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

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1. - E0A04

When evaluating a site with multiple transmitters operating at the same time, the operators and licensees of which transmitters are responsible for mitigating over-exposure situations?

Select	Answer
A	Only commercial transmitters
B	Only the most powerful transmitter
C	Each transmitter operating with a duty cycle greater than 50 percent
D	Each transmitter that produces 5 percent or more of its MPE limit in areas where the total MPE limit is exceeded.

2. - E1A01

Which of the following carrier frequencies is illegal for LSB AFSK emissions on the 17 meter band RTTY and data segment of 18.068 to 18.110 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	18.100 MHz
B	18.107 MHz
C	18.068 MHz
D	18.110 MHz

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. - E1C11

Which of the following operating arrangements allows an FCC-licensed U.S. citizen to operate in many European countries, and alien amateurs from many European countries to operate in the U.S.?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	ITU reciprocal license
C	IARP agreement
D	CEPT agreement

5. - E1D03

What is a space telecommand station?

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

7. - E1F07

When may an amateur station send a message to a business?

Select	Answer
A	When the total money involved does not exceed $25
B	When transmitting international third-party communications
C	When neither the amateur nor his or her employer has a pecuniary interest in the communications
D	When the control operator is employed by the FCC or another government agency

8. - E2A06

What are Keplerian elements?

Select	Answer
A	Encrypting codes used for spread spectrum modulation
B	Parameters that define the orbit of a satellite
C	High-emission heater filaments used in magnetron tubes
D	Phase reversing elements in a Yagi antenna

9. - E2B11

What is the function of the Vertical Interval Signaling (VIS) code sent as part of an SSTV transmission?

Select	Answer
A	To identify the SSTV mode being used
B	To provide vertical synchronization
C	To identify the call sign of the station transmitting
D	To lock the color burst oscillator in color SSTV images

10. - E2C07

What is the Cabrillo format?

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

11. - E2D02

Which of the following is a good technique for making meteor scatter contacts?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	Use of special digital modes
C	Short transmissions with rapidly repeated call signs and signal reports
D	15-second timed transmission sequences with stations alternating based on location

12. - E2E12

How do ALE stations establish contact?

Select	Answer
A	ALE radios activate when they hear their signal echoed by back scatter
B	ALE constantly scans a list of frequencies, activating the radio when the designated call sign is received
C	ALE radios monitor an internet site for the frequency they are being paged on
D	ALE radios send a constant tone code to establish a frequency for future use

13. - E3A09

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

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

14. - E3B09

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

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

15. - E3C05

What orientation of Bz (B sub z) increases the likelihood that incoming particles from the sun will cause disturbed conditions?

Select	Answer
A	Northward
B	Westward
C	Southward
D	Eastward

16. - E4A11

How should an antenna analyzer be connected when measuring antenna resonance and feed point impedance?

Select	Answer
A	Connect the analyzer via a high-impedance transformer to the antenna
B	Loosely couple the analyzer near the antenna base
C	Loosely couple the antenna and a dummy load to the analyzer
D	Connect the antenna feed line directly to the analyzer's connector

17. - E4B11

Which of the following can be measured with a vector network analyzer?

Select	Answer
A	Input impedance
B	Output impedance
C	Reflection coefficient
D	All these choices are correct

18. - E4C15

What is reciprocal mixing?

Select	Answer
A	In-phase signals cancelling in a mixer resulting in loss of receiver sensitivity
B	Two out-of-band signals mixing to generate an in-band spurious signal
C	Two digital signals combining from alternate time slots
D	Local oscillator phase noise mixing with adjacent strong signals to create interference to desired signals

19. - E4D07

Which of the following reduces the likelihood of receiver desensitization?

Select	Answer
A	Switch from fast AGC to slow AGC
B	Decrease the RF bandwidth of the receiver
C	Raise the receiver IF frequency
D	Increase the receiver front end gain

20. - E4E07

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

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

21. - E5A09

How is the Q of an RLC parallel resonant circuit calculated?

Select	Answer
A	Resistance divided by the reactance of either the inductance or capacitance
B	Reactance of either the inductance or capacitance multiplied by the resistance
C	Reactance of the inductance multiplied by the reactance of the capacitance
D	Reactance of either the inductance or capacitance divided by the resistance

22. - E5B10

What is the relationship between the AC current through an inductor and the voltage across an inductor?

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

23. - E5C02

How are impedances described in polar coordinates?

Select	Answer
A	By X and R values
B	By phase angle and magnitude
C	By real and imaginary parts
D	By Y and G values

24. - E5D06

In what direction is the magnetic field oriented about a conductor in relation to the direction of electron flow?

Select	Answer
A	In all directions; omni-directional
B	In a circle around the conductor
C	In a direction opposite to the current
D	In the same direction as the current

25. - E6A09

What is a depletion-mode FET?

Select	Answer
A	Any FET without a channel
B	An FET that exhibits a current flow between source and drain when no gate voltage is applied
C	An FET that has no current flow between source and drain when no gate voltage is applied
D	Any FET for which holes are the majority carriers

26. - E6B01

What is the most useful characteristic of a Zener diode?

