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

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1. - E0A10

What toxic material may be present in some electronic components such as high voltage capacitors and transformers?

Select	Answer
A	Polymorphic silicon
B	Polytetrafluoroethylene
C	Polychlorinated biphenyls
D	Polyethylene

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 phone band segments
C	They are restricted to 7.245 MHz, 14.245 MHz, 21.345 MHz, and 28.945 MHz
D	They are not permitted above 54 MHz

3. - E1B03

Within what distance must an amateur station protect an FCC monitoring facility from harmful interference?

Select	Answer
A	3 miles
B	30 miles
C	1 mile
D	10 miles

4. - E1C01

What is the maximum bandwidth for a data emission on 60 meters?

Select	Answer
A	170 Hz
B	60 Hz
C	2.8 kHz
D	1.5 kHz

5. - E1D03

What is a space telecommand station?

Select	Answer
A	An amateur station located in a satellite or a balloon more than 50 kilometers above the surface of the Earth
B	An amateur station that transmits communications to initiate, modify or terminate functions of a space station
C	An amateur station located on the surface of the Earth for communication with other Earth stations by means of Earth satellites
D	An amateur station that receives telemetry from a satellite or balloon more than 50 kilometers above the surface of the Earth

6. - E1E10

What must the administering VEs do after the administration of a successful examination for an amateur operator license?

Select	Answer
A	They must collect and send the documents to the FCC according to instructions
B	They must collect and submit the documents to the coordinating VEC for grading
C	They must collect and send the documents to the NCVEC for grading
D	They must submit the application document to the coordinating VEC according to the coordinating VEC instructions

7. - E1F03

Under what circumstances may a dealer sell an external RF power amplifier capable of operation below 144 MHz if it has not been granted FCC certification?

Select	Answer
A	It was purchased in used condition from an amateur operator and is sold to another amateur operator for use at that operator's station
B	It was imported from a manufacturer in another country and was certificated by that country's government
C	It was imported from a manufacturer in a country that does not require certification of RF power amplifiers
D	The equipment dealer assembled it from a kit

8. - E2A09

What do the terms L band and S band specify regarding satellite communications?

Select	Answer
A	The 2 meter and 70 centimeter bands
B	Which sideband to use
C	The 23 centimeter and 13 centimeter bands
D	FM and Digital Store-and-Forward systems

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

10. - E2C05

What is the function of a DX QSL Manager?

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

11. - E2D07

What digital protocol is used by APRS?

Select	Answer
A	AX.25
B	802.11
C	AMTOR
D	PACTOR

12. - E2E09

Which of the following HF digital modes uses variable-length coding for bandwidth efficiency?

Select	Answer
A	MT63
B	PACTOR
C	RTTY
D	PSK31

13. - E3A05

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

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

14. - E3B10

Why is chordal hop propagation desirable?

Select	Answer
A	The signal experiences less loss compared to multi-hop using Earth as a reflector
B	The MUF for chordal hop propagation is much lower than for normal skip propagation
C	Signals travel faster along ionospheric chords
D	Atmospheric noise is lower in the direction of chordal hop propagation

15. - E3C02

What is indicated by a rising A or K index?

Select	Answer
A	Higher levels of solar UV radiation
B	Decreasing disruption of the geomagnetic field
C	An increase in the critical frequency
D	Increasing disruption of the geomagnetic field

16. - E4A07

Which of the following is an advantage of using an antenna analyzer compared to an SWR bridge to measure antenna SWR?

Select	Answer
A	Antenna analyzers display a time-varying representation of the modulation envelope
B	Antenna analyzers automatically tune your antenna for resonance
C	Antenna analyzers do not need an external RF source
D	All these choices are correct

17. - E4B03

Which S parameter is equivalent to forward gain?

Select	Answer
A	S22
B	S21
C	S11
D	S12

18. - E4C06

A CW receiver with the AGC off has an equivalent input noise power density of -174 dBm/Hz. What would be the level of an unmodulated carrier input to this receiver that would yield an audio output SNR of 0 dB in a 400 Hz noise bandwidth?

Select	Answer
A	-174 dBm
B	-155 dBm
C	-164 dBm
D	-148 dBm

19. - E4D02

Which of the following describes problems caused by poor dynamic range in a receiver?

