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

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1. - E0A05

What is one of the potential hazards of operating in the amateur radio microwave bands?

Select	Answer
A	The extremely high frequency energy can damage the joints of antenna structures
B	Microwaves are ionizing radiation
C	Microwaves often travel long distances by ionospheric reflection
D	The high gain antennas commonly used can result in high exposure levels

2. - E1A05

What is the maximum power output permitted on the 60 meter band?

Select	Answer
A	50 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to a dipole
B	100 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to an isotropic radiator
C	100 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to the gain of a half-wave dipole
D	50 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to an isotropic radiator

3. - E1B10

What frequencies are authorized to an amateur station operating under RACES rules?

Select	Answer
A	Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) channels
B	Specific local government channels
C	Specific segments in the amateur service MF, HF, VHF and UHF bands
D	All amateur service frequencies authorized to the control operator

4. - E1C08

What is the maximum permissible duration of a remotely controlled station's transmissions if its control link malfunctions?

Select	Answer
A	10 minutes
B	3 minutes
C	5 minutes
D	30 seconds

5. - E1D06

What is the maximum permitted transmitter output power when operating a model craft by telecommand?

Select	Answer
A	2 watts
B	100 watts
C	1 watt
D	5 watts

6. - E1E07

What should a VE do if a candidate fails to comply with the examiner's instructions during an amateur operator license examination?

Select	Answer
A	Immediately terminate everyone's examination and close the session
B	Immediately terminate the candidate's examination
C	Warn the candidate that continued failure to comply will result in termination of the examination
D	Allow the candidate to complete the examination, but invalidate the results

7. - E1F01

On what frequencies are spread spectrum transmissions permitted?

Select	Answer
A	Only on amateur frequencies above 50 MHz
B	Only on amateur frequencies above 222 MHz
C	Only on amateur frequencies above 420 MHz
D	Only on amateur frequencies above 144 MHz

8. - E2A02

Which of the following occurs when a satellite is using an inverting linear transponder?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	Doppler shift is reduced because the uplink and downlink shifts are in opposite directions
C	Signal position in the band is reversed
D	Upper sideband on the uplink becomes lower sideband on the downlink, and vice versa

9. - E2B12

What signals SSTV receiving software to begin a new picture line?

Select	Answer
A	A two-tone signal
B	Specific tone amplitudes
C	Elapsed time
D	Specific tone frequencies

10. - E2C08

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

Select	Answer
A	Repeater contacts between U.S. club members
B	Contacts between a U.S. station and a non-U.S. station
C	Contacts using tactical call signs
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	High-speed CW identification to avoid fading
B	Judging optimum transmission times by monitoring beacons reflected from the moon
C	Time synchronous transmissions alternately from each station
D	Storing and forwarding digital messages

12. - E2E04

What is indicated when one of the ellipses in an FSK crossed-ellipse display suddenly disappears?

Select	Answer
A	The receiver has drifted 5 kHz from the desired receive frequency
B	The mark and space signal have been inverted
C	Selective fading has occurred
D	One of the signal filters is saturated

13. - E3A03

When scheduling EME contacts, which of these conditions will generally result in the least path loss?

Select	Answer
A	When the moon is full
B	When the moon is at apogee
C	When the moon is at perigee
D	When the MUF is above 30 MHz

14. - E3B11

At what time of day can sporadic E propagation occur?

Select	Answer
A	Any time
B	Only in hours of darkness
C	Only around sunset and sunrise
D	Only around sunset

15. - E3C06

By how much does the VHF/UHF radio horizon distance exceed the geometric horizon?

Select	Answer
A	By approximately 50 percent of the distance
B	By approximately twice the distance
C	By approximately 15 percent of the distance
D	By approximately four times the distance

16. - E4A08

Which of the following measures SWR?

Select	Answer
A	An ohmmeter
B	An antenna analyzer
C	A Q meter
D	A spectrum analyzer

17. - E4B03

Which S parameter is equivalent to forward gain?

Select	Answer
A	S22
B	S12
C	S11
D	S21

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

19. - E4D09

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

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

20. - E4E11

What could cause local AM broadcast band signals to combine to generate spurious signals in the MF or HF bands?

