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

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1. - E0A05

What is one of the potential hazards of operating in the amateur radio microwave bands?

Select	Answer
A	Microwaves are ionizing radiation
B	The extremely high frequency energy can damage the joints of antenna structures
C	Microwaves often travel long distances by ionospheric reflection
D	The high gain antennas commonly used can result in high exposure levels

2. - E1A07

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

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

3. - E1B09

Which amateur stations may be operated under RACES rules?

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

4. - E1C14

How long must an operator wait after filing a notification with the Utilities Technology Council (UTC) before operating on the 2200 meter or 630 meter band?

Select	Answer
A	Operators may not operate until a test signal has been transmitted in coordination with the local power company
B	Operators may operate after 30 days, providing they have not been told that their station is within 1 km of PLC systems using those frequencies
C	Operations may commence immediately, and may continue unless interference is reported by the UTC
D	Operators must not operate until approval is received

5. - E1D12

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

Select	Answer
A	A message forwarding station or automatically controlled digital station
B	All these choices are correct
C	A local repeater or linked repeater 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	Each administering VE
B	The VE session manager
C	The FCC
D	The VEC coordinating the session

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	222 MHz - 223 MHz
B	420 MHz - 430 MHz
C	440 MHz - 450 MHz
D	53 MHz - 54 MHz

8. - E2A12

What is the purpose of digital store-and-forward functions on an amateur radio satellite?

Select	Answer
A	To upload operational software for the transponder
B	To relay messages between satellites
C	To store digital messages in the satellite for later download by other stations
D	To delay download of telemetry between satellites

9. - E2B01

How many times per second is a new frame transmitted in a fast-scan (NTSC) television system?

Select	Answer
A	30
B	90
C	120
D	60

10. - E2C05

What is the function of a DX QSL Manager?

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

11. - E2D10

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

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

12. - E2E01

Which of the following types of modulation is common for data emissions below 30 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	Spread spectrum
B	Pulse modulation
C	FSK
D	DTMF tones modulating an FM signal

13. - E3A13

Which of these emission modes is best for auroral propagation?

Select	Answer
A	SSB
B	RTTY
C	FM
D	CW

14. - E3B04

What is meant by the terms "extraordinary" and "ordinary" waves?

Select	Answer
A	Independent waves created in the ionosphere that are elliptically polarized
B	Extraordinary waves describe rare long-skip propagation compared to ordinary waves, which travel shorter distances
C	Long-path and short-path waves
D	Refracted rays and reflected waves

15. - E3C07

Which of the following descriptors indicates the greatest solar flare intensity?

Select	Answer
A	Class B
B	Class X
C	Class A
D	Class M

16. - E4A05

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

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

17. - E4B06

How much power is being absorbed by the load when a directional power meter connected between a transmitter and a terminating load reads 100 watts forward power and 25 watts reflected power?

Select	Answer
A	75 watts
B	25 watts
C	100 watts
D	125 watts

18. - E4C07

What does the MDS of a receiver represent?

Select	Answer
A	The maximum detectable spectrum
B	The multiplex distortion stability
C	The minimum discernible signal
D	The meter display sensitivity

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	Cross-modulation interference
C	Squelch gain rollback
D	Quieting

20. - E4E01

What problem can occur when using an automatic notch filter (ANF) to remove interfering carriers while receiving CW signals?

Select	Answer
A	Removal of the CW signal as well as the interfering carrier
B	Any nearby signal passing through the DSP system will overwhelm the desired signal
C	Ringing in the DSP filter will completely remove the spaces between the CW characters
D	Received CW signals will appear to be modulated at the DSP clock frequency

21. - E5A01

What can cause the voltage across reactances in a series RLC circuit to be higher than the voltage applied to the entire circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Conductance
B	Resonance
C	Capacitance
D	Resistance

22. - E5B02

What letter is commonly used to represent susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	Y
B	G
C	B
D	X

23. - E5C05

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

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

24. - E5D12

How many watts are consumed in a circuit having a power factor of 0.2 if the input is 100 VAC at 4 amperes?

Select	Answer
A	80 watts
B	400 watts
C	50 watts
D	2000 watts

25. - E6A12

Why do many MOSFET devices have internally connected Zener diodes on the gates?

Select	Answer
A	To protect the substrate from excessive voltages
B	To reduce the chance of static damage to the gate
C	To keep the gate voltage within specifications and prevent the device from overheating
D	To provide a voltage reference for the correct amount of reverse-bias gate voltage

26. - E6B01

What is the most useful characteristic of a Zener diode?

