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

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1. - E0A01

What is the primary function of an external earth connection or ground rod?

Select	Answer
A	Reduce RFI to telephones and home entertainment systems
B	Reduce RF current flow between pieces of equipment
C	Lightning protection
D	Reduce received noise

2. - E1A12

What special operating frequency restrictions are imposed on slow scan TV transmissions?

Select	Answer
A	None; they are allowed on all amateur frequencies
B	They are restricted to 7.245 MHz, 14.245 MHz, 21.345 MHz, and 28.945 MHz
C	They are not permitted above 54 MHz
D	They are restricted to phone band segments

3. - E1B09

Which amateur stations may be operated under RACES rules?

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

4. - E1C01

What is the maximum bandwidth for a data emission on 60 meters?

Select	Answer
A	60 Hz
B	1.5 kHz
C	170 Hz
D	2.8 kHz

5. - E1D01

What is the definition of telemetry?

Select	Answer
A	One-way transmission that initiates, modifies, or terminates the functions of a device at a distance
B	Two-way transmissions of data
C	One-way transmission of measurements at a distance from the measuring instrument
D	Two-way transmissions in excess of 1000 feet

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 the candidate's examination
B	Immediately terminate everyone's examination and close the session
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. - E1F02

What privileges are authorized in the U.S. to persons holding an amateur service license granted by the government of Canada?

Select	Answer
A	None, they must obtain a U.S. license
B	All privileges of the Amateur Extra Class license
C	The operating terms and conditions of the Canadian amateur service license, not to exceed U.S. Amateur Extra Class license privileges
D	Full privileges, up to and including those of the Amateur Extra Class license, on the 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meter bands

8. - E2A05

What do the letters in a satellite's mode designator specify?

Select	Answer
A	Power limits for uplink and downlink transmissions
B	The polarization of uplink and downlink signals
C	The location of the ground control station
D	The uplink and downlink frequency ranges

9. - E2B12

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

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

10. - E2C04

Which of the following frequencies are sometimes used for amateur radio mesh networks?

Select	Answer
A	Cable TV channels 41 through 43
B	The 60 meter band channel centered on 5373 kHz
C	HF frequencies where digital communications are permitted
D	Frequencies shared with various unlicensed wireless data services

11. - E2D10

How can an APRS station be used to help support a public service communications activity?

Select	Answer
A	APRS stations with General Personnel Scanners can automatically relay the participant numbers and time as they pass the check points
B	An APRS station with an emergency medical technician can automatically transmit medical data to the nearest hospital
C	All these choices are correct
D	An APRS station with a Global Positioning System unit can automatically transmit information to show a mobile station's position during the event

12. - E2E09

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

Select	Answer
A	PACTOR
B	RTTY
C	MT63
D	PSK31

13. - E3A11

What is a typical range for tropospheric propagation of microwave signals?

Select	Answer
A	100 miles to 300 miles
B	10 miles to 50 miles
C	1200 miles
D	2500 miles

14. - E3B07

What happens to linearly polarized radio waves that split into ordinary and extraordinary waves in the ionosphere?

Select	Answer
A	They become elliptically polarized
B	They become phase locked
C	They are bent toward the magnetic poles
D	They become depolarized

15. - E3C01

What does the radio communication term "ray tracing" describe?

Select	Answer
A	Determining the radiation pattern from an array of antennas
B	Evaluating high voltage sources for x-rays
C	The process in which an electronic display presents a pattern
D	Modeling a radio wave's path through the ionosphere

16. - E4A02

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

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

17. - E4B02

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

Select	Answer
A	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
B	When used as an ohmmeter, the reading in ohms divided by the ohms per volt rating will determine the voltage applied to the circuit
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 ammeter, the full scale reading in amps divided by ohms per volt rating will determine the size of shunt needed

18. - E4C11

Why can an attenuator be used to reduce receiver overload on the lower frequency HF bands with little or no impact on signal-to-noise ratio?

Select	Answer
A	The attenuator has a low-pass filter to increase the strength of lower frequency signals
B	Atmospheric noise is generally greater than internally generated noise even after attenuation
C	The attenuator has a noise filter to suppress interference
D	Signals are attenuated separately from the noise

19. - E4D03

How can intermodulation interference between two repeaters occur?

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

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

21. - E5A10

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

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

22. - E5B03

How is impedance in polar form converted to an equivalent admittance?

Select	Answer
A	Take the square root of the magnitude and add 180 degrees to the angle
B	Take the reciprocal of the magnitude and change the sign of the angle
C	Take the reciprocal of the angle and change the sign of the magnitude
D	Square the magnitude and subtract 90 degrees from the angle

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

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	200 watts
B	70.7 watts
C	141.4 watts
D	100 watts

25. - E6A07

Which of the following indicates that a silicon NPN junction transistor is biased on?

