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

2. - E1A14

Except in some parts of Alaska, what is the maximum power permitted on the 630 meter band?

Select	Answer
A	100 watts PEP
B	1 watt EIRP
C	5 watts EIRP
D	50 watts PEP

3. - E1B04

What must be done before placing an amateur station within an officially designated wilderness area or wildlife preserve, or an area listed in the National Register of Historic Places?

Select	Answer
A	A proposal must be submitted to the National Park Service
B	A form FSD-15 must be submitted to the Department of the Interior
C	An Environmental Assessment must be submitted to the FCC
D	A letter of intent must be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency

4. - E1C07

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

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

5. - E1D10

Which amateur stations are eligible to be telecommand stations of space stations (subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held by the control operator of the station)?

Select	Answer
A	Any amateur station designated by NASA
B	All these choices are correct
C	Any amateur station so designated by the ITU
D	Any amateur station so designated by the space station licensee

6. - E1E12

What must the VE team do with the application form if the examinee does not pass the exam?

Select	Answer
A	Send the application form to the FCC and inform the FCC of the grade
B	Destroy the application form
C	Maintain the application form with the VEC's records
D	Return the application document to the examinee

7. - E1F11

Which of the following best describes one of the standards that must be met by an external RF power amplifier if it is to qualify for a grant of FCC certification?

Select	Answer
A	It must be capable of external RF switching between its input and output networks
B	It must exhibit a gain of 0 dB or less over its full output range
C	It must produce full legal output when driven by not more than 5 watts of mean RF input power
D	It must satisfy the FCC's spurious emission standards when operated at the lesser of 1500 watts or its full output power

8. - E2A07

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

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

9. - E2B02

How many horizontal lines make up a fast-scan (NTSC) television frame?

Select	Answer
A	1080
B	525
C	30
D	60

10. - E2C06

During a VHF/UHF contest, in which band segment would you expect to find the highest level of SSB or CW activity?

Select	Answer
A	In the weak signal segment of the band, with most of the activity near the calling frequency
B	In the middle of each band, usually on the national calling frequency
C	At the top of each band, usually in a segment reserved for contests
D	In the middle of the band, usually 25 kHz above the national calling frequency

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. - E2E09

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

Select	Answer
A	MT63
B	PACTOR
C	PSK31
D	RTTY

13. - E3A12

What is the cause of auroral activity?

Select	Answer
A	An extreme low-pressure area in the polar regions
B	The interaction in the F2 layer between the solar wind and the Van Allen belt
C	The interaction in the E layer of charged particles from the Sun with the Earth's magnetic field
D	Meteor showers concentrated in the extreme northern and southern latitudes

14. - E3B12

What is the primary characteristic of chordal hop propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Signals reflected back toward the transmitting station
B	Successive ionospheric refractions without an intermediate reflection from the ground
C	Propagation across the geomagnetic equator
D	Propagation away from the great circle bearing between stations

15. - E3C02

What is indicated by a rising A or K index?

Select	Answer
A	Decreasing disruption of the geomagnetic field
B	An increase in the critical frequency
C	Higher levels of solar UV radiation
D	Increasing disruption of the geomagnetic field

16. - E4A04

How is the compensation of an oscilloscope probe typically adjusted?

Select	Answer
A	A frequency standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the deflection time is accurate
B	A square wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the horizontal portions of the displayed wave are as nearly flat as possible
C	A high frequency sine wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted for maximum amplitude
D	A DC voltage standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the displayed voltage 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 AF signals having harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a peak reading wattmeter
C	Modulate the transmitter using two RF signals having harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a logic analyzer
D	Modulate the transmitter using two AF signals having non-harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a spectrum analyzer

18. - E4C10

What is an advantage of having a variety of receiver IF bandwidths from which to select?

Select	Answer
A	Receiver power consumption can be reduced when wider bandwidth is not required
B	Multiple frequencies can be received simultaneously if desired
C	Receive bandwidth can be set to match the modulation bandwidth, maximizing signal-to-noise ratio and minimizing interference
D	The noise figure of the RF amplifier can be adjusted to match the modulation type, thus increasing receiver sensitivity

19. - E4D08

What causes intermodulation in an electronic circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Lack of neutralization
B	Too little gain
C	Nonlinear circuits or devices
D	Positive feedback

20. - E4E03

Which of the following signals might a receiver noise blanker be able to remove from desired signals?

Select	Answer
A	Signals that appear across a wide bandwidth
B	Signals that appear at one IF but not another
C	Signals that have a sharply peaked frequency distribution
D	Signals that are constant at all IF levels

21. - E5A13

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

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

22. - E5B09

What is the relationship between the AC current through a capacitor and the voltage across a capacitor?

Select	Answer
A	Voltage leads current by 90 degrees
B	Voltage and current are 180 degrees out of phase
C	Voltage and current are in phase
D	Current leads voltage by 90 degrees

23. - E5C11

Which point in Figure E5-1 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 300-ohm resistor and an 18-microhenry inductor at 3.505 MHz?

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

24. - E5D03

What is microstrip?

Select	Answer
A	Short lengths of coax mounted on printed circuit boards to minimize time delay between microwave circuits
B	Miniature coax used for low power applications
C	Lightweight transmission line made of common zip cord
D	Precision printed circuit conductors above a ground plane that provide constant impedance interconnects at microwave frequencies

25. - E6A04

What is the name given to an impurity atom that adds holes to a semiconductor crystal structure?

