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

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1. - E0A08

What does SAR measure?

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

2. - E1A12

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

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

3. - E1B05

What is the National Radio Quiet Zone?

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

4. - E1C13

What notifications must be given before transmitting on the 630 meter or 2200 meter bands?

Select	Answer
A	Operators must inform the Utilities Technology Council (UTC) of their call sign and coordinates of the station
B	Operators must inform the FAA of their intent to operate, giving their call sign and distance to the nearest runway
C	A special endorsement must be requested from the FCC
D	An environmental impact statement must be filed with the Department of the Interior

5. - E1D09

Which UHF amateur bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?

Select	Answer
A	33 cm and 13 cm
B	70 cm and 33 cm
C	70 cm only
D	70 cm and 13 cm

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 VEC coordinating the session
C	Each administering VE
D	The VE session manager

7. - E1F06

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

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

8. - E2A06

What are Keplerian elements?

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

9. - E2B12

What signals SSTV receiving software to begin a new picture line?

Select	Answer
A	Specific tone frequencies
B	Specific tone amplitudes
C	A two-tone signal
D	Elapsed time

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

11. - E2D11

Which of the following data are used by the APRS network to communicate station location?

Select	Answer
A	Radio direction finding spectrum analysis
B	Polar coordinates
C	Time and frequency
D	Latitude and longitude

12. - E2E12

How do ALE stations establish contact?

Select	Answer
A	ALE radios monitor an internet site for the frequency they are being paged on
B	ALE radios activate when they hear their signal echoed by back scatter
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. - 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 D layer
C	The F2 layer
D	The E layer

14. - E3B05

Which amateur bands typically support long-path propagation?

Select	Answer
A	160 meters to 10 meters
B	Only 30 meters to 10 meters
C	6 meters to 2 meters
D	Only 160 meters to 40 meters

15. - E3C15

What might be indicated by a sudden rise in radio background noise across a large portion of the HF spectrum?

Select	Answer
A	Increased transequatorial propagation is likely
B	A solar flare has occurred
C	A temperature inversion has occurred
D	Long-path propagation is likely

16. - E4A04

How is the compensation of an oscilloscope probe typically adjusted?

Select	Answer
A	A high frequency sine wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted for maximum amplitude
B	A square wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the horizontal portions of the displayed wave are as nearly flat as possible
C	A frequency standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the deflection time is accurate
D	A DC voltage standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the displayed voltage is accurate

17. - E4B10

Which of the following methods measures intermodulation distortion in an SSB transmitter?

Select	Answer
A	Modulate the transmitter using two AF signals having harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a peak reading wattmeter
B	Modulate the transmitter using two RF signals having harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a logic analyzer
C	Modulate the transmitter using two AF signals having non-harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a spectrum analyzer
D	Modulate the transmitter using two RF signals having non-harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a spectrum analyzer

18. - E4C09

Which of the following choices is a good reason for selecting a high frequency for the design of the IF in a superheterodyne HF or VHF communications receiver?

Select	Answer
A	Improved receiver noise figure
B	Fewer components in the receiver
C	Easier for front-end circuitry to eliminate image responses
D	Reduced drift

19. - E4D01

What is meant by the blocking dynamic range of a receiver?

Select	Answer
A	The difference in dB between the noise floor and the level of an incoming signal that will cause 1 dB of gain compression
B	The difference in dB between the noise floor and the third-order intercept point
C	The minimum difference in dB between the levels of two FM signals that will cause one signal to block the other
D	The minimum difference in dB between two signals which produce third-order intermodulation products greater than the noise floor

20. - E4E02

Which of the following types of noise can often be reduced with a digital signal processing noise filter?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	Power line noise
C	Broadband white noise
D	Ignition noise

21. - E5A11

What is the half-power bandwidth of a resonant circuit that has a resonant frequency of 7.1 MHz and a Q of 150?

Select	Answer
A	315.6 Hz
B	23.67 kHz
C	47.3 kHz
D	157.8 Hz

22. - E5B11

What is the phase angle between the voltage across and the current through a series RLC circuit if XC is 25 ohms, R is 100 ohms, and XL is 50 ohms?

Select	Answer
A	76 degrees with the voltage leading the current
B	14 degrees with the voltage leading the current
C	76 degrees with the voltage lagging the current
D	14 degrees with the voltage lagging the current

23. - E5C05

What is the name of the diagram used to show the phase relationship between impedances at a given frequency?

Select	Answer
A	Far field diagram
B	Phasor diagram
C	Near field diagram
D	Venn diagram

24. - E5D01

What is the result of skin effect?

Select	Answer
A	As frequency decreases, RF current flows in a thinner layer of the conductor, closer to the surface
B	As frequency increases, RF current flows in a thinner layer of the conductor, closer to the surface
C	Thermal effects on the surface of the conductor increase the impedance
D	Thermal effects on the surface of the conductor decrease the impedance

25. - E6A12

Why do many MOSFET devices have internally connected Zener diodes on the gates?

