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	Polymorphic silicon
C	Polytetrafluoroethylene
D	Polyethylene

2. - E1A08

If a station in a message forwarding system inadvertently forwards a message that is in violation of FCC rules, who is primarily accountable for the rules violation?

Select	Answer
A	The control operators of all the stations in the system not authenticating the source from which they accept communications
B	The control operator of the originating station
C	The control operator of the packet bulletin board station
D	The control operators of all the stations in the system

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	An amateur station transmission made without the proper call sign identification
C	Any transmitted signal that unintentionally interferes with another licensed radio station
D	A signal transmitted to prevent its detection by any station other than the intended recipient

4. - E1C07

At what level below a signal's mean power level is its bandwidth determined according to FCC rules?

Select	Answer
A	6 dB
B	3 dB
C	23 dB
D	26 dB

5. - E1D06

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

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

6. - E1E05

What is the minimum passing score on all amateur operator license examinations?

Select	Answer
A	Minimum passing score of 74%
B	Minimum passing score of 80%
C	Minimum passing score of 70%
D	Minimum passing score of 77%

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. - E2A07

Which of the following types of signals can be relayed through a linear transponder?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	SSB and SSTV
C	PSK and packet
D	FM and CW

9. - E2B12

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

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

10. - E2C05

What is the function of a DX QSL Manager?

Select	Answer
A	To handle the receiving and sending of confirmation cards for a DX station
B	To relay calls to and from a DX station
C	To run a net to allow many stations to contact a rare DX station
D	To allocate frequencies for DXpeditions

11. - E2D08

What type of packet frame is used to transmit APRS beacon data?

Select	Answer
A	Connect
B	Disconnect
C	Unnumbered Information
D	Acknowledgement

12. - E2E09

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

Select	Answer
A	RTTY
B	PACTOR
C	MT63
D	PSK31

13. - E3A05

Tropospheric propagation of microwave signals often occurs in association with what phenomenon?

Select	Answer
A	Sprites and jets
B	Warm and cold fronts
C	Lightning discharges
D	Grayline

14. - E3B09

At what time of year is sporadic E propagation most likely to occur?

Select	Answer
A	Around the equinoxes, especially the fall equinox
B	Around the solstices, especially the summer solstice
C	Around the equinoxes, especially the spring equinox
D	Around the solstices, especially the winter solstice

15. - E3C10

What does the 304A solar parameter measure?

Select	Answer
A	UV emissions at 304 angstroms, correlated to the solar flux index
B	The solar wind velocity at 304 degrees from the solar equator, correlated to solar activity
C	The ratio of x-ray flux to radio flux, correlated to sunspot number
D	The solar emission at 304 GHz, correlated to x-ray flare levels

16. - E4A06

What is the effect of aliasing on a digital oscilloscope caused by setting the time base too slow?

Select	Answer
A	All signals will have a DC offset
B	Calibration of the vertical scale is no longer valid
C	Excessive blanking occurs, which prevents display of the signal
D	A false, jittery low-frequency version of the signal is displayed

17. - E4B03

Which S parameter is equivalent to forward gain?

Select	Answer
A	S22
B	S11
C	S12
D	S21

18. - E4C13

How does a narrow-band roofing filter affect receiver performance?

Select	Answer
A	It improves dynamic range by attenuating strong signals near the receive frequency
B	It improves sensitivity by reducing front end noise
C	All these choices are correct
D	It improves intelligibility by using low Q circuitry to reduce ringing

19. - E4D12

What is the term for the reduction in receiver sensitivity caused by a strong signal near the received frequency?

Select	Answer
A	Desensitization
B	Squelch gain rollback
C	Quieting
D	Cross-modulation interference

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

21. - E5A15

Which of the following increases Q for inductors and capacitors?

Select	Answer
A	Lower reactance
B	Lower losses
C	Lower self-resonant frequency
D	Higher self-resonant frequency

22. - E5B02

What letter is commonly used to represent susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	Y
B	X
C	B
D	G

23. - E5C05

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

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

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 kinetic energy in the circuit
B	It is repeatedly exchanged between the associated magnetic and electric fields, but is not dissipated
C	It is dissipated as heat 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	Only P-type semiconductor material can conduct current
B	Holes in P-type material and electrons in the N-type material are separated by the applied voltage, widening the depletion region
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. - E6B03

What type of bias is required for an LED to emit light?

