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

2. - E1A14

Except in some parts of Alaska, what is the maximum power permitted on the 630 meter band?

Select	Answer
A	100 watts PEP
B	50 watts PEP
C	1 watt EIRP
D	5 watts EIRP

3. - E1B09

Which amateur stations may be operated under RACES rules?

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

4. - E1C03

How do the control operator responsibilities of a station under automatic control differ from one under local control?

Select	Answer
A	Under automatic control there is no control operator
B	Under local control there is no control operator
C	Under local control a control operator is not required to be present at a control point
D	Under automatic control the control operator is not required to be present at the control point

5. - E1D01

What is the definition of telemetry?

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

6. - E1E08

To which of the following examinees may a VE not administer an examination?

Select	Answer
A	Relatives of the VE as listed in the FCC rules
B	All these choices are correct
C	Friends of the VE
D	Employees of the VE

7. - E1F06

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

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

8. - E2A02

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

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

9. - E2B11

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

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

10. - E2C04

Which of the following frequencies are sometimes used for amateur radio mesh networks?

Select	Answer
A	HF frequencies where digital communications are permitted
B	The 60 meter band channel centered on 5373 kHz
C	Cable TV channels 41 through 43
D	Frequencies shared with various unlicensed wireless data services

11. - E2D10

How can an APRS station be used to help support a public service communications activity?

Select	Answer
A	An APRS station with a Global Positioning System unit can automatically transmit information to show a mobile station's position during the event
B	All these choices are correct
C	An APRS station with an emergency medical technician can automatically transmit medical data to the nearest hospital
D	APRS stations with General Personnel Scanners can automatically relay the participant numbers and time as they pass the check points

12. - E2E02

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

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

13. - E3A04

What do Hepburn maps predict?

Select	Answer
A	Likelihood of rain scatter along cold or warm fronts
B	Locations of auroral reflecting zones
C	Sporadic E propagation
D	Probability of tropospheric propagation

14. - E3B01

What is transequatorial propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Propagation between points located on the magnetic equator
B	Propagation between two mid-latitude points at approximately the same distance north and south of the magnetic equator
C	Propagation between a point on the equator and its antipodal point
D	Propagation between points at the same latitude

15. - E3C03

Which of the following signal paths is most likely to experience high levels of absorption when the A index or K index is elevated?

Select	Answer
A	Sporadic E
B	NVIS
C	Transequatorial
D	Polar

16. - E4A04

How is the compensation of an oscilloscope probe typically adjusted?

Select	Answer
A	A frequency standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the deflection time is accurate
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 DC voltage standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the displayed voltage is accurate
D	A high frequency sine wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted for maximum amplitude

17. - E4B03

Which S parameter is equivalent to forward gain?

Select	Answer
A	S11
B	S12
C	S21
D	S22

18. - E4C08

An SDR receiver is overloaded when input signals exceed what level?

Select	Answer
A	The reference voltage of the analog-to-digital converter
B	The maximum count value of the analog-to-digital converter
C	One-half the maximum sample rate
D	One-half the maximum sampling buffer size

19. - E4D11

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

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

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	Received audio in the speech range might have an echo effect
D	The audio frequency bandwidth of the received signal might be compressed

21. - E5A14

What is the resonant frequency of an RLC circuit if R is 22 ohms, L is 50 microhenries and C is 40 picofarads?

Select	Answer
A	22.36 MHz
B	1.78 MHz
C	44.72 MHz
D	3.56 MHz

22. - E5B04

What is the time constant of a circuit having two 220-microfarad capacitors and two 1-megohm resistors, all in parallel?

Select	Answer
A	110 seconds
B	220 seconds
C	440 seconds
D	55 seconds

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 1
C	Point 8
D	Point 7

24. - E5D03

What is microstrip?

Select	Answer
A	Short lengths of coax mounted on printed circuit boards to minimize time delay between microwave circuits
B	Lightweight transmission line made of common zip cord
C	Precision printed circuit conductors above a ground plane that provide constant impedance interconnects at microwave frequencies
D	Miniature coax used for low power applications

25. - E6A01

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

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

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	Less forward voltage drop
C	More constant reverse avalanche voltage
D	Much higher reverse voltage breakdown

27. - E6C02

What happens when the level of a comparator's input signal crosses the threshold?

