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	Polyethylene
B	Polymorphic silicon
C	Polychlorinated biphenyls
D	Polytetrafluoroethylene

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. - E1B06

Which of the following additional rules apply if you are installing an amateur station antenna at a site at or near a public use airport?

Select	Answer
A	You must obtain a construction permit from the airport zoning authority
B	You must file an Environmental Impact Statement with the EPA before construction begins
C	You may have to notify the Federal Aviation Administration and register it with the FCC as required by Part 17 of the FCC rules
D	You must submit engineering drawings to the FAA

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	You must bring a copy of FCC Public Notice DA 16-1048
C	The U.S. embassy must approve of your operation
D	You must identify in the official language of the country in which you are operating

5. - E1D07

Which HF amateur bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?

Select	Answer
A	All HF bands
B	Only the 40, 30, 20, 15, 12, and 10 meter bands
C	Only the 40, 20, 17, 15, 12, and 10 meter bands
D	Only the 40, 20, 17, 15, and 10 meter bands

6. - E1E03

What is a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator?

Select	Answer
A	A person who has volunteered to administer amateur operator license examinations
B	A person who has volunteered to prepare amateur operator license examinations
C	The person who has entered into an agreement with the FCC to be the VE session manager
D	An organization that has entered into an agreement with the FCC to coordinate, prepare, and administer amateur operator license examinations

7. - E1F03

Under what circumstances may a dealer sell an external RF power amplifier capable of operation below 144 MHz if it has not been granted FCC certification?

Select	Answer
A	It was purchased in used condition from an amateur operator and is sold to another amateur operator for use at that operator's station
B	The equipment dealer assembled it from a kit
C	It was imported from a manufacturer in another country and was certificated by that country's government
D	It was imported from a manufacturer in a country that does not require certification of RF power amplifiers

8. - E2A12

What is the purpose of digital store-and-forward functions on an amateur radio satellite?

Select	Answer
A	To store digital messages in the satellite for later download by other stations
B	To delay download of telemetry between satellites
C	To relay messages between satellites
D	To upload operational software for the transponder

9. - E2B04

How is color information sent in analog SSTV?

Select	Answer
A	Color lines are sent sequentially
B	Color information is sent on a 2.8 kHz subcarrier
C	Color is amplitude modulated on the frequency modulated intensity signal
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 using tactical call signs
B	Special event contacts between stations in the U.S.
C	Repeater contacts between U.S. club members
D	Contacts between a U.S. station and a non-U.S. station

11. - E2D02

Which of the following is a good technique for making meteor scatter contacts?

Select	Answer
A	Short transmissions with rapidly repeated call signs and signal reports
B	Use of special digital modes
C	All these choices are correct
D	15-second timed transmission sequences with stations alternating based on location

12. - E2E09

Which of the following HF digital modes uses variable-length coding for bandwidth efficiency?

Select	Answer
A	PSK31
B	RTTY
C	MT63
D	PACTOR

13. - E3A13

Which of these emission modes is best for auroral propagation?

Select	Answer
A	CW
B	SSB
C	FM
D	RTTY

14. - E3B03

What is the best time of day for transequatorial propagation?

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

15. - E3C11

What does VOACAP software model?

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

16. - E4A04

How is the compensation of an oscilloscope probe typically adjusted?

Select	Answer
A	A high frequency sine wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted for maximum amplitude
B	A frequency standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the deflection time is accurate
C	A square wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the horizontal portions of the displayed wave are as nearly flat as possible
D	A DC voltage standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the displayed voltage is accurate

17. - E4B02

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

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

18. - E4C04

What is the noise figure of a receiver?

Select	Answer
A	The ratio of thermal noise to atmospheric noise
B	The ratio of the noise bandwidth in hertz to the theoretical bandwidth of a resistive network
C	The ratio of atmospheric noise to phase noise
D	The ratio in dB of the noise generated by the receiver to the theoretical minimum noise

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	Raise the receiver IF frequency
D	Switch from fast AGC to slow AGC

20. - E4E06

What is one type of electrical interference that might be caused by a nearby personal computer?

Select	Answer
A	A clicking noise at intervals of a few seconds
B	A whining type noise that continually pulses off and on
C	The appearance of unstable modulated or unmodulated signals at specific frequencies
D	A loud AC hum in the audio output of your station receiver

21. - E5A16

What is the resonant frequency of an RLC circuit if R is 33 ohms, L is 50 microhenries and C is 10 picofarads?

Select	Answer
A	7.12 kHz
B	23.5 kHz
C	7.12 MHz
D	23.5 MHz

22. - E5B08

What is the phase angle between the voltage across and the current through a series RLC circuit if XC is 100 ohms, R is 100 ohms, and XL is 75 ohms?

Select	Answer
A	76 degrees with the voltage leading the current
B	76 degrees with the voltage lagging the current
C	14 degrees with the voltage leading the current
D	14 degrees with the voltage lagging the current

23. - E5C11

Which point in Figure E5-1 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 300-ohm resistor and an 18-microhenry inductor at 3.505 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	Point 8
B	Point 7
C	Point 1
D	Point 3

24. - E5D03

What is microstrip?

