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

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1. - E0A01

What is the primary function of an external earth connection or ground rod?

Select	Answer
A	Reduce received noise
B	Lightning protection
C	Reduce RF current flow between pieces of equipment
D	Reduce RFI to telephones and home entertainment systems

2. - E1A12

What special operating frequency restrictions are imposed on slow scan TV transmissions?

Select	Answer
A	They are restricted to phone band segments
B	They are not permitted above 54 MHz
C	None; they are allowed on all amateur frequencies
D	They are restricted to 7.245 MHz, 14.245 MHz, 21.345 MHz, and 28.945 MHz

3. - E1B09

Which amateur stations may be operated under RACES rules?

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

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

5. - E1D01

What is the definition of telemetry?

Select	Answer
A	One-way transmission of measurements at a distance from the measuring instrument
B	Two-way transmissions in excess of 1000 feet
C	One-way transmission that initiates, modifies, or terminates the functions of a device at a distance
D	Two-way transmissions of data

6. - E1E11

What must the VE team do if an examinee scores a passing grade on all examination elements needed for an upgrade or new license?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	Three VEs must certify that the examinee is qualified for the license grant and that they have complied with the administering VE requirements
C	Issue the examinee the new or upgrade license
D	Photocopy all examination documents and forward them to the FCC for processing

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 neither the amateur nor his or her employer has a pecuniary interest in the communications
C	When the control operator is employed by the FCC or another government agency
D	When transmitting international third-party communications

8. - E2A02

Which of the following occurs when a satellite is using an inverting linear transponder?

Select	Answer
A	Doppler shift is reduced because the uplink and downlink shifts are in opposite directions
B	Upper sideband on the uplink becomes lower sideband on the downlink, and vice versa
C	Signal position in the band is reversed
D	All these choices are correct

9. - E2B11

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

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

10. - E2C05

What is the function of a DX QSL Manager?

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

11. - E2D02

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

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

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 radios monitor an internet site for the frequency they are being paged on
C	ALE constantly scans a list of frequencies, activating the radio when the designated call sign is received
D	ALE radios send a constant tone code to establish a frequency for future use

13. - E3A14

What is meant by circularly polarized electromagnetic waves?

Select	Answer
A	Waves with an electric field bent into a circular shape
B	Waves produced by a loop antenna
C	Waves that circle the Earth
D	Waves with a rotating electric field

14. - E3B09

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

Select	Answer
A	Around the equinoxes, especially the fall equinox
B	Around the solstices, especially the winter solstice
C	Around the solstices, especially the summer 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	50 percent greater
B	10 percent greater
C	Twice as great
D	Four times as great

16. - E4A01

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

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

17. - E4B09

What is indicated if the current reading on an RF ammeter placed in series with the antenna feed line of a transmitter increases as the transmitter is tuned to resonance?

Select	Answer
A	The transmitter is not properly neutralized
B	There is an impedance mismatch between the antenna and feed line
C	There is possibly a short to ground in the feed line
D	There is more power going into the antenna

18. - E4C10

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

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

19. - E4D08

What causes intermodulation in an electronic circuit?

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

20. - E4E09

What undesirable effect can occur when using an IF noise blanker?

Select	Answer
A	FM signals can no longer be demodulated
B	Nearby signals may appear to be excessively wide even if they meet emission standards
C	The audio frequency bandwidth of the received signal might be compressed
D	Received audio in the speech range might have an echo effect

21. - E5A07

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

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

22. - E5B10

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

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

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 1
D	Point 7

24. - E5D15

What is the power factor of an RL circuit having a 45-degree phase angle between the voltage and the current?

Select	Answer
A	0.866
B	1.0
C	0.707
D	0.5

25. - E6A06

What is the beta of a bipolar junction transistor?

Select	Answer
A	The breakdown voltage of the base to collector junction
B	The switching speed
C	The change in collector current with respect to base current
D	The frequency at which the current gain is reduced to 0.707

26. - E6B06

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

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

27. - E6C07

What best describes a pull-up or pull-down resistor?

