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

2. - E1A07

What is the maximum power permitted on the 2200 meter band?

Select	Answer
A	1 watt EIRP (Equivalent isotropic radiated power)
B	50 watts PEP
C	5 watts EIRP (Equivalent isotropic radiated power)
D	100 watts PEP

3. - E1B01

Which of the following constitutes a spurious emission?

Select	Answer
A	Any transmitted signal that unintentionally interferes with another licensed radio station
B	An emission outside the signal's necessary bandwidth that can be reduced or eliminated without affecting the information transmitted
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 approved by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration
D	When agreed upon by the sending or receiving station

5. - E1D12

Which of the following amateur stations may transmit one-way communications?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	A local repeater or linked repeater station
C	A message forwarding station or automatically controlled digital station
D	A space station, beacon station, or telecommand station

6. - E1E06

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

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

8. - E2A10

What type of satellite appears to stay in one position in the sky?

Select	Answer
A	HEO
B	Geomagnetic
C	Geostationary
D	LEO

9. - E2B04

How is color information sent in analog SSTV?

Select	Answer
A	Color is sent in a color burst at the end of each line
B	Color is amplitude modulated on the frequency modulated intensity signal
C	Color lines are sent sequentially
D	Color information is sent on a 2.8 kHz subcarrier

10. - E2C03

From which of the following bands is amateur radio contesting generally excluded?

Select	Answer
A	6 meters
B	33 centimeters
C	30 meters
D	2 meters

11. - E2D06

Which of the following describes a method of establishing EME contacts?

Select	Answer
A	Time synchronous transmissions alternately from each station
B	Storing and forwarding digital messages
C	High-speed CW identification to avoid fading
D	Judging optimum transmission times by monitoring beacons reflected from the moon

12. - E2E10

Which of these digital modes has the narrowest bandwidth?

Select	Answer
A	170 Hz shift, 45-baud RTTY
B	MFSK16
C	PSK31
D	300-baud packet

13. - E3A04

What do Hepburn maps predict?

Select	Answer
A	Likelihood of rain scatter along cold or warm fronts
B	Probability of tropospheric propagation
C	Locations of auroral reflecting zones
D	Sporadic E propagation

14. - E3B07

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

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

15. - E3C10

What does the 304A solar parameter measure?

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

16. - E4A04

How is the compensation of an oscilloscope probe typically adjusted?

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

17. - E4B10

Which of the following methods measures intermodulation distortion in an SSB transmitter?

Select	Answer
A	Modulate the transmitter using two RF signals having non-harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a spectrum analyzer
B	Modulate the transmitter using two RF signals having harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a logic analyzer
C	Modulate the transmitter using two AF signals having harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a peak reading wattmeter
D	Modulate the transmitter using two AF signals having non-harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a spectrum analyzer

18. - E4C13

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

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

19. - E4D06

What is the term for spurious signals generated by the combination of two or more signals in a non-linear device or circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Adjacent channel interference
B	Amplifier desensitization
C	Intermodulation
D	Neutralization

20. - E4E09

What undesirable effect can occur when using an IF noise blanker?

Select	Answer
A	The audio frequency bandwidth of the received signal might be compressed
B	FM signals can no longer be demodulated
C	Received audio in the speech range might have an echo effect
D	Nearby signals may appear to be excessively wide even if they meet emission standards

21. - E5A05

What is the result of increasing the Q of an impedance-matching circuit?

Select	Answer
A	It has no effect on impedance matching
B	Matching range is increased
C	Matching bandwidth is decreased
D	Matching bandwidth is increased

22. - E5B11

What is the phase angle between the voltage across and the current through a series RLC circuit if XC is 25 ohms, R is 100 ohms, and XL is 50 ohms?

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

23. - E5C12

Which point on Figure E5-1 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 300-ohm resistor and a 19-picofarad capacitor at 21.200 MHz?

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

24. - E5D07

How many watts are consumed in a circuit having a power factor of 0.71 if the apparent power is 500VA?

Select	Answer
A	1.42 mW
B	355 W
C	252 W
D	704 W

25. - E6A01

In what application is gallium arsenide used as a semiconductor material?

Select	Answer
A	In high-power audio circuits
B	In microwave circuits
C	In very low-frequency RF circuits
D	In high-current rectifier circuits

26. - E6B02

What is an important characteristic of a Schottky diode as compared to an ordinary silicon diode when used as a power supply rectifier?

Select	Answer
A	Longer carrier retention time
B	More constant reverse avalanche voltage
C	Much higher reverse voltage breakdown
D	Less forward voltage drop

27. - E6C07

What best describes a pull-up or pull-down resistor?

