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

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1. - E0A11

Which of the following injuries can result from using high-power UHF or microwave transmitters?

Select	Answer
A	Hearing loss caused by high voltage corona discharge
B	Ingestion of ozone gas from the cooling system
C	Localized heating of the body from RF exposure in excess of the MPE limits
D	Blood clotting from the intense magnetic field

2. - E1A04

With your transceiver displaying the carrier frequency of phone signals, you hear a DX station calling CQ on 3.601 MHz LSB. Is it legal to return the call using lower sideband on the same frequency?

Select	Answer
A	Yes, because the displayed frequency is within the 75 meter phone band segment
B	No, U.S. stations are not permitted to use phone emissions below 3.610 MHz
C	No, the sideband will extend beyond the edge of the phone band segment
D	Yes, because the DX station initiated the contact

3. - E1B01

Which of the following constitutes a spurious emission?

Select	Answer
A	A signal transmitted to prevent its detection by any station other than the intended recipient
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	An emission outside the signal's necessary bandwidth that can be reduced or eliminated without affecting the information transmitted

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. - E1D03

What is a space telecommand station?

Select	Answer
A	An amateur station that transmits communications to initiate, modify or terminate functions of a space station
B	An amateur station located in a satellite or a balloon more than 50 kilometers above the surface of the Earth
C	An amateur station that receives telemetry from a satellite or balloon more than 50 kilometers above the surface of the Earth
D	An amateur station located on the surface of the Earth for communication with other Earth stations by means of Earth satellites

6. - E1E03

What is a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator?

Select	Answer
A	An organization that has entered into an agreement with the FCC to coordinate, prepare, and administer amateur operator license examinations
B	The person who has entered into an agreement with the FCC to be the VE session manager
C	A person who has volunteered to prepare amateur operator license examinations
D	A person who has volunteered to administer amateur operator license examinations

7. - E1F06

Under what circumstances might the FCC issue a Special Temporary Authority (STA) to an amateur station?

Select	Answer
A	To provide for experimental amateur communications
B	To provide additional spectrum for personal use
C	To allow regular operation on Land Mobile channels
D	To provide temporary operation while awaiting normal licensing

8. - E2A11

What type of antenna can be used to minimize the effects of spin modulation and Faraday rotation?

Select	Answer
A	An isotropic antenna
B	A log-periodic dipole array
C	A circularly polarized antenna
D	A linearly polarized antenna

9. - E2B05

Which of the following describes the use of vestigial sideband in analog fast-scan TV transmissions?

Select	Answer
A	The vestigial sideband carries the audio information
B	Vestigial sideband provides high frequency emphasis to sharpen the picture
C	Vestigial sideband reduces bandwidth while allowing for simple video detector circuitry
D	The vestigial sideband contains chroma information

10. - E2C07

What is the Cabrillo format?

Select	Answer
A	A method of exchanging information during a contest QSO
B	The rules of order for meetings between contest sponsors
C	A standard for submission of electronic contest logs
D	The most common set of contest rules

11. - E2D09

What type of modulation is used for JT65 contacts?

Select	Answer
A	PSK
B	Multi-tone AFSK
C	RTTY
D	IEEE 802.11

12. - E2E08

Which of the following HF digital modes can be used to transfer binary files?

Select	Answer
A	AMTOR
B	Hellschreiber
C	RTTY
D	PACTOR

13. - E3A09

Which of the following frequency ranges is most suited for meteor scatter communications?

Select	Answer
A	28 MHz - 148 MHz
B	1.8 MHz - 1.9 MHz
C	220 MHz - 450 MHz
D	10 MHz - 14 MHz

14. - E3B05

Which amateur bands typically support long-path propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Only 30 meters to 10 meters
B	Only 160 meters to 40 meters
C	160 meters to 10 meters
D	6 meters to 2 meters

15. - E3C15

What might be indicated by a sudden rise in radio background noise across a large portion of the HF spectrum?