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

27. - E6C04

Which of the following is an advantage of BiCMOS logic?

Select	Answer
A	Its simplicity results in much less expensive devices than standard CMOS
B	All these choices are correct
C	It is immune to electrostatic damage
D	It has the high input impedance of CMOS and the low output impedance of bipolar transistors

28. - E6D09

What devices are commonly used as VHF and UHF parasitic suppressors at the input and output terminals of a transistor HF amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	Electrolytic capacitors
B	Steel-core toroids
C	Ferrite beads
D	Butterworth filters

29. - E6E11

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

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

30. - E6F09

What is the efficiency of a photovoltaic cell?

Select	Answer
A	The relative fraction of light that is converted to current
B	Cost per kilowatt-hour generated
C	The output RF power divided by the input DC power
D	The open-circuit voltage divided by the short-circuit current under full illumination

31. - E7A08

What logical operation does an OR gate perform?

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

32. - E7B17

Why are odd-order rather than even-order intermodulation distortion products of concern in linear power amplifiers?

Select	Answer
A	Because they maintain the sidebands, thus causing multiple duplicate signals
B	Because they are relatively close in frequency to the desired signal
C	Because they are relatively far in frequency from the desired signal
D	Because they invert the sidebands causing distortion

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

34. - E7D07

What is the purpose of C2 in the circuit shown in Figure E7-2?

Select	Answer
A	It bypasses rectifier output ripple around D1
B	It is a brute force filter for the output
C	To provide fixed DC bias for Q1
D	To self-resonate at the hum frequency

35. - E7E06

Why is de-emphasis commonly used in FM communications receivers?

Select	Answer
A	To remove third-order distortion products
B	For compatibility with transmitters using phase modulation
C	For higher efficiency
D	To reduce impulse noise reception

36. - E7F01

What is meant by direct digital conversion as applied to software defined radios?

Select	Answer
A	Incoming RF is converted to a control voltage for a voltage controlled oscillator
B	Incoming RF is digitized by an analog-to-digital converter without being mixed with a local oscillator signal
C	Software is converted from source code to object code during operation of the receiver
D	A switching mixer is used to generate I and Q signals directly from the RF input

37. - E7G04

What is meant by the "op-amp input offset voltage"?

Select	Answer
A	The output voltage of the op-amp minus its input voltage
B	The differential input voltage needed to bring the open loop output voltage to zero
C	The difference between the output voltage of the op-amp and the input voltage required in the immediately following stage
D	The potential between the amplifier input terminals of the op-amp in an open loop condition

38. - E7H14

What is a phase-locked loop circuit?

Select	Answer
A	An electronic servo loop consisting of a ratio detector, reactance modulator, and voltage-controlled oscillator
B	An electronic servo loop consisting of a phase detector, a low-pass filter, a voltage-controlled oscillator, and a stable reference oscillator
C	An electronic circuit consisting of a precision push-pull amplifier with a differential input
D	An electronic circuit also known as a monostable multivibrator

39. - E8A04

What is "dither" with respect to analog-to-digital converters?

Select	Answer
A	An abnormal condition where the converter cannot settle on a value to represent the signal
B	A method of decimation by randomly skipping samples
C	A small amount of noise added to the input signal to allow more precise representation of a signal over time
D	An error caused by irregular quantization step size

40. - E8B08

What describes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing?

Select	Answer
A	A digital modulation technique using subcarriers at frequencies chosen to avoid intersymbol interference
B	A digital mode for narrow-band, slow-speed transmissions
C	A bandwidth compression technique using Fourier transforms
D	A frequency modulation technique that uses non-harmonically related frequencies

41. - E8C06

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

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

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 7 data bits per character, ASCII uses 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes
C	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
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. - E9A03

What is the radiation resistance of an antenna?

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

44. - E9B09

What type of computer program technique is commonly used for modeling antennas?

Select	Answer
A	Calculus differentiation with respect to physical properties
B	Method of Moments
C	Mutual impedance analysis
D	Graphical analysis

45. - E9C05

Which of the following is a type of OCFD antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A folded dipole center-fed with 300-ohm transmission line
B	A remotely tunable dipole antenna using orthogonally controlled frequency diversity
C	A dipole fed approximately 1/3 the way from one end with a 4:1 balun to provide multiband operation
D	A multiband dipole antenna using one-way circular polarization for frequency diversity

46. - E9D12

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

Select	Answer
A	A 50-ohm resistor connected to ground
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	An electrically short connection to a metal water pipe

47. - E9E09

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

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

48. - E9F07

How does ladder line compare to small-diameter coaxial cable such as RG-58 at 50 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	Lower loss
B	Lower velocity factor
C	Higher SWR
D	Smaller reflection coefficient

49. - E9G03

Which of the following is often determined using a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Trigonometric functions
B	Satellite azimuth and elevation bearings
C	Impedance and SWR values in transmission lines
D	Beam headings and radiation patterns

50. - E9H11

What feature of a cardioid pattern antenna makes it useful for direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	Broadband response
B	A very sharp peak
C	A very sharp single null
D	High radiation angle

Figure E7-2