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

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1. - E0A08

What does SAR measure?

Select	Answer
A	The rate at which RF energy is absorbed by the body
B	The rate of RF energy reflected from stationary terrain
C	Synthetic Aperture Ratio of the human body
D	Signal Amplification Rating

2. - E1A03

What is the maximum legal carrier frequency on the 20 meter band for transmitting USB AFSK digital signals having a 1 kHz bandwidth?

Select	Answer
A	14.100 MHz
B	14.149 MHz
C	14.349 MHz
D	14.070 MHz

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

4. - E1C06

Which of the following is required in order to operate in accordance with CEPT rules in foreign countries where permitted?

Select	Answer
A	The U.S. embassy must approve of your operation
B	You must append "/CEPT" to your call sign
C	You must identify in the official language of the country in which you are operating
D	You must bring a copy of FCC Public Notice DA 16-1048

5. - E1D02

Which of the following may transmit special codes intended to obscure the meaning of messages?

Select	Answer
A	Telecommand signals from a space telecommand station
B	Auxiliary relay links carrying repeater audio
C	Data containing personal information
D	Binary control characters

6. - E1E03

What is a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator?

Select	Answer
A	A person who has volunteered to 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	An organization that has entered into an agreement with the FCC to coordinate, prepare, and administer amateur operator license examinations

7. - E1F04

Which of the following geographic descriptions approximately describes "Line A"?

Select	Answer
A	A line roughly parallel to and east of the U.S. Pacific coastline
B	A line roughly parallel to and west of the U.S. Atlantic coastline
C	A line roughly parallel to and south of the border between the U.S. and Canada
D	A line roughly parallel to and north of the border between the U.S. and Mexico

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. - E2B11

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

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

10. - E2C12

What technique do individual nodes use to form a mesh network?

Select	Answer
A	Forward error correction and Viterbi codes
B	Acting as store-and-forward digipeaters
C	Discovery and link establishment protocols
D	Custom code plugs for the local trunking systems

11. - E2D04

What technology is used to track, in real time, balloons carrying amateur radio transmitters?

Select	Answer
A	APRS
B	Doppler shift of beacon signals
C	Ultrasonics
D	Bandwidth compressed LORAN

12. - E2E02

What do the letters FEC mean as they relate to digital operation?

Select	Answer
A	Fatal Error Correction
B	Final Error Correction
C	First Error Correction
D	Forward Error Correction

13. - E3A05

Tropospheric propagation of microwave signals often occurs in association with what phenomenon?

Select	Answer
A	Warm and cold fronts
B	Sprites and jets
C	Lightning discharges
D	Grayline

14. - E3B10

Why is chordal hop propagation desirable?

Select	Answer
A	Signals travel faster along ionospheric chords
B	Atmospheric noise is lower in the direction of chordal hop propagation
C	The MUF for chordal hop propagation is much lower than for normal skip propagation
D	The signal experiences less loss compared to multi-hop using Earth as a reflector

15. - E3C02

What is indicated by a rising A or K index?

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

16. - E4A03

Which of the following test instruments is used to display spurious signals and/or intermodulation distortion products generated by an SSB transmitter?

Select	Answer
A	A logic analyzer
B	A time-domain reflectometer
C	A spectrum analyzer
D	A wattmeter

17. - E4B03

Which S parameter is equivalent to forward gain?

Select	Answer
A	S11
B	S22
C	S12
D	S21

18. - E4C14

What transmit frequency might generate an image response signal in a receiver tuned to 14.300 MHz and that uses a 455 kHz IF frequency?

Select	Answer
A	14.755 MHz
B	13.845 MHz
C	15.210 MHz
D	14.445 MHz

19. - E4D08

What causes intermodulation in an electronic circuit?

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

20. - E4E11

What could cause local AM broadcast band signals to combine to generate spurious signals in the MF or HF bands?

Select	Answer
A	Nearby corroded metal joints are mixing and re-radiating the broadcast signals
B	You are receiving skywave signals from a distant station
C	One or more of the broadcast stations is transmitting an over-modulated signal
D	Your station receiver IF amplifier stage is defective

21. - E5A07

What is the magnitude of the current at the input of a parallel RLC circuit at resonance?

Select	Answer
A	Minimum
B	L/R
C	Maximum
D	R/L

22. - E5B02

What letter is commonly used to represent susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	Y
B	G
C	X
D	B

23. - E5C06

What does the impedance 50-j25 represent?

Select	Answer
A	50 ohms resistance in series with 25 ohms inductive reactance
B	25 ohms resistance in series with 50 ohms capacitive reactance
C	25 ohms resistance in series with 50 ohms inductive reactance
D	50 ohms resistance in series with 25 ohms capacitive reactance

24. - E5D02

Why is it important to keep lead lengths short for components used in circuits for VHF and above?