Select	Answer
A	A temperature inversion has occurred
B	Long-path propagation is likely
C	A solar flare has occurred
D	Increased transequatorial propagation is likely

16. - E4A05

What is the purpose of the prescaler function on a frequency counter?

Select	Answer
A	It amplifies low-level signals for more accurate counting
B	It multiplies a higher frequency signal so a low-frequency counter can display the operating frequency
C	It divides a higher frequency signal so a low-frequency counter can display the input frequency
D	It prevents oscillation in a low-frequency counter circuit

17. - E4B04

Which S parameter represents input port return loss or reflection coefficient (equivalent to VSWR)?

Select	Answer
A	S12
B	S11
C	S21
D	S22

18. - E4C13

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

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

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	Intermodulation
B	Adjacent channel interference
C	Amplifier desensitization
D	Neutralization

20. - E4E07

Which of the following can cause shielded cables to radiate or receive interference?

Select	Answer
A	Use of braided shielding material
B	Tying all ground connections to a common point resulting in differential-mode currents in the shield
C	Low inductance ground connections at both ends of the shield
D	Common-mode currents on the shield and conductors

21. - E5A15

Which of the following increases Q for inductors and capacitors?

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

22. - E5B07

What is the phase angle between the voltage across and the current through a series RLC circuit if XC is 500 ohms, R is 1 kilohm, and XL is 250 ohms?

Select	Answer
A	68.2 degrees with the voltage leading the current
B	14.0 degrees with the voltage leading the current
C	14.0 degrees with the voltage lagging the current
D	68.2 degrees with the voltage lagging the current

23. - E5C01

Which of the following represents capacitive reactance in rectangular notation?

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

24. - E5D14

What is reactive power?

Select	Answer
A	Power consumed in wire resistance in an inductor
B	Wattless, nonproductive power
C	Power lost because of capacitor leakage
D	Power consumed in circuit Q

25. - E6A01

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

Select	Answer
A	In microwave circuits
B	In high-current rectifier circuits
C	In high-power audio circuits
D	In very low-frequency RF 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	Less forward voltage drop
B	More constant reverse avalanche voltage
C	Much higher reverse voltage breakdown
D	Longer carrier retention time

27. - E6C05

What is an advantage of CMOS logic devices over TTL devices?

Select	Answer
A	Differential output capability
B	Lower power consumption
C	Lower distortion
D	Immune to damage from static discharge

28. - E6D04

Which materials are commonly used as a core in an inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Teflon and Delrin
B	Polystyrene and polyethylene
C	Cobalt and aluminum
D	Ferrite and brass

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	The ability to retrieve information from a single signal even in the presence of other strong signals
D	Plate current that is controlled by a control grid

30. - E6F07

What is a solid-state relay?

Select	Answer
A	A mechanical relay that latches in the on or off state each time it is pulsed
B	A relay using transistors to drive the relay coil
C	A semiconductor passive delay line
D	A device that uses semiconductors to implement the functions of an electromechanical relay

31. - E7A02

What is the function of a decade counter?

Select	Answer
A	It decodes a binary number for display on a seven-segment LED display
B	It produces one output pulse for every 10 input pulses
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. - E7B03

Which of the following components form the output of a class D amplifier circuit?

Select	Answer
A	A temperature compensating load resistor to improve linearity
B	A high-pass filter to compensate for low gain at low frequencies
C	A matched load resistor to prevent damage by switching transients
D	A low-pass filter to remove switching signal components

33. - E7C12

What is one advantage of a Pi-matching network over an L-matching network consisting of a single inductor and a single capacitor?

Select	Answer
A	The Q of Pi-networks can be controlled
B	L-networks cannot perform impedance transformation
C	Pi-networks provide balanced input and output
D	Pi-networks are more stable

34. - E7D11

What is the function of the pass transistor in a linear voltage regulator circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Maintains nearly constant output voltage over a wide range of load current
B	Permits a wide range of output voltage settings
C	Maintains nearly constant output impedance over a wide range of load current
D	Provides a stable input impedance over a wide range of source voltage

35. - E7E05

What circuit is added to an FM transmitter to boost the higher audio frequencies?