Select	Answer
A	A constant current drop under conditions of varying voltage
B	An internal capacitance that varies with the applied voltage
C	A negative resistance region
D	A constant voltage drop under conditions of varying current

27. - E6C06

Why do CMOS digital integrated circuits have high immunity to noise on the input signal or power supply?

Select	Answer
A	Large bypass capacitance is inherent
B	The input switching threshold is about one-half the power supply voltage
C	Bandwidth is very limited
D	The input switching threshold is about two times the power supply voltage

28. - E6D12

What is inductor saturation?

Select	Answer
A	Adjacent inductors become over-coupled
B	The inductor's voltage rating is exceeded causing a flashover
C	The inductor windings are over-coupled
D	The ability of the inductor's core to store magnetic energy has been exceeded

29. - E6E06

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

Select	Answer
A	The ability to retrieve information from a single signal even in the presence of other strong signals
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	Nearly infinite gain, very high input impedance, and very low output impedance

30. - E6F06

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

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

31. - E7A07

What logical operation does a NAND gate perform?

Select	Answer
A	It produces logic 1 at its output only when all inputs are logic 1
B	It produces logic 0 at its output if some but not all inputs are logic 1
C	It produces logic 0 at its output only when all inputs are logic 0
D	It produces logic 0 at its output only when all inputs are logic 1

32. - E7B07

Which of the following is a likely result when a Class C amplifier is used to amplify a single-sideband phone signal?

Select	Answer
A	Signal distortion and excessive bandwidth
B	Reduced intermodulation products
C	Increased overall intelligibility
D	Signal inversion

33. - E7C05

Which filter type is described as having ripple in the passband and a sharp cutoff?

Select	Answer
A	An active LC filter
B	A Butterworth filter
C	A Chebyshev filter
D	A passive op-amp filter

34. - E7D14

What is the purpose of connecting equal-value resistors across power supply filter capacitors connected in series?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	Equalize the voltage across each capacitor
C	Discharge the capacitors when voltage is removed
D	Provide a minimum load on the supply

35. - E7E08

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

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

36. - E7F08

What is the function of decimation?

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

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	0.23 volts
B	-0.23 volts
C	-2.3 volts
D	2.3 volts

38. - E7H01

What are three oscillator circuits used in amateur radio equipment?

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

39. - E8A11

Which of the following is a measure of the quality of an analog-to-digital converter?

Select	Answer
A	Reciprocal mixing
B	Total harmonic distortion
C	Power factor
D	Peak envelope power

40. - E8B03

What is the modulation index of an FM-phone signal having a maximum frequency deviation of 3000 Hz either side of the carrier frequency when the modulating frequency is 1000 Hz?

Select	Answer
A	1000
B	0.3
C	3
D	3000

41. - E8C05

What is the approximate bandwidth of a 13-WPM International Morse Code transmission?

Select	Answer
A	26 Hz
B	104 Hz
C	52 Hz
D	13 Hz

42. - E8D07

What is a common cause of overmodulation of AFSK signals?

Select	Answer
A	Excessive numbers of retries
B	Ground loops
C	Bit errors in the modem
D	Excessive transmit audio levels

43. - E9A10

Which of the following improves the efficiency of a ground-mounted quarter-wave vertical antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Installing a radial system
B	Isolating the coax shield from ground
C	All these choices are correct
D	Shortening the radiating element

44. - E9B01

In the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-1, what is the beamwidth?

Select	Answer
A	75 degrees
B	30 degrees
C	25 degrees
D	50 degrees

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

46. - E9D07

What is an advantage of using top loading in a shortened HF vertical antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Lower Q
B	Improved radiation efficiency
C	Greater structural strength
D	Higher losses

47. - E9E08

What is a use for a Wilkinson divider?

Select	Answer
A	It is used to feed low-impedance loads from a high-impedance source
B	It divides the operating frequency of a transmitter signal so it can be used on a lower frequency band
C	It is used to divide power equally between two 50-ohm loads while maintaining 50-ohm input impedance
D	It is used to feed high-impedance antennas from a low-impedance source

48. - E9F11

What impedance does a 1/8-wavelength transmission line present to a generator when the line is open at the far end?

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

49. - E9G04

What are the two families of circles and arcs that make up a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Resistance and voltage
B	Resistance and reactance
C	Voltage and impedance
D	Reactance and voltage

50. - E9H03

What is Receiving Directivity Factor (RDF)?

Select	Answer
A	Forward gain compared to average gain over the entire hemisphere
B	Relative directivity compared to isotropic
C	Relative directivity compared to a dipole
D	Forward gain compared to the gain in the reverse direction

Figure E7-3

Figure E9-1