Select	Answer
A	To avoid unwanted inductive reactance
B	To increase the thermal time constant
C	To maintain component lifetime
D	All these choices are correct

25. - E6A01

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

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

26. - E6B03

What type of bias is required for an LED to emit light?

Select	Answer
A	Forward bias
B	Inductive bias
C	Zero bias
D	Reverse bias

27. - E6C03

What is tri-state logic?

Select	Answer
A	Logic devices with 0, 1, and high-impedance output states
B	Low-power logic devices designed to operate at 3 volts
C	Proprietary logic devices manufactured by Tri-State Devices
D	Logic devices that utilize ternary math

28. - E6D02

What is the equivalent circuit of a quartz crystal?

Select	Answer
A	Motional capacitance, motional inductance, and loss resistance in series, all in parallel with a shunt capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance
B	Motional capacitance, motional inductance, loss resistance, and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance all in parallel
C	Motional inductance and loss resistance in series, paralleled with motional capacitance and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance
D	Motional capacitance, motional inductance, loss resistance, and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance all in series

29. - E6E11

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

Select	Answer
A	Two chips in each package (Dual In 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	Low leakage doubly insulated package

30. - E6F10

What is the most common type of photovoltaic cell used for electrical power generation?

Select	Answer
A	Cadmium Sulfide
B	Selenium
C	Copper oxide
D	Silicon

31. - E7A03

Which of the following can divide the frequency of a pulse train by 2?

Select	Answer
A	A flip-flop
B	An OR gate
C	An XOR gate
D	A multiplexer

32. - E7B17

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

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

33. - E7C05

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

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

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	Provides a stable input impedance over a wide range of source voltage
D	Maintains nearly constant output impedance over a wide range of load current

35. - E7E06

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

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

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	4 bits
B	8 bits
C	10 bits
D	6 bits

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 logarithmically with increasing frequency
C	It does not vary with frequency
D	It decreases linearly with increasing frequency

38. - E7H07

How can an oscillator's microphonic responses be reduced?

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

39. - E8A08

Why would a direct or flash conversion analog-to-digital converter be useful for a software defined radio?

Select	Answer
A	Very low power consumption decreases frequency drift
B	All these choices are correct
C	Very high speed allows digitizing high frequencies
D	Immunity to out-of-sequence coding reduces spurious responses

40. - E8B08

What describes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing?

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

41. - E8C09

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

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

42. - E8D10

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

Select	Answer
A	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
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 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

43. - E9A09

What is antenna efficiency?

Select	Answer
A	Total resistance divided by radiation resistance
B	Effective radiated power divided by transmitter output
C	Radiation resistance divided by total resistance
D	Radiation resistance divided by transmission resistance

44. - E9B04

What is the front-to-back ratio of the radiation pattern shown in Figure E92?

Select	Answer
A	15 dB
B	28 dB
C	3 dB
D	38 dB

45. - E9C06

What is the effect of adding a terminating resistor to a rhombic antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It decreases the ground loss
B	It reflects the standing waves on the antenna elements back to the transmitter
C	It changes the radiation pattern from bidirectional to unidirectional
D	It changes the radiation pattern from horizontal to vertical polarization

46. - E9D03

Where should a high Q loading coil be placed to minimize losses in a shortened vertical antenna?

Select	Answer
A	As low as possible on the vertical radiator
B	As close to the transmitter as possible
C	Near the center of the vertical radiator
D	At a voltage node

47. - E9E04

What is the purpose of the series capacitor in a gamma-type antenna matching network?

Select	Answer
A	To cancel the inductive reactance of the matching network
B	To provide a rejection notch that prevents the radiation of harmonics
C	To provide DC isolation between the feed line and the antenna
D	To transform the antenna impedance to a higher value

48. - E9F08

Which of the following is a significant difference between foam dielectric coaxial cable and solid dielectric cable, assuming all other parameters are the same?

Select	Answer
A	Foam dielectric has lower safe operating voltage limits
B	Foam dielectric has higher velocity factor
C	Foam dielectric has lower loss per unit of length
D	All these choices are correct

49. - E9G05

Which of the following is a common use for a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Determine the impedance of a transmission line, given the physical dimensions
B	Determine the loss/100 feet of a transmission line, given the velocity factor and conductor materials
C	Determine the length and position of an impedance matching stub
D	Determine the gain of an antenna given the physical and electrical parameters

50. - E9H04

What is an advantage of placing a grounded electrostatic shield around a small loop direction-finding antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It eliminates unbalanced capacitive coupling to the surroundings, improving the nulls
B	It adds capacitive loading, increasing the bandwidth of the antenna
C	It increases signal strength by providing a better match to the feed line
D	It eliminates tracking errors caused by strong out-of-band signals