Select	Answer
A	A resistor in a keying circuit used to reduce key clicks
B	A resistor connected to an op-amp output that prevents signals from exceeding the power supply voltage
C	A resistor connected to the positive or negative supply line used to establish a voltage when an input or output is an open circuit
D	A resistor that ensures that an oscillator frequency does not drift

28. - E6D08

What is one reason for using powdered-iron cores rather than ferrite cores in an inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Powdered-iron cores generally have greater initial permeability
B	Powdered-iron cores use smaller diameter wire for the same inductance
C	Powdered-iron cores generally require fewer turns to produce a given inductance
D	Powdered-iron cores generally maintain their characteristics at higher currents

29. - E6E03

Which of the following materials is likely to provide the highest frequency of operation when used in MMICs?

Select	Answer
A	Gallium nitride
B	Silicon dioxide
C	Silicon
D	Silicon nitride

30. - E6F04

What is the photovoltaic effect?

Select	Answer
A	The conversion of light to electrical energy
B	The conversion of electrical energy to mechanical energy
C	The tendency of a battery to discharge when exposed to light
D	The conversion of voltage to current when exposed to light

31. - E7A09

What logical operation is performed by an exclusive NOR gate?

Select	Answer
A	It produces logic 1 at its output if only one input is logic 1
B	It produces logic 1 at its output only if all inputs are logic 1
C	It produces logic 0 at its output only if all inputs are logic 0
D	It produces logic 0 at its output if only one input is 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. - E7C02

Which of the following is a property of a T-network with series capacitors and a parallel shunt inductor?

Select	Answer
A	It is a band-pass filter
B	It is a notch filter
C	It is a low-pass filter
D	It is a high-pass 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	To self-resonate at the hum frequency
C	It is a brute force filter for the output
D	To provide fixed DC bias for Q1

35. - E7E07

What is meant by the term "baseband" in radio communications?

Select	Answer
A	The unmodulated bandwidth of the transmitted signal
B	The frequency range occupied by a message signal prior to modulation
C	The basic oscillator frequency in an FM transmitter that is multiplied to increase the deviation and carrier frequency
D	The lowest frequency band that the transmitter or receiver covers

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	Varying quartz crystal characteristics emulated in digital form
C	A frequency synthesizer removes the unwanted sidebands
D	Mixing products are converted to voltages and subtracted by adder circuits

37. - E7G01

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

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

38. - E7H06

Which of the following oscillator circuits are commonly used in VFOs?

Select	Answer
A	Pierce and Zener
B	Negative feedback and balanced feedback
C	Colpitts and Hartley
D	Armstrong and deForest

39. - E8A02

Which of the following is a type of analog-to-digital conversion?

Select	Answer
A	Phase reversal
B	Successive approximation
C	Level shifting
D	Harmonic regeneration

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	3000
B	0.3
C	3
D	1000

41. - E8C05

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

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

42. - E8D04

What is the primary effect of extremely short rise or fall time on a CW signal?

Select	Answer
A	More difficult to copy
B	The generation of key clicks
C	Limits data speed
D	The generation of RF harmonics

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. - E9B05

What type of antenna pattern is shown in Figure E9-2?

Select	Answer
A	Polarization
B	Elevation
C	Radiation resistance
D	Azimuth

45. - E9C12

Which of the following describes an Extended Double Zepp antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A center-fed 1.25-wavelength antenna (two 5/8-wave elements in phase)
B	An end-fed folded dipole antenna
C	A portable antenna erected using two push support poles
D	A wideband vertical antenna constructed from precisely tapered aluminum tubing

46. - E9D06

What happens to the SWR bandwidth when one or more loading coils are used to resonate an electrically short antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It is unchanged if the loading coil is located at a voltage maximum point
B	It is decreased
C	It is unchanged if the loading coil is located at the feed point
D	It is increased

47. - E9E04

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

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

48. - E9F02

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

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

49. - E9G04

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

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

50. - E9H02

Which is generally true for low band (160 meter and 80 meter) receiving antennas?

Select	Answer
A	Low loss coax transmission line is essential for good performance
B	Atmospheric noise is so high that gain over a dipole is not important
C	All these choices are correct
D	They must be erected at least 1/2 wavelength above the ground to attain good directivity

Figure E5-1

Figure E7-2

Figure E9-2