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

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1. - E0A03

Over what range of frequencies are the FCC human body RF exposure limits most restrictive?

Select	Answer
A	30 to 300 MHz
B	300 kHz to 3 MHz
C	3 to 30 MHz
D	300 to 3000 MHz

2. - E1A13

Who must be in physical control of the station apparatus of an amateur station aboard any vessel or craft that is documented or registered in the United States?

Select	Answer
A	Only a person with an FCC Marine Radio license grant
B	Only a person named in an amateur station license grant
C	Any person holding an FCC issued amateur license or who is authorized for alien reciprocal operation
D	Any person named in an amateur station license grant or a person holding an unrestricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit

3. - E1B05

What is the National Radio Quiet Zone?

Select	Answer
A	An area surrounding the National Radio Astronomy Observatory
B	An area in Florida surrounding Cape Canaveral
C	An area in New Mexico surrounding the White Sands Test Area
D	An area in Puerto Rico surrounding the Arecibo Radio Telescope

4. - E1C12

On what portion of the 630 meter band are phone emissions permitted?

Select	Answer
A	Only the bottom 3 kHz
B	Only the top 3 kHz
C	None
D	The entire band

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 space station, beacon station, or telecommand station
D	A local repeater or linked repeater station

6. - E1E04

Which of the following best describes the Volunteer Examiner accreditation process?

Select	Answer
A	The procedure by which a VEC confirms that the VE applicant meets FCC requirements to serve as an examiner
B	Each General, Advanced and Amateur Extra Class operator is automatically accredited as a VE when the license is granted
C	The amateur operator applying must pass a VE examination administered by the FCC Enforcement Bureau
D	The prospective VE obtains accreditation from the FCC

7. - E1F04

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

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

8. - E2A08

Why should effective radiated power to a satellite that uses a linear transponder be limited?

Select	Answer
A	To prevent the satellite from emitting out-of-band signals
B	To avoid reducing the downlink power to all other users
C	To prevent creating errors in the satellite telemetry
D	To avoid interfering with terrestrial QSOs

9. - E2B02

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

Select	Answer
A	30
B	60
C	525
D	1080

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

11. - E2D02

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

Select	Answer
A	15-second timed transmission sequences with stations alternating based on location
B	Short transmissions with rapidly repeated call signs and signal reports
C	Use of special digital modes
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	DTMF tones modulating an FM signal
C	Pulse modulation
D	FSK

13. - E3A05

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

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

14. - E3B09

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

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

15. - E3C09

How does the intensity of an X3 flare compare to that of an X2 flare?

Select	Answer
A	Four times as great
B	Twice as great
C	50 percent greater
D	10 percent greater

16. - E4A01

Which of the following limits the highest frequency signal that can be accurately displayed on a digital oscilloscope?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	Amount of memory
C	Sampling rate of the analog-to-digital converter
D	Q of the circuit

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	125 watts
B	100 watts
C	75 watts
D	25 watts

18. - E4C02

Which of the following receiver circuits can be effective in eliminating interference from strong out-of-band signals?

Select	Answer
A	A notch filter
B	A properly adjusted product detector
C	A narrow IF filter
D	A front-end filter or pre-selector

19. - E4D11

Why are odd-order intermodulation products, created within a receiver, of particular interest compared to other products?

Select	Answer
A	Odd-order products are an indication of poor image rejection
B	Odd-order products overload the IF filters
C	Odd-order intermodulation produces three products for every input signal within the band of interest
D	Odd-order products of two signals in the band of interest are also likely to be within the band

20. - E4E10

What might be the cause of a loud roaring or buzzing AC line interference that comes and goes at intervals?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	A defective doorbell or doorbell transformer inside a nearby residence
C	Arcing contacts in a thermostatically controlled device
D	A malfunctioning illuminated advertising display

21. - E5A16

What is the resonant frequency of an RLC circuit if R is 33 ohms, L is 50 microhenries and C is 10 picofarads?

Select	Answer
A	23.5 kHz
B	7.12 kHz
C	7.12 MHz
D	23.5 MHz

22. - E5B06

What is susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	A measure of the efficiency of a transformer
B	The ratio of magnetic field to electric field
C	The imaginary part of admittance
D	The magnetic impedance of a circuit

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 3
B	Point 7
C	Point 1
D	Point 8

24. - E5D11

What is the power factor of an RL circuit having a 60-degree phase angle between the voltage and the current?

Select	Answer
A	0.866
B	1.73
C	1.414
D	0.5

25. - E6A02

Which of the following semiconductor materials contains excess free electrons?

