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 the most powerful transmitter
B	Only commercial transmitters
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. - E1A08

If a station in a message forwarding system inadvertently forwards a message that is in violation of FCC rules, who is primarily accountable for the rules violation?

Select	Answer
A	The control operators of all the stations in the system not authenticating the source from which they accept communications
B	The control operator of the packet bulletin board station
C	The control operators of all the stations in the system
D	The control operator of the originating station

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. - E1C08

What is the maximum permissible duration of a remotely controlled station's transmissions if its control link malfunctions?

Select	Answer
A	10 minutes
B	5 minutes
C	3 minutes
D	30 seconds

5. - E1D12

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

Select	Answer
A	A local repeater or linked repeater station
B	A space station, beacon station, or telecommand station
C	A message forwarding station or automatically controlled digital station
D	All these choices are correct

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

7. - E1F06

Under what circumstances might the FCC issue a Special Temporary Authority (STA) to an amateur station?

Select	Answer
A	To provide for experimental amateur communications
B	To allow regular operation on Land Mobile channels
C	To provide additional spectrum for personal use
D	To provide temporary operation while awaiting normal licensing

8. - E2A13

Which of the following techniques is normally used by low Earth orbiting digital satellites to relay messages around the world?

Select	Answer
A	Node hopping
B	Multi-satellite relaying
C	Store-and-forward
D	Digipeating

9. - E2B08

What technique allows commercial analog TV receivers to be used for fast-scan TV operations on the 70 cm band?

Select	Answer
A	Transmitting on channels shared with cable TV
B	Transmitting on the abandoned TV channel 2
C	Using USB and demodulating the signal with a computer sound card
D	Using converted satellite TV dishes

10. - E2C02

Which of the following best describes the term self-spotting? in connection with HF contest operating?

Select	Answer
A	An automatic method for rapidly zero beating or tuning to a station's frequency before calling that station
B	A manual technique for rapidly zero beating or tuning to a station's frequency before calling that station
C	The often-prohibited practice of posting one's own call sign and frequency on a spotting network
D	The acceptable practice of manually posting the call signs of stations on a spotting network

11. - E2D02

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

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

12. - E2E05

Which of these digital modes does not support keyboard-to-keyboard operation?

Select	Answer
A	MFSK
B	PACTOR
C	RTTY
D	PSK31

13. - E3A08

When a meteor strikes the Earth's atmosphere, a cylindrical region of free electrons is formed at what layer of the ionosphere?

Select	Answer
A	The F1 layer
B	The F2 layer
C	The E layer
D	The D layer

14. - E3B02

What is the approximate maximum range for signals using transequatorial propagation?

Select	Answer
A	5000 miles
B	7500 miles
C	2500 miles
D	1000 miles

15. - E3C08

What does the space weather term G5 mean?

Select	Answer
A	Very low solar activity
B	Waning sunspot numbers
C	An extreme geomagnetic storm
D	Moderate solar wind

16. - E4A08

Which of the following measures SWR?

Select	Answer
A	An antenna analyzer
B	A Q meter
C	An ohmmeter
D	A spectrum analyzer

17. - E4B04

Which S parameter represents input port return loss or reflection coefficient (equivalent to VSWR)?

Select	Answer
A	S12
B	S22
C	S11
D	S21

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. - E4D12

What is the term for the reduction in receiver sensitivity caused by a strong signal near the received frequency?

Select	Answer
A	Squelch gain rollback
B	Quieting
C	Cross-modulation interference
D	Desensitization

20. - E4E09

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

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

21. - E5A13

What is an effect of increasing Q in a series resonant circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Phase shift can become uncontrolled
B	Fewer components are needed for the same performance
C	Internal voltages increase
D	Parasitic effects are minimized

22. - E5B06

What is susceptance?

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

23. - E5C06

What does the impedance 50-j25 represent?

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

24. - E5D14

What is reactive power?

Select	Answer
A	Power consumed in circuit Q
B	Power lost because of capacitor leakage
C	Power consumed in wire resistance in an inductor
D	Wattless, nonproductive power

25. - E6A07

Which of the following indicates that a silicon NPN junction transistor is biased on?

Select	Answer
A	Base-to-emitter voltage of approximately 6 to 7 volts
B	Base-to-emitter voltage of approximately 0.6 to 0.7 volts
C	Base-to-emitter resistance of approximately 6 to 7 ohms
D	Base-to-emitter resistance of approximately 0.6 to 0.7 ohms

26. - E6B02

What is an important characteristic of a Schottky diode as compared to an ordinary silicon diode when used as a power supply rectifier?