Select	Answer
A	A resistor that ensures that an oscillator frequency does not drift
B	A resistor connected to the positive or negative supply line used to establish a voltage when an input or output is an open circuit
C	A resistor connected to an op-amp output that prevents signals from exceeding the power supply voltage
D	A resistor in a keying circuit used to reduce key clicks

28. - E6D13

What is the primary cause of inductor self-resonance?

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

29. - E6E04

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

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

30. - E6F08

Why are optoisolators often used in conjunction with solid-state circuits when switching 120 VAC?

Select	Answer
A	Optoisolators eliminate the effects of reflected light in the control circuit
B	Optoisolators provide a low impedance link between a control circuit and a power circuit
C	Optoisolators provide a very high degree of electrical isolation between a control circuit and the circuit being switched
D	Optoisolators provide impedance matching between the control circuit and power circuit

31. - E7A10

What is a truth table?

Select	Answer
A	A table of logic symbols that indicate the high logic states of an op-amp
B	A table of logic symbols that indicate the logic states of an op-amp
C	A diagram showing logic states when the digital device output is true
D	A list of inputs and corresponding outputs for a digital device

32. - E7B15

What is one way to prevent thermal runaway in a bipolar transistor amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	Select transistors with high beta
B	Use a resistor in series with the emitter
C	All these choices are correct
D	Neutralization

33. - E7C03

What advantage does a series-L Pi-L-network have over a series-L Pi-network for impedance matching between the final amplifier of a vacuum-tube transmitter and an antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Greater transformation range
B	Higher efficiency
C	Does not require a capacitor
D	Greater harmonic suppression

34. - E7D13

What is the equation for calculating power dissipated by a series linear voltage regulator?

Select	Answer
A	Voltage difference from input to output multiplied by output current
B	Input voltage multiplied by input current
C	Output voltage multiplied by output current
D	Input voltage divided by output current

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	Processor latency
C	Sample width in bits
D	Sample rate

37. - E7G08

How does the gain of an ideal operational amplifier vary with frequency?

Select	Answer
A	It increases linearly with increasing frequency
B	It decreases linearly with increasing frequency
C	It decreases logarithmically with increasing frequency
D	It does not vary with frequency

38. - E7H03

How is positive feedback supplied in a Hartley oscillator?

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

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	Speech characteristics
D	The frequency of the modulating signal

40. - E8B02

How does the modulation index of a phase-modulated emission vary with RF carrier frequency?

Select	Answer
A	It decreases as the RF carrier frequency increases
B	It increases as the RF carrier frequency increases
C	It does not depend on the RF carrier frequency
D	It varies with the square root of the RF carrier frequency

41. - E8C06

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

Select	Answer
A	1.0 kHz
B	0.5 kHz
C	0.3 kHz
D	0.1 Hz

42. - E8D04

What is the primary effect of extremely short rise or fall time on a CW signal?

Select	Answer
A	The generation of key clicks
B	The generation of RF harmonics
C	More difficult to copy
D	Limits data speed

43. - E9A03

What is the radiation resistance of an antenna?

Select	Answer
A	The combined losses of the antenna elements and feed line
B	The resistance in the atmosphere that an antenna must overcome to be able to radiate a signal
C	The specific impedance of the antenna
D	The value of a resistance that would dissipate the same amount of power as that radiated from an antenna

44. - E9B07

How does the total amount of radiation emitted by a directional gain antenna compare with the total amount of radiation emitted from a theoretical isotropic antenna, assuming each is driven by the same amount of power?

Select	Answer
A	The radiation from the isotropic antenna is 2.15 dB stronger than that from the directional antenna
B	The total amount of radiation from the directional antenna is increased by the gain of the antenna
C	The total amount of radiation from the directional antenna is stronger by its front-to-back ratio
D	They are the same

45. - E9C11

How is the far-field elevation pattern of a vertically polarized antenna affected by being mounted over seawater versus soil?

Select	Answer
A	The low-angle radiation increases
B	Additional higher vertical angle lobes will appear
C	The low-angle radiation decreases
D	Fewer vertical angle lobes will be present

46. - E9D11

Which of the following conductors would be best for minimizing losses in a station's RF ground system?

Select	Answer
A	Solid wire
B	Stranded wire
C	Wide flat copper strap
D	Resistive wire, such as spark plug wire

47. - E9E09

Which of the following is used to shunt-feed a grounded tower at its base?

Select	Answer
A	Gamma match
B	Hairpin match
C	All these choices are correct
D	Double-bazooka match

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

49. - E9G01

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

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

50. - E9H07

Why is RF attenuation used when direction-finding?

Select	Answer
A	To compensate for isotropic directivity and the antenna effect of feed lines
B	To prevent receiver overload which reduces pattern nulls
C	To narrow the receiver bandwidth
D	To increase receiver sensitivity

Figure E5-1