Select	Answer
A	P-type
B	N-type
C	Bipolar
D	Insulated gate

26. - E6B06

Which of the following is a common use of a Schottky diode?

Select	Answer
A	As a constant voltage reference in a power supply
B	As a variable capacitance in an automatic frequency control circuit
C	As a rectifier in high current power supplies
D	As a VHF/UHF mixer or detector

27. - E6C10

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

Select	Answer
A	2
B	1
C	3
D	4

28. - E6D03

Which of the following is an aspect of the piezoelectric effect?

Select	Answer
A	Mechanical deformation of material by the application of a magnetic field
B	Mechanical deformation of material by the application of a voltage
C	Increased conductivity in the presence of light
D	Generation of electrical energy in the presence of light

29. - E6E01

Why is gallium arsenide (GaAs) useful for semiconductor devices operating at UHF and higher frequencies?

Select	Answer
A	Lower junction voltage drop
B	Higher noise figures
C	Higher electron mobility
D	Lower transconductance

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. - 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 produces logic 1 at its output if any or all inputs are logic 1
C	It produces logic 0 at its output if all inputs are logic 1
D	It only produces logic 0 at its output when all inputs are logic 1

32. - E7B04

Where on the load line of a Class A common emitter amplifier would bias normally be set?

Select	Answer
A	At a point where the load line intersects the zero bias current curve
B	Approximately halfway between saturation and cutoff
C	At a point where the bias resistor equals the load resistor
D	Where the load line intersects the voltage axis

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 passive op-amp filter
D	A Chebyshev filter

34. - E7D07

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

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

35. - E7E06

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

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

36. - E7F07

What function is performed by a Fast Fourier Transform?

Select	Answer
A	Converting digital signals to analog form
B	Converting digital signals from the time domain to the frequency domain
C	Converting 8-bit data to 16-bit data
D	Converting analog signals to digital form

37. - E7G05

How can unwanted ringing and audio instability be prevented in an op-amp RC audio filter circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Restrict gain but increase Q
B	Restrict both gain and Q
C	Increase both gain and Q
D	Restrict Q but increase gain

38. - E7H03

How is positive feedback supplied in a Hartley oscillator?

Select	Answer
A	Through link coupling
B	Through a neutralizing capacitor
C	Through a capacitive divider
D	Through a tapped coil

39. - E8A07

What determines the PEP-to-average power ratio of a single-sideband phone signal?

Select	Answer
A	Amplifier gain
B	The degree of carrier suppression
C	Speech characteristics
D	The frequency of the modulating signal

40. - E8B01

What is the modulation index of an FM signal?

Select	Answer
A	The ratio of modulating signal amplitude to frequency deviation
B	The bandwidth of the transmitted signal divided by the modulating signal frequency
C	The type of modulation used by the transmitter
D	The ratio of frequency deviation to modulating signal frequency

41. - E8C12

What factors affect the bandwidth of a transmitted CW signal?

Select	Answer
A	Modulation index and output power
B	IF bandwidth and Q
C	All these choices are correct
D	Keying speed and shape factor (rise and fall time)

42. - E8D02

What spread spectrum communications technique uses a high-speed binary bit stream to shift the phase of an RF carrier?

Select	Answer
A	Binary phase-shift keying
B	Direct sequence
C	Phase compandored spread spectrum
D	Frequency hopping

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. - E9B04

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

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

45. - E9C02

What is the radiation pattern of two 1/4-wavelength vertical antennas spaced 1/4 wavelength apart and fed 90 degrees out of 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	Improved radiation efficiency
B	Higher losses
C	Greater structural strength
D	Lower Q

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	450 ohms
C	75 ohms
D	62 ohms

48. - E9F02

Which of the following has the biggest effect on the velocity factor of a transmission line?

Select	Answer
A	The line length
B	Dielectric materials used in the line
C	The termination impedance
D	The center conductor resistivity

49. - E9G02

What type of coordinate system is used in a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Resistance circles and reactance arcs
B	Voltage lines and current chords
C	Voltage circles and current arcs
D	Resistance lines and reactance chords

50. - E9H07

Why is RF attenuation used when direction-finding?

Select	Answer
A	To compensate for isotropic directivity and the antenna effect of feed lines
B	To narrow the receiver bandwidth
C	To prevent receiver overload which reduces pattern nulls
D	To increase receiver sensitivity

Figure E5-1

Figure E6-3

Figure E7-2