 100-ohm resistor in series with a 100-ohm inductive reactance drawing 1 ampere?

Select	Answer
A	141.4 watts
B	200 watts
C	70.7 watts
D	100 watts

25. - E6A12

Why do many MOSFET devices have internally connected Zener diodes on the gates?

Select	Answer
A	To protect the substrate from excessive voltages
B	To provide a voltage reference for the correct amount of reverse-bias gate voltage
C	To keep the gate voltage within specifications and prevent the device from overheating
D	To reduce the chance of static damage to the gate

26. - E6B06

Which of the following is a common use of a Schottky diode?

Select	Answer
A	As a constant voltage reference in a power supply
B	As a variable capacitance in an automatic frequency control circuit
C	As a VHF/UHF mixer or detector
D	As a rectifier in high current power supplies

27. - E6C02

What happens when the level of a comparator's input signal crosses the threshold?

Select	Answer
A	The comparator enters latch-up
B	The IC input can be damaged
C	The feedback loop becomes unstable
D	The comparator changes its output state

28. - E6D10

What is a primary advantage of using a toroidal core instead of a solenoidal core in an inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Toroidal cores make it easier to couple the magnetic energy into other components
B	Toroidal cores exhibit greater hysteresis
C	Toroidal cores have lower Q characteristics
D	Toroidal cores confine most of the magnetic field within the core material

29. - E6E11

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

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

30. - E6F11

What is the approximate open-circuit voltage produced by a fully illuminated silicon photovoltaic cell?

Select	Answer
A	0.1 V
B	12 V
C	0.5 V
D	1.5 V

31. - E7A04

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

Select	Answer
A	2
B	8
C	1
D	4

32. - E7B18

What is a characteristic of a grounded-grid amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	Low bandwidth
B	High filament voltage
C	Low input impedance
D	High power gain

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	Extremely flat response over its pass band with gradually rounded stop band corners
C	Gradual passband rolloff with extreme stop band ripple
D	Gradual passband rolloff with minimal stop band ripple

34. - E7D05

Which of the following types of linear voltage regulator places a constant load on the unregulated voltage source?

Select	Answer
A	A shunt current source
B	A series regulator
C	A shunt regulator
D	A constant current source

35. - E7E11

Which type of detector circuit is used for demodulating SSB signals?

Select	Answer
A	Discriminator
B	Phase comparator
C	Phase detector
D	Product detector

36. - E7F03

What type of digital signal processing filter is used to generate an SSB signal?

Select	Answer
A	A notch filter
B	A Hilbert-transform filter
C	An elliptical filter
D	An adaptive filter

37. - E7G09

What will be the output voltage of the circuit shown in Figure E7-3 if R1 is 1000 ohms, RF is 10,000 ohms, and 0.23 volts DC is applied to the input?

Select	Answer
A	2.3 volts
B	0.23 volts
C	-0.23 volts
D	-2.3 volts

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	Distortion caused by RF pickup on the microphone cable
D	Excess loading of the microphone by an oscillator

39. - E8A05

What of the following instruments would be the most accurate for measuring the RMS voltage of a complex waveform?

Select	Answer
A	A grid dip meter
B	An absorption wave meter
C	A D'Arsonval meter
D	A true-RMS calculating meter

40. - E8B02

How does the modulation index of a phase-modulated emission vary with RF carrier frequency?

Select	Answer
A	It increases as the RF carrier frequency increases
B	It does not depend on the RF carrier frequency
C	It decreases as the RF carrier frequency increases
D	It varies with the square root of the RF carrier frequency

41. - E8C05

What is the approximate bandwidth of a 13-WPM International Morse Code transmission?

Select	Answer
A	104 Hz
B	26 Hz
C	13 Hz
D	52 Hz

42. - E8D09

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

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

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	6.0 dB
B	2.79 dB
C	3.85 dB
D	8.15 dB

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

45. - E9C08

What is a folded dipole antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A half-wave dipole with an additional parallel wire connecting its two ends
B	A dipole configured to provide forward gain
C	A type of ground-plane antenna
D	A dipole one-quarter wavelength long

46. - E9D02

How can linearly polarized Yagi antennas be used to produce circular polarization?

Select	Answer
A	Stack two Yagis fed 90 degrees out of phase to form an array with the respective elements in parallel planes
B	Arrange two Yagis collinear to each other with the driven elements fed 180 degrees out of phase
C	Arrange two Yagis perpendicular to each other with the driven elements at the same point on the boom fed 90 degrees out of phase
D	Stack two Yagis fed in phase to form an array with the respective elements in parallel planes

47. - E9E05

How must an antenna's driven element be tuned to use a hairpin matching system?

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

48. - E9F10

What impedance does a 1/8-wavelength transmission line present to a generator when the line is shorted at the far end?

Select	Answer
A	A capacitive reactance
B	Zero
C	An inductive reactance
D	The same as the characteristic impedance of the line

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

50. - E9H06

What is the triangulation method of direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	A fixed receiving station uses three different antennas to plot the location of the signal source
B	The geometric angles of sky waves from the source are used to determine its position
C	Antenna headings from several different receiving locations are used to locate the signal source
D	A fixed receiving station plots three headings to the signal source

Figure E7-3