Select	Answer
A	Longer carrier retention time
B	More constant reverse avalanche voltage
C	Less forward voltage drop
D	Much higher reverse voltage breakdown

27. - E6C01

What is the function of hysteresis in a comparator?

Select	Answer
A	To prevent input noise from causing unstable output signals
B	To allow the comparator to be used with AC input signals
C	To cause the output to change states continually
D	To increase the sensitivity

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

29. - E6E09

Which of the following component package types would be most suitable for use at frequencies above the HF range?

Select	Answer
A	Axial lead
B	Radial lead
C	Surface mount
D	TO-220

30. - E6F01

What absorbs the energy from light falling on a photovoltaic cell?

Select	Answer
A	Photons
B	Holes
C	Protons
D	Electrons

31. - E7A05

Which of the following is a circuit that continuously alternates between two states without an external clock?

Select	Answer
A	Astable multivibrator
B	J-K flip-flop
C	Monostable multivibrator
D	T flip-flop

32. - E7B14

Why are switching amplifiers more efficient than linear amplifiers?

Select	Answer
A	Switching amplifiers use push-pull circuits
B	The power transistor is at saturation or cutoff most of the time
C	Switching amplifiers operate at higher voltages
D	Linear amplifiers have high gain resulting in higher harmonic content

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

34. - E7D09

What is the main reason to use a charge controller with a solar power system?

Select	Answer
A	Prevention of battery damage due to overcharge
B	Control of electrolyte levels during battery discharge
C	Matching of day and night charge rates
D	Prevention of battery undercharge

35. - E7E10

How does a diode envelope detector function?

Select	Answer
A	By breakdown of the Zener voltage
B	By sensing the change of reactance in the diode with respect to frequency
C	By mixing signals with noise in the transition region of the diode
D	By rectification and filtering of RF signals

36. - E7F14

Which of the following would allow a digital signal processing filter to create a sharper filter response?

Select	Answer
A	Higher data rate
B	Complex phasor representations
C	More taps
D	Double-precision math routines

37. - E7G10

What absolute voltage gain can be expected from the circuit in Figure E7-3 when R1 is 1800 ohms and RF is 68 kilohms?

Select	Answer
A	1
B	0.03
C	38
D	76

38. - E7H03

How is positive feedback supplied in a Hartley oscillator?

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

39. - E8A02

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

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

40. - E8B05

What is the deviation ratio of an FM-phone signal having a maximum frequency swing of plus-or-minus 5 kHz when the maximum modulation frequency is 3 kHz?

Select	Answer
A	1.67
B	60
C	0.167
D	0.6

41. - E8C11

What is the relationship between symbol rate and baud?

Select	Answer
A	Baud is twice the symbol rate
B	Symbol rate is only used for packet-based modes
C	They are the same
D	Baud is only used for RTTY

42. - E8D10

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

Select	Answer
A	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
B	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
C	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
D	Baudot uses 7 data bits per character, ASCII uses 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes

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. - E9B06

What is the elevation angle of peak response in the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-2?

Select	Answer
A	75 degrees
B	7.5 degrees
C	25 degrees
D	45 degrees

45. - E9C12

Which of the following describes an Extended Double Zepp antenna?

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

46. - E9D10

What happens to feed-point impedance at the base of a fixed length HF mobile antenna when operated below its resonant frequency?

Select	Answer
A	The radiation resistance decreases and the capacitive reactance increases
B	The radiation resistance increases and the capacitive reactance increases
C	The radiation resistance decreases and the capacitive reactance decreases
D	The radiation resistance increases and the capacitive reactance decreases

47. - E9E01

What system matches a higher-impedance transmission line to a lower-impedance antenna by connecting the line to the driven element in two places spaced a fraction of a wavelength each side of element center?

Select	Answer
A	The stub matching system
B	The omega matching system
C	The gamma matching system
D	The delta matching system

48. - E9F10

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

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

49. - E9G09

What third family of circles is often added to a Smith chart during the process of solving problems?

Select	Answer
A	Antenna-length circles
B	Standing wave ratio circles
C	Coaxial-length circles
D	Radiation-pattern circles

50. - E9H05

What is the main drawback of a small wire-loop antenna for direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	It has a bidirectional pattern
B	It has no clearly defined null
C	It is practical for use only on VHF and higher bands
D	All these choices are correct

Figure E7-3

Figure E9-2