Select	Answer
A	Oscillator instability and severe audio distortion of all but the strongest received signals
B	Spurious signals caused by cross-modulation and desensitization from strong adjacent signals
C	Cross-modulation of the desired signal and insufficient audio power to operate the speaker
D	Oscillator instability requiring frequent retuning and loss of ability to recover the opposite sideband

20. - E4E03

Which of the following signals might a receiver noise blanker be able to remove from desired signals?

Select	Answer
A	Signals that appear at one IF but not another
B	Signals that are constant at all IF levels
C	Signals that appear across a wide bandwidth
D	Signals that have a sharply peaked frequency distribution

21. - E5A03

What is the magnitude of the impedance of a series RLC circuit at resonance?

Select	Answer
A	Approximately equal to circuit resistance
B	High, as compared to the circuit resistance
C	Approximately equal to capacitive reactance
D	Approximately equal to inductive reactance

22. - E5B07

What is the phase angle between the voltage across and the current through a series RLC circuit if XC is 500 ohms, R is 1 kilohm, and XL is 250 ohms?

Select	Answer
A	14.0 degrees with the voltage lagging the current
B	68.2 degrees with the voltage leading the current
C	14.0 degrees with the voltage leading the current
D	68.2 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	Phasor diagram
B	Venn diagram
C	Near field diagram
D	Far field diagram

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	0.707
C	1.0
D	0.5

25. - E6A07

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

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

26. - E6B09

What is a common use for point-contact diodes?

Select	Answer
A	As a constant voltage source
B	As a constant current source
C	As a high-voltage rectifier
D	As an RF detector

27. - E6C02

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

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

28. - E6D12

What is inductor saturation?

Select	Answer
A	Adjacent inductors become over-coupled
B	The inductor windings are over-coupled
C	The inductor's voltage rating is exceeded causing a flashover
D	The ability of the inductor's core to store magnetic energy has been exceeded

29. - E6E01

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

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

30. - E6F02

What happens to the conductivity of a photoconductive material when light shines on it?

Select	Answer
A	It becomes unstable
B	It decreases
C	It increases
D	It stays the same

31. - E7A04

How many flip-flops are required to divide a signal frequency by 4?

Select	Answer
A	2
B	1
C	8
D	4

32. - E7B03

Which of the following components form the output of a class D amplifier circuit?

Select	Answer
A	A matched load resistor to prevent damage by switching transients
B	A high-pass filter to compensate for low gain at low frequencies
C	A low-pass filter to remove switching signal components
D	A temperature compensating load resistor to improve linearity

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

34. - E7D11

What is the function of the pass transistor in a linear voltage regulator circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Provides a stable input impedance over a wide range of source voltage
B	Permits a wide range of output voltage settings
C	Maintains nearly constant output impedance over a wide range of load current
D	Maintains nearly constant output voltage over a wide range of load current

35. - E7E03

What is a frequency discriminator stage in a FM receiver?

Select	Answer
A	An FM generator circuit
B	A circuit for detecting FM signals
C	An automatic band-switching circuit
D	A circuit for filtering two closely adjacent signals

36. - E7F03

What type of digital signal processing filter is used to generate an SSB signal?

Select	Answer
A	A notch filter
B	An adaptive filter
C	A Hilbert-transform filter
D	An elliptical filter

37. - E7G11

What absolute voltage gain can be expected from the circuit in Figure E7-3 when R1 is 3300 ohms and RF is 47 kilohms?

Select	Answer
A	28
B	7
C	14
D	0.07

38. - E7H05

How is positive feedback supplied in a Pierce oscillator?

Select	Answer
A	Through link coupling
B	Through a tapped coil
C	Through a neutralizing capacitor
D	Through a quartz crystal

39. - E8A11

Which of the following is a measure of the quality of an analog-to-digital converter?

Select	Answer
A	Reciprocal mixing
B	Total harmonic distortion
C	Peak envelope power
D	Power factor

40. - E8B11

What is digital time division multiplexing?

Select	Answer
A	Two or more signals are arranged to share discrete time slots of a data transmission
B	Two or more signals are quadrature modulated to increase bandwidth efficiency
C	Two or more data streams share the