Select	Answer
A	Insulator impurity
B	Donor impurity
C	N-type impurity
D	Acceptor impurity

26. - E6B07

What is the failure mechanism when a junction diode fails due to excessive current?

Select	Answer
A	Charge carrier depletion
B	Excessive inverse voltage
C	Insufficient forward voltage
D	Excessive junction temperature

27. - E6C10

In Figure E6-3, what is the schematic symbol for a NOR gate?

Select	Answer
A	1
B	3
C	4
D	2

28. - E6D06

What core material property determines the inductance of an inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Resistance
B	Thermal impedance
C	Reactivity
D	Permeability

29. - E6E11

What is a characteristic of DIP packaging used for integrated circuits?

Select	Answer
A	Package mounts in a direct inverted position
B	A total of two rows of connecting pins placed on opposite sides of the package (Dual In-line Package)
C	Two chips in each package (Dual In Package)
D	Low leakage doubly insulated package

30. - E6F06

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

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

31. - E7A08

What logical operation does an OR gate perform?

Select	Answer
A	It only produces logic 0 at its output when all inputs are logic 1
B	It produces logic 0 at its output if all inputs are logic 1
C	It produces logic 1 at its output if all inputs are logic 0
D	It produces logic 1 at its output if any or all inputs are logic 1

32. - E7B01

For what portion of the signal cycle does each active element in a push-pull Class AB amplifier conduct?

Select	Answer
A	Less than 180 degrees
B	Exactly 180 degrees
C	More than 180 degrees but less than 360 degrees
D	The entire cycle

33. - E7C04

How does an impedance-matching circuit transform a complex impedance to a resistive impedance?

Select	Answer
A	It introduces negative resistance to cancel the resistive part of impedance
B	It cancels the reactive part of the impedance and changes the resistive part to a desired value
C	Reactive currents are dissipated in matched resistances
D	It introduces transconductance to cancel the reactive part of impedance

34. - E7D02

What is a characteristic of a switching electronic voltage regulator?

Select	Answer
A	The resistance of a control element is varied in direct proportion to the line voltage or load current
B	It gives a ramp voltage at its output
C	The controlled device's duty cycle is changed to produce a constant average output voltage
D	It is generally less efficient than a linear regulator

35. - E7E03

What is a frequency discriminator stage in a FM receiver?

Select	Answer
A	A circuit for filtering two closely adjacent signals
B	An automatic band-switching circuit
C	A circuit for detecting FM signals
D	An FM generator circuit

36. - E7F04

What is a common method of generating an SSB signal using digital signal processing?

Select	Answer
A	Signals are combined in quadrature phase relationship
B	Mixing products are converted to voltages and subtracted by adder circuits
C	A frequency synthesizer removes the unwanted sidebands
D	Varying quartz crystal characteristics emulated in digital form

37. - E7G03

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

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

38. - E7H01

What are three oscillator circuits used in amateur radio equipment?

Select	Answer
A	Pierce, Fenner and Beane
B	Taft, Hartley and Pierce
C	Taft, Pierce and negative feedback
D	Colpitts, Hartley and Pierce

39. - E8A10

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

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

40. - E8B02

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

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

41. - E8C09

Which digital code allows only one bit to change between sequential code values?

Select	Answer
A	Gray code
B	Binary Coded Decimal Code
C	Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code
D	Excess 3 code

42. - E8D10

What are some of the differences between the Baudot digital code and ASCII?

Select	Answer
A	Baudot uses 5 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot uses 2 characters as letters/figures shift codes, ASCII has no letters/figures shift code
B	Baudot uses 4 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot uses 1 character as a letters/figures shift code, ASCII has no letters/figures code
C	Baudot uses 7 data bits per character, ASCII uses 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes
D	Baudot uses 6 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes

43. - E9A01

What is an isotropic antenna?

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

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 of the ionosphere where radiated power is not refracted
C	The region where radiated power dissipates over a specified time period
D	The region where radiated field strengths are constant

45. - E9C10

Which of the following describes a Zepp antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A dipole constructed from zip cord
B	A vertical array capable of quickly changing the direction of maximum radiation by changing phasing lines
C	An omni-directional antenna commonly used for satellite communications
D	An end-fed dipole antenna

46. - E9D02

How can linearly polarized Yagi antennas be used to produce circular polarization?

Select	Answer
A	Stack two Yagis fed 90 degrees out of phase to form an array with the respective elements in parallel planes
B	Arrange two Yagis perpendicular to each other with the driven elements at the same point on the boom fed 90 degrees out of phase
C	Stack two Yagis fed in phase to form an array with the respective elements in parallel planes
D	Arrange two Yagis collinear to each other with the driven elements fed 180 degrees out of phase

47. - E9E11

What is the primary purpose of phasing lines when used with an antenna having multiple driven elements?

Select	Answer
A	It ensures that each driven element operates in concert with the others to create the desired antenna pattern
B	It allows single-band antennas to operate on other bands
C	It creates a low-angle radiation pattern
D	It prevents reflected power from traveling back down the feed line and causing harmonic radiation from the transmitter

48. - E9F12

What impedance does a 1/4-wavelength transmission line present to a generator when the line is open at the far end?

Select	Answer
A	Very low impedance
B	The same as the input impedance to the generator
C	Very high impedance
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	Antenna radiation pattern
B	Radio propagation
C	Radiation resistance
D	Impedance along transmission lines

50. - E9H05

What is the main drawback of a small wire-loop antenna for direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	It has no clearly defined null
C	It is practical for use only on VHF and higher bands
D	It has a bidirectional pattern

Figure E5-1

Figure E6-3