Select	Answer
A	Precision printed circuit conductors above a ground plane that provide constant impedance interconnects at microwave frequencies
B	Lightweight transmission line made of common zip cord
C	Miniature coax used for low power applications
D	Short lengths of coax mounted on printed circuit boards to minimize time delay between microwave circuits

25. - E6A04

What is the name given to an impurity atom that adds holes to a semiconductor crystal structure?

Select	Answer
A	Acceptor impurity
B	Insulator impurity
C	Donor impurity
D	N-type impurity

26. - E6B01

What is the most useful characteristic of a Zener diode?

Select	Answer
A	A constant voltage drop under conditions of varying current
B	A constant current drop under conditions of varying voltage
C	A negative resistance region
D	An internal capacitance that varies with the applied voltage

27. - E6C04

Which of the following is an advantage of BiCMOS logic?

Select	Answer
A	Its simplicity results in much less expensive devices than standard CMOS
B	It is immune to electrostatic damage
C	All these choices are correct
D	It has the high input impedance of CMOS and the low output impedance of bipolar transistors

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 generally have better temperature stability
C	Ferrite toroids are easier to use with surface mount technology
D	Ferrite toroids generally require fewer turns to produce a given inductance value

29. - E6E10

What advantage does surface-mount technology offer at RF compared to using through-hole components?

Select	Answer
A	Smaller circuit area
B	All these choices are correct
C	Components have less parasitic inductance and capacitance
D	Shorter circuit-board traces

30. - E6F05

Which describes an optical shaft encoder?

Select	Answer
A	A device that detects rotation of a control by interrupting a light source with a patterned wheel
B	A device for generating RTTY signals by means of a rotating light source
C	A device that measures the strength of a beam of light using analog to digital conversion
D	A digital encryption device often used to encrypt spacecraft control signals

31. - E7A03

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

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

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 OR circuit with only one emitter used for output
C	An amplifier with a low impedance output that follows the base input voltage
D	A differential amplifier with both inputs fed to the emitter of the input transistor

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

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

35. - E7E01

Which of the following can be used to generate FM phone emissions?

Select	Answer
A	A reactance modulator on the oscillator
B	A balanced modulator on the audio amplifier
C	A reactance modulator on the final amplifier
D	A balanced modulator on the oscillator

36. - E7F10

What aspect of receiver analog-to-digital conversion determines the maximum receive bandwidth of a Direct Digital Conversion SDR?

Select	Answer
A	Sample width in bits
B	Sample rate
C	Processor latency
D	Sample clock phase noise

37. - E7G05

How can unwanted ringing and audio instability be prevented in an op-amp RC audio filter circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Increase both gain and Q
B	Restrict both gain and Q
C	Restrict Q but increase gain
D	Restrict gain but increase Q

38. - E7H03

How is positive feedback supplied in a Hartley oscillator?

Select	Answer
A	Through a neutralizing capacitor
B	Through a capacitive divider
C	Through link coupling
D	Through a tapped coil

39. - E8A11

Which of the following is a measure of the quality of an analog-to-digital converter?

Select	Answer
A	Total harmonic distortion
B	Reciprocal mixing
C	Peak envelope power
D	Power factor

40. - E8B05

What is the deviation ratio of an FM-phone signal having a maximum frequency swing of plus-or-minus 5 kHz when the maximum modulation frequency is 3 kHz?

Select	Answer
A	1.67
B	60
C	0.6
D	0.167

41. - E8C01

How is Forward Error Correction implemented?

Select	Answer
A	By transmitting extra data that may be used to detect and correct transmission errors
B	By varying the frequency shift of the transmitted signal according to a predefined algorithm
C	By the receiving station repeating each block of three data characters
D	By transmitting a special algorithm to the receiving station along with the data characters

42. - E8D01

Why are received spread spectrum signals resistant to interference?

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

43. - E9A06

What is the effective radiated power relative to a dipole of a repeater station with 200 watts transmitter power output, 4 dB feed line loss, 3.2 dB duplexer loss, 0.8 dB circulator loss, and 10 dBd antenna gain?

Select	Answer
A	300 watts
B	126 watts
C	317 watts
D	2000 watts

44. - E9B01

In the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-1, what is the beamwidth?

Select	Answer
A	75 degrees
B	50 degrees
C	25 degrees
D	30 degrees

45. - E9C08

What is a folded dipole antenna?

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

46. - E9D12

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

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

47. - E9E08

What is a use for a Wilkinson divider?

Select	Answer
A	It is used to feed low-impedance loads from a high-impedance source
B	It is used to divide power equally between two 50-ohm loads while maintaining 50-ohm input impedance
C	It divides the operating frequency of a transmitter signal so it can be used on a lower frequency band
D	It is used to feed high-impedance antennas from a low-impedance source

48. - E9F12

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

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

49. - E9G03

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

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

50. - E9H08

What is the function of a sense antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It allows DF antennas to receive signals at different vertical angles
B	It modifies the pattern of a DF antenna array to provide a null in one direction
C	It increases the sensitivity of a DF antenna array
D	It provides diversity reception that cancels multipath signals

Figure E5-1

Figure E9-1