Select	Answer
A	A de-emphasis network
B	A heterodyne suppressor
C	A pre-emphasis network
D	A heterodyne enhancer

36. - E7F06

What is the minimum number of bits required for an analog-to-digital converter to sample a signal with a range of 1 volt at a resolution of 1 millivolt?

Select	Answer
A	6 bits
B	10 bits
C	8 bits
D	4 bits

37. - E7G09

What will be the output voltage of the circuit shown in Figure E7-3 if R1 is 1000 ohms, RF is 10,000 ohms, and 0.23 volts DC is applied to the input?

Select	Answer
A	-2.3 volts
B	2.3 volts
C	-0.23 volts
D	0.23 volts

38. - E7H07

How can an oscillator's microphonic responses be reduced?

Select	Answer
A	Use NP0 capacitors
B	Increase the bias voltage
C	Reduce noise on the oscillator's power supply
D	Mechanically isolate the oscillator circuitry from its enclosure

39. - E8A03

What type of wave does a Fourier analysis show to be made up of sine waves of a given fundamental frequency plus all its harmonics?

Select	Answer
A	A cosine wave
B	A square wave
C	A sine wave
D	A sawtooth wave

40. - E8B11

What is digital time division multiplexing?

Select	Answer
A	Two or more data streams are assigned to discrete sub-carriers on an FM transmitter
B	Two or more data streams share the same channel by transmitting time of transmission as the sub-carrier
C	Two or more signals are arranged to share discrete time slots of a data transmission
D	Two or more signals are quadrature modulated to increase bandwidth efficiency

41. - E8C07

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

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

42. - E8D05

What is the most common method of reducing key clicks?

Select	Answer
A	Low-pass filters at the transmitter output
B	Increase keying waveform rise and fall times
C	High-pass filters at the transmitter output
D	Reduce keying waveform rise and fall times

43. - E9A13

What term describes station output, taking into account all gains and losses?

Select	Answer
A	Half-power bandwidth
B	Apparent power
C	Effective radiated power
D	Power factor

44. - E9B08

What is the far field of an antenna?

Select	Answer
A	The region where the shape of the antenna pattern is independent of distance
B	The region where radiated power dissipates over a specified time period
C	The region where radiated field strengths are constant
D	The region of the ionosphere where radiated power is not refracted

45. - E9C08

What is a folded dipole antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A type of ground-plane antenna
B	A dipole one-quarter wavelength long
C	A half-wave dipole with an additional parallel wire connecting its two ends
D	A dipole configured to provide forward gain

46. - E9D12

Which of the following would provide the best RF ground for your station?

Select	Answer
A	An electrically short connection to a metal water pipe
B	An electrically short connection to 3 or 4 interconnected ground rods via a series RF choke
C	An electrically short connection to 3 or 4 interconnected ground rods driven into the Earth
D	A 50-ohm resistor connected to ground

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	50 ohms
B	75 ohms
C	450 ohms
D	62 ohms

48. - E9F09

What is the approximate physical length of a foam polyethylene dielectric coaxial transmission line that is electrically 1/4 wavelength long at 7.2 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	10.4 meters
B	8.3 meters
C	5.2 meters
D	6.9 meters

49. - E9G10

What do the arcs on a Smith chart represent?

Select	Answer
A	Points with constant resistance
B	Points with constant reactance
C	Frequency
D	SWR

50. - E9H08

What is the function of a sense antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It provides diversity reception that cancels multipath signals
B	It modifies the pattern of a DF antenna array to provide a null in one direction
C	It increases the sensitivity of a DF antenna array
D	It allows DF antennas to receive signals at different vertical angles

Figure E7-3