Select	Answer
A	Reverse bias
B	Inductive bias
C	Zero bias
D	Forward bias

27. - E6C09

What is a Programmable Logic Device (PLD)?

Select	Answer
A	A programmable collection of logic gates and circuits in a single integrated circuit
B	A type of transistor whose gain can be changed by digital logic circuits
C	Programmable equipment used for testing digital logic integrated circuits
D	A logic circuit that can be modified during use

28. - E6D13

What is the primary cause of inductor self-resonance?

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

29. - E6E06

What characteristics of the MMIC make it a popular choice for VHF through microwave circuits?

Select	Answer
A	Nearly infinite gain, very high input impedance, and very low output impedance
B	Controlled gain, low noise figure, and constant input and output impedance over the specified frequency range
C	Plate current that is controlled by a control grid
D	The ability to retrieve information from a single signal even in the presence of other strong signals

30. - E6F06

Which of these materials is most commonly used to create photoconductive devices?

Select	Answer
A	A liquid semiconductor
B	A heavy metal
C	A crystalline semiconductor
D	An ordinary metal

31. - E7A02

What is the function of a decade counter?

Select	Answer
A	It produces one output pulse for every 10 input pulses
B	It decodes a binary number for display on a seven-segment LED display
C	It produces 10 output pulses for every input pulse
D	It decodes a decimal number for display on a seven-segment LED display

32. - E7B06

Which of the following amplifier types reduces even-order harmonics?

Select	Answer
A	Push-push
B	Class C
C	Class AB
D	Push-pull

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

34. - E7D09

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

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

35. - E7E02

What is the function of a reactance modulator?

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

36. - E7F05

How frequently must an analog signal be sampled by an analog-to-digital converter so that the signal can be accurately reproduced?

Select	Answer
A	At four times the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
B	At the same rate as the highest frequency component of the signal
C	At least half the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
D	At least twice the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal

37. - E7G02

What is ringing in a filter?

Select	Answer
A	Partial cancellation of the signal over a range of frequencies
B	An echo caused by a long time delay
C	A reduction in high frequency response
D	Undesired oscillations added to the desired signal

38. - E7H04

How is positive feedback supplied in a Colpitts oscillator?

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

39. - E8A10

What is the purpose of a low-pass filter used in conjunction with a digital-to-analog converter?

Select	Answer
A	Remove harmonics from the output caused by the discrete analog levels generated
B	Improve accuracy by removing out-of-sequence codes from the input
C	All these choices are correct
D	Lower the input bandwidth to increase the effective resolution

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	60
B	0.167
C	0.6
D	1.67

41. - E8C06

What is the bandwidth of a 170-hertz shift, 300-baud ASCII transmission?

Select	Answer
A	0.1 Hz
B	0.3 kHz
C	0.5 kHz
D	1.0 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. - 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	Take-off angle
B	The standing wave ratio
C	Soil conductivity
D	Distance from the transmitter

44. - E9B03

In the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-1, what is the front-to-side ratio?

Select	Answer
A	18 dB
B	14 dB
C	12 dB
D	24 dB

45. - E9C04

What happens to the radiation pattern of an unterminated long wire antenna as the wire length is increased?

Select	Answer
A	The front-to-back ratio decreases
B	The lobes become more perpendicular to the wire
C	The vertical angle increases
D	The lobes align more in the direction of the wire

46. - E9D09

What is the function of a loading coil used as part of an HF mobile antenna?

Select	Answer
A	To increase the SWR bandwidth
B	To lower the losses
C	To lower the Q
D	To cancel capacitive reactance

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. - E9F04

What impedance does a 1/2-wavelength transmission line present to a generator when the line is shorted at the far end?

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

49. - E9G11

How are the wavelength scales on a Smith chart calibrated?

Select	Answer
A	In fractions of transmission line electrical frequency
B	In fractions of transmission line electrical wavelength
C	In fractions of antenna electrical wavelength
D	In fractions of antenna electrical frequency

50. - E9H04

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

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

Figure E9-1