Select	Answer
A	One or more of the broadcast stations is transmitting an over-modulated signal
B	Nearby corroded metal joints are mixing and re-radiating the broadcast signals
C	Your station receiver IF amplifier stage is defective
D	You are receiving skywave signals from a distant station

21. - E5A13

What is an effect of increasing Q in a series resonant circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Phase shift can become uncontrolled
B	Internal voltages increase
C	Parasitic effects are minimized
D	Fewer components are needed for the same performance

22. - E5B01

What is the term for the time required for the capacitor in an RC circuit to be charged to 63.2% of the applied voltage or to discharge to 36.8% of its initial voltage?

Select	Answer
A	One exponential period
B	An exponential rate of one
C	A time factor of one
D	One time constant

23. - E5C01

Which of the following represents capacitive reactance in rectangular notation?

Select	Answer
A	Omega
B	-jX
C	Delta
D	+jX

24. - E5D04

Why are short connections used at microwave frequencies?

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

25. - E6A12

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

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

26. - E6B11

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

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

27. - E6C11

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

Select	Answer
A	6
B	4
C	5
D	2

28. - E6D09

What devices are commonly used as VHF and UHF parasitic suppressors at the input and output terminals of a transistor HF amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	Ferrite beads
B	Electrolytic capacitors
C	Butterworth filters
D	Steel-core toroids

29. - E6E04

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

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

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 LED and a phototransistor
D	An amplitude modulated helium-neon laser

31. - E7A07

What logical operation does a NAND gate perform?

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

32. - E7B16

What is the effect of intermodulation products in a linear power amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	Transmission of spurious signals
C	Low efficiency
D	Creation of parasitic oscillations

33. - E7C09

What is a crystal lattice filter?

Select	Answer
A	A filter with narrow bandwidth and steep skirts made using quartz crystals
B	An audio filter made with four quartz crystals that resonate at 1 kHz intervals
C	A filter using lattice-shaped quartz crystals for high-Q performance
D	A power supply filter made with interlaced quartz crystals

34. - E7D10

What is the primary reason that a high-frequency switching type high-voltage power supply can be both less expensive and lighter in weight than a conventional power supply?

Select	Answer
A	It uses a large power factor compensation capacitor to recover power from the unused portion of the AC cycle
B	It uses a diode bridge rectifier for increased output
C	The high frequency inverter design uses much smaller transformers and filter components for an equivalent power output
D	The inverter design does not require any output filtering

35. - E7E01

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

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

36. - E7F10

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

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

37. - E7G03

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

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

38. - E7H10

What information is contained in the lookup table of a direct digital synthesizer (DDS)?

Select	Answer
A	The phase relationship between a voltage-controlled oscillator and the output waveform
B	Frequently used receiver and transmitter frequencies
C	The phase relationship between a reference oscillator and the output waveform
D	Amplitude values that represent the desired waveform

39. - E8A06

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

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

40. - E8B01

What is the modulation index of an FM signal?

Select	Answer
A	The type of modulation used by the transmitter
B	The bandwidth of the transmitted signal divided by the modulating signal frequency
C	The ratio of modulating signal amplitude to frequency deviation
D	The ratio of frequency deviation to modulating signal frequency

41. - E8C07

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

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

42. - E8D09

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

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

43. - E9A10

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

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

44. - E9B06

What is the elevation angle of peak response in the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-2?

Select	Answer
A	25 degrees
B	7.5 degrees
C	45 degrees
D	75 degrees

45. - E9C13

How does the radiation pattern of a horizontally polarized 3-element beam antenna vary with increasing height above ground?

Select	Answer
A	The takeoff angle of the lowest elevation lobe decreases
B	The horizontal beamwidth increases
C	The horizontal beamwidth decreases
D	The takeoff angle of the lowest elevation lobe increases

46. - E9D03

Where should a high Q loading coil be placed to minimize losses in a shortened vertical antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Near the center of the vertical radiator
B	As low as possible on the vertical radiator
C	At a voltage node
D	As close to the transmitter as possible

47. - E9E07

What parameter describes the interactions at the load end of a mismatched transmission line?

Select	Answer
A	Reflection coefficient
B	Velocity factor
C	Dielectric constant
D	Characteristic impedance

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

49. - E9G01

Which of the following can be calculated using a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Radio propagation
B	Antenna radiation pattern
C	Impedance along transmission lines
D	Radiation resistance

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

Figure E6-3

Figure E9-2