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

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1. - E0A07

How may dangerous levels of carbon monoxide from an emergency generator be detected?

Select	Answer
A	Only with a carbon monoxide detector
B	By the odor
C	By the yellowish appearance of the gas
D	Any ordinary smoke detector can be used

2. - E1A03

What is the maximum legal carrier frequency on the 20 meter band for transmitting USB AFSK digital signals having a 1 kHz bandwidth?

Select	Answer
A	14.149 MHz
B	14.349 MHz
C	14.100 MHz
D	14.070 MHz

3. - E1B01

Which of the following constitutes a spurious emission?

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

4. - E1C05

When may an automatically controlled station originate third party communications?

Select	Answer
A	Only when transmitting RTTY or data emissions
B	Never
C	When agreed upon by the sending or receiving station
D	When approved by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration

5. - E1D11

Which amateur stations are eligible to operate as Earth stations?

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

6. - E1E06

Who is responsible for the proper conduct and necessary supervision during an amateur operator license examination session?

Select	Answer
A	Each administering VE
B	The VEC coordinating the session
C	The FCC
D	The VE session manager

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

8. - E2A06

What are Keplerian elements?

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

9. - E2B06

What is vestigial sideband modulation?

Select	Answer
A	Amplitude modulation in which one complete sideband and a portion of the other are transmitted
B	Narrow-band FM modulation achieved by filtering one sideband from the audio before frequency modulating the carrier
C	Spread spectrum modulation achieved by applying FM modulation following single sideband amplitude modulation
D	A type of modulation in which one sideband is inverted

10. - E2C01

What indicator is required to be used by U.S.-licensed operators when operating a station via remote control and the remote transmitter is located in the U.S.?

Select	Answer
A	/R# where # is the district of the remote station
B	/ followed by the USPS two-letter abbreviation for the state in which the remote station is located
C	/ followed by the ARRL Section of the remote station
D	No additional indicator is required

11. - E2D11

Which of the following data are used by the APRS network to communicate station location?

Select	Answer
A	Time and frequency
B	Latitude and longitude
C	Radio direction finding spectrum analysis
D	Polar coordinates

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	Direct FSK occupies less bandwidth
D	Only direct FSK can be decoded by computer

13. - E3A14

What is meant by circularly polarized electromagnetic waves?

Select	Answer
A	Waves with an electric field bent into a circular shape
B	Waves with a rotating electric field
C	Waves that circle the Earth
D	Waves produced by a loop antenna

14. - E3B02

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

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

15. - E3C07

Which of the following descriptors indicates the greatest solar flare intensity?

Select	Answer
A	Class X
B	Class M
C	Class A
D	Class B

16. - E4A11

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

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

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 frequency shift
C	The inductance to capacitance ratio
D	The bandwidth of the circuit's frequency response

18. - E4C09

Which of the following choices is a good reason for selecting a high frequency for the design of the IF in a superheterodyne HF or VHF communications receiver?

Select	Answer
A	Easier for front-end circuitry to eliminate image responses
B	Fewer components in the receiver
C	Improved receiver noise figure
D	Reduced drift

19. - E4D09

What is the purpose of the preselector in a communications receiver?

Select	Answer
A	To store often-used frequencies
B	To allow selection of the optimum RF amplifier device
C	To provide a range of AGC time constants
D	To increase rejection of signals outside the desired band

20. - E4E02

Which of the following types of noise can often be reduced with a digital signal processing noise filter?

Select	Answer
A	Power line noise
B	All these choices are correct
C	Broadband white noise
D	Ignition noise

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	Resistance
B	Capacitance
C	Resonance
D	Conductance

22. - E5B02

What letter is commonly used to represent susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	B
B	Y
C	X
D	G

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	50 ohms resistance in series with 25 ohms capacitive reactance
D	25 ohms resistance in series with 50 ohms capacitive reactance

24. - E5D09

What happens to reactive power in an AC circuit that has both ideal inductors and ideal capacitors?

Select	Answer
A	It is dissipated as heat in the circuit
B	It is repeatedly exchanged between the associated magnetic and electric fields, but is not dissipated
C	It is dissipated as kinetic energy in the circuit
D	It is dissipated in the formation of inductive and capacitive fields

25. - E6A03

Why does a PN-junction diode not conduct current when reverse biased?