Select	Answer
A	Base-to-emitter resistance of approximately 0.6 to 0.7 ohms
B	Base-to-emitter resistance of approximately 6 to 7 ohms
C	Base-to-emitter voltage of approximately 6 to 7 volts
D	Base-to-emitter voltage of approximately 0.6 to 0.7 volts

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	Forward DC bias current
D	Capacitance of an RF coupling capacitor

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	All these choices are correct
C	It has the high input impedance of CMOS and the low output impedance of bipolar transistors
D	It is immune to electrostatic damage

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

29. - E6E12

Why are DIP through-hole package ICs not typically used at UHF and higher frequencies?

Select	Answer
A	Too many pins
B	Epoxy coating is conductive above 300 MHz
C	Excessive lead length
D	Unsuitable for combining analog and digital signals

30. - E6F04

What is the photovoltaic effect?

Select	Answer
A	The conversion of electrical energy to mechanical energy
B	The conversion of light to electrical energy
C	The tendency of a battery to discharge when exposed to light
D	The conversion of voltage to current when exposed to light

31. - E7A01

Which circuit is bistable?

Select	Answer
A	An OR gate
B	A bipolar amplifier
C	An AND gate
D	A flip-flop

32. - E7B10

In Figure E7-1, what is the purpose of R1 and R2?

Select	Answer
A	Self bias
B	Feedback
C	Load resistors
D	Voltage divider bias

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

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

35. - E7E08

What are the principal frequencies that appear at the output of a mixer circuit?

Select	Answer
A	The two input frequencies along with their sum and difference frequencies
B	The square root of the product of input frequencies
C	Two and four times the original frequency
D	1.414 and 0.707 times the input frequency

36. - E7F08

What is the function of decimation?

Select	Answer
A	Removing unnecessary significant digits
B	Reducing the effective sample rate by removing samples
C	Attenuating the signal
D	Converting data to binary code decimal form

37. - E7G05

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

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

38. - E7H08

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

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

39. - E8A07

What determines the PEP-to-average power ratio of a single-sideband phone signal?

Select	Answer
A	The degree of carrier suppression
B	Amplifier gain
C	The frequency of the modulating signal
D	Speech characteristics

40. - E8B08

What describes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing?

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

41. - E8C11

What is the relationship between symbol rate and baud?

Select	Answer
A	They are the same
B	Symbol rate is only used for packet-based modes
C	Baud is twice the symbol rate
D	Baud is only used for RTTY

42. - E8D09

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

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

43. - E9A01

What is an isotropic antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A theoretical, omnidirectional antenna used as a reference for antenna gain
B	A spacecraft antenna used to direct signals toward Earth
C	A grounded antenna used to measure Earth conductivity
D	A horizontally polarized antenna used to compare Yagi antennas

44. - E9B05

What type of antenna pattern is shown in Figure E9-2?

Select	Answer
A	Polarization
B	Elevation
C	Radiation resistance
D	Azimuth

45. - E9C03

What is the radiation pattern of two 1/4-wavelength vertical antennas spaced 1/2-wavelength apart and fed in phase?

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

46. - E9D05

What usually occurs if a Yagi antenna is designed solely for maximum forward gain?

Select	Answer
A	The SWR is reduced
B	The frequency response is widened over the whole frequency band
C	The front-to-back ratio decreases
D	The front-to-back ratio increases

47. - E9E10

Which of these choices is an effective way to match an antenna with a 100-ohm feed point impedance to a 50-ohm coaxial cable feed line?

Select	Answer
A	Connect a 1/4-wavelength open stub of 300-ohm twinlead in parallel with the coaxial feed line where it connects to the antenna
B	Insert a 1/2 wavelength piece of 300-ohm twinlead in series between the antenna terminals and the 50-ohm feed cable
C	Connect a 1/2 wavelength shorted stub of 75-ohm cable in parallel with the 50-ohm cable where it attaches to the antenna
D	Insert a 1/4-wavelength piece of 75-ohm coaxial cable transmission line in series between the antenna terminals and the 50-ohm feed cable

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

49. - E9G07

On the Smith chart shown in Figure E9-3, what is the only straight line shown?

Select	Answer
A	The resistance axis
B	The reactance axis
C	The voltage axis
D	The current axis

50. - E9H04

What is an advantage of placing a grounded electrostatic shield around a small loop direction-finding antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It increases signal strength by providing a better match to the feed line
B	It eliminates unbalanced capacitive coupling to the surroundings, improving the nulls
C	It eliminates tracking errors caused by strong out-of-band signals
D	It adds capacitive loading, increasing the bandwidth of the antenna

Figure E7-1

Figure E9-2

Figure E9-3