Select	Answer
A	To provide a voltage reference for the correct amount of reverse-bias gate voltage
B	To reduce the chance of static damage to the gate
C	To keep the gate voltage within specifications and prevent the device from overheating
D	To protect the substrate from excessive voltages

26. - E6B05

What characteristic of a PIN diode makes it useful as an RF switch?

Select	Answer
A	Reverse bias controls its forward voltage drop
B	Ability to dissipate large amounts of power
C	Low junction capacitance
D	Extremely high reverse breakdown voltage

27. - E6C08

In Figure E6-3, what is the schematic symbol for a NAND gate?

Select	Answer
A	2
B	3
C	4
D	1

28. - E6D05

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

Select	Answer
A	Ferrite toroids generally require fewer turns to produce a given inductance value
B	Ferrite toroids generally have lower initial permeability
C	Ferrite toroids generally have better temperature stability
D	Ferrite toroids are easier to use with surface mount technology

29. - E6E05

Which of the following noise figure values is typical of a low-noise UHF preamplifier?

Select	Answer
A	44 dBm
B	-10 dB
C	-20 dBm
D	2 dB

30. - E6F01

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

Select	Answer
A	Electrons
B	Holes
C	Protons
D	Photons

31. - E7A07

What logical operation does a NAND gate perform?

Select	Answer
A	It produces logic 0 at its output if some but not all inputs are logic 1
B	It produces logic 0 at its output only when all inputs are logic 1
C	It produces logic 1 at its output only when all inputs are logic 1
D	It produces logic 0 at its output only when all inputs are logic 0

32. - E7B11

In Figure E7-1, what is the purpose of R3?

Select	Answer
A	Fixed bias
B	Self bias
C	Output load resistor
D	Emitter bypass

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	A Chebyshev filter
C	An active LC filter
D	A Butterworth filter

34. - E7D10

What is the primary reason that a high-frequency switching type high-voltage power supply can be both less expensive and lighter in weight than a conventional power supply?

Select	Answer
A	The inverter design does not require any output filtering
B	The high frequency inverter design uses much smaller transformers and filter components for an equivalent power output
C	It uses a diode bridge rectifier for increased output
D	It uses a large power factor compensation capacitor to recover power from the unused portion of the AC cycle

35. - E7E04

What is one way a single-sideband phone signal can be generated?

Select	Answer
A	By driving a product detector with a DSB signal
B	By using a reactance modulator followed by a mixer
C	By using a balanced modulator followed by a filter
D	By using a loop modulator followed by a mixer

36. - E7F11

What sets the minimum detectable signal level for a direct-sampling SDR receiver in the absence of atmospheric or thermal noise?

Select	Answer
A	Reference voltage level and sample width in bits
B	Sample clock phase noise
C	Data storage transfer rate
D	Missing codes and jitter

37. - E7G05

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

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

38. - E7H12

Which of the following must be done to ensure that a crystal oscillator provides the frequency specified by the crystal manufacturer?

Select	Answer
A	Bias the crystal at a specified current
B	Bias the crystal at a specified voltage
C	Provide the crystal with a specified parallel inductance
D	Provide the crystal with a specified parallel capacitance

39. - E8A08

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

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

40. - E8B07

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing is a technique used for which type of amateur communication?

Select	Answer
A	EME
B	OFDM signals are not allowed on amateur bands
C	Extremely low-power contacts
D	High-speed digital modes

41. - E8C06

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

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

42. - E8D09

What is considered an acceptable maximum IMD level for an idling PSK signal?

Select	Answer
A	+15 dB
B	-20 dB
C	+10 dB
D	-30 dB

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 resistance in the atmosphere that an antenna must overcome to be able to radiate a signal
C	The combined losses of the antenna elements and feed line
D	The specific impedance of the antenna

44. - E9B03

In the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-1, what is the front-to-side ratio?

Select	Answer
A	12 dB
B	14 dB
C	24 dB
D	18 dB

45. - E9C03

What is the radiation pattern of two 1/4-wavelength vertical antennas spaced 1/2-wavelength apart and fed in phase?

Select	Answer
A	Omni-directional
B	Cardioid
C	A Figure-8 end-fire along the axis of the array
D	A Figure-8 broadside to the axis of the array

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 driven into the Earth
C	An electrically short connection to 3 or 4 interconnected ground rods via a series RF choke
D	An electrically short connection to a metal water pipe

47. - E9E03

What is the name of the matching system that uses a section of transmission line connected in parallel with the feed line at or near the feed point?

Select	Answer
A	The delta match
B	The stub match
C	The omega match
D	The gamma match

48. - E9F11

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

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

49. - E9G03

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

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

50. - E9H11

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

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

Figure E6-3

Figure E7-1

Figure E9-1