Select	Answer
A	Holes in P-type material and electrons in the N-type material are separated by the applied voltage, widening the depletion region
B	Only P-type semiconductor material can conduct current
C	Excess holes in P-type material combine with the electrons in N-type material, converting the entire diode into an insulator
D	Only N-type semiconductor material can conduct current

26. - E6B01

What is the most useful characteristic of a Zener diode?

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

27. - E6C01

What is the function of hysteresis in a comparator?

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

28. - E6D13

What is the primary cause of inductor self-resonance?

Select	Answer
A	Non-linear core hysteresis
B	Inter-turn capacitance
C	The skin effect
D	Inductive kickback

29. - E6E10

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

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

30. - E6F03

What is the most common configuration of an optoisolator or optocoupler?

Select	Answer
A	A lens and a photomultiplier
B	A frequency modulated helium-neon laser
C	An amplitude modulated helium-neon laser
D	An LED and a phototransistor

31. - E7A04

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

Select	Answer
A	2
B	1
C	8
D	4

32. - E7B13

Which of the following describes an emitter follower (or common collector) amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	An amplifier with a low impedance output that follows the base input voltage
B	An OR circuit with only one emitter used for output
C	A differential amplifier with both inputs fed to the emitter of the input transistor
D	A two-transistor amplifier with the emitters sharing a common bias resistor

33. - E7C08

Which of the following factors has the greatest effect on the bandwidth and response shape of a crystal ladder filter?

Select	Answer
A	The gain of the RF stage preceding the filter
B	The DC voltage applied to the quartz crystal
C	The relative frequencies of the individual crystals
D	The amplitude of the signals passing through the filter

34. - E7D09

What is the main reason to use a charge controller with a solar power system?

Select	Answer
A	Matching of day and night charge rates
B	Control of electrolyte levels during battery discharge
C	Prevention of battery undercharge
D	Prevention of battery damage due to overcharge

35. - E7E02

What is the function of a reactance modulator?

Select	Answer
A	To produce AM signals by using an electrically variable inductance or capacitance
B	To produce PM or FM signals by using an electrically variable inductance or capacitance
C	To produce AM signals by using an electrically variable resistance
D	To produce PM signals by using an electrically variable resistance

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

37. - E7G10

What absolute voltage gain can be expected from the circuit in Figure E7-3 when R1 is 1800 ohms and RF is 68 kilohms?

Select	Answer
A	38
B	0.03
C	76
D	1

38. - E7H08

Which of the following components can be used to reduce thermal drift in crystal oscillators?

Select	Answer
A	Non-inductive resistors
B	NP0 capacitors
C	Wirewound resistors
D	Toroidal inductors

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	Power factor
C	Peak envelope power
D	Reciprocal mixing

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 frequency modulation technique that uses non-harmonically related frequencies
D	A bandwidth compression technique using Fourier transforms

41. - E8C05

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

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

42. - E8D07

What is a common cause of overmodulation of AFSK signals?

Select	Answer
A	Bit errors in the modem
B	Excessive numbers of retries
C	Ground loops
D	Excessive transmit audio levels

43. - E9A11

Which of the following factors determines ground losses for a ground-mounted vertical antenna operating in the 3 MHz to 30 MHz range?

Select	Answer
A	The standing wave ratio
B	Soil conductivity
C	Take-off angle
D	Distance from the transmitter

44. - E9B01

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

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

45. - E9C07

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

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

46. - E9D06

What happens to the SWR bandwidth when one or more loading coils are used to resonate an electrically short antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It is increased
B	It is decreased
C	It is unchanged if the loading coil is located at the feed point
D	It is unchanged if the loading coil is located at a voltage maximum point

47. - E9E06

Which of these feed line impedances would be suitable for constructing a quarter-wave Q-section for matching a 100-ohm loop to 50-ohm feed line?

Select	Answer
A	62 ohms
B	75 ohms
C	50 ohms
D	450 ohms

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

49. - E9G02

What type of coordinate system is used in a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Resistance circles and reactance arcs
B	Voltage lines and current chords
C	Voltage circles and current arcs
D	Resistance lines and reactance chords

50. - E9H01

When constructing a Beverage antenna, which of the following factors should be included in the design to achieve good performance at the desired frequency?

Select	Answer
A	Its overall length must not exceed 1/4 wavelength
B	It should be one or more wavelengths long
C	It must be mounted more than 1 wavelength above ground
D	It should be configured as a four-sided loop

Figure E7-3

Figure E9-1