Select	Answer
A	The comparator enters latch-up
B	The IC input can be damaged
C	The feedback loop becomes unstable
D	The comparator changes its output state

28. - E6D11

Which type of core material decreases inductance when inserted into a coil?

Select	Answer
A	Brass
B	Powdered iron
C	Ferrite
D	Ceramic

29. - E6E04

Which is the most common input and output impedance of circuits that use MMICs?

Select	Answer
A	50 ohms
B	300 ohms
C	450 ohms
D	10 ohms

30. - E6F05

Which describes an optical shaft encoder?

Select	Answer
A	A device that measures the strength of a beam of light using analog to digital conversion
B	A device for generating RTTY signals by means of a rotating light source
C	A digital encryption device often used to encrypt spacecraft control signals
D	A device that detects rotation of a control by interrupting a light source with a patterned wheel

31. - E7A03

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

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

32. - E7B14

Why are switching amplifiers more efficient than linear amplifiers?

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

33. - E7C05

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

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

34. - E7D04

Which of the following types of linear voltage regulator usually make the most efficient use of the primary power source?

Select	Answer
A	A series regulator
B	A shunt current source
C	A series current source
D	A shunt regulator

35. - E7E01

Which of the following can be used to generate FM phone emissions?

Select	Answer
A	A balanced modulator on the oscillator
B	A reactance modulator on the oscillator
C	A balanced modulator on the audio amplifier
D	A reactance modulator on the final amplifier

36. - E7F09

Why is an anti-aliasing digital filter required in a digital decimator?

Select	Answer
A	It peaks the response of the decimator, improving bandwidth
B	It removes low-frequency signal components to eliminate the need for DC restoration
C	It notches out the sampling frequency to avoid sampling errors
D	It removes high-frequency signal components that would otherwise be reproduced as lower frequency components

37. - E7G03

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

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

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

39. - E8A08

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

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

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	0.6
B	0.167
C	60
D	1.67

41. - E8C07

What is the bandwidth of a 4800-Hz frequency shift, 9600-baud ASCII FM transmission?

Select	Answer
A	9.6 kHz
B	5.76 kHz
C	15.36 kHz
D	4.8 kHz

42. - E8D06

What is the advantage of including parity bits in ASCII characters?

Select	Answer
A	Some types of errors can be detected
B	The signal can overpower interfering signals
C	Foreign language characters can be sent
D	Faster transmission rate

43. - E9A04

Which of the following factors affect the feed point impedance of an antenna?

Select	Answer
A	The input power level
B	The settings of an antenna tuner at the transmitter
C	Antenna height
D	Transmission line length

44. - E9B11

What is a disadvantage of decreasing the number of wire segments in an antenna model below 10 segments per half-wavelength?

Select	Answer
A	The resulting design will favor radiation of harmonic energy
B	Ground conductivity will not be accurately modeled
C	The antenna will become mechanically unstable
D	The computed feed point impedance may be incorrect

45. - E9C07

What is the approximate feed point impedance at the center of a two-wire folded dipole antenna?

Select	Answer
A	72 ohms
B	50 ohms
C	450 ohms
D	300 ohms

46. - E9D09

What is the function of a loading coil used as part of an HF mobile antenna?

Select	Answer
A	To cancel capacitive reactance
B	To increase the SWR bandwidth
C	To lower the losses
D	To lower the Q

47. - E9E11

What is the primary purpose of phasing lines when used with an antenna having multiple driven elements?

Select	Answer
A	It allows single-band antennas to operate on other bands
B	It prevents reflected power from traveling back down the feed line and causing harmonic radiation from the transmitter
C	It creates a low-angle radiation pattern
D	It ensures that each driven element operates in concert with the others to create the desired antenna pattern

48. - E9F13

What impedance does a 1/4-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 transmission line
B	Very high impedance
C	The same as the generator output impedance
D	Very low impedance

49. - E9G01

Which of the following can be calculated using a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Antenna radiation pattern
B	Impedance along transmission lines
C	Radiation resistance
D	Radio propagation

50. - E9H01

When constructing a Beverage antenna, which of the following factors should be included in the design to achieve good performance at the desired frequency?

Select	Answer
A	It should be configured as a four-sided loop
B	It should be one or more wavelengths long
C	It must be mounted more than 1 wavelength above ground
D	Its overall length must not exceed 1/4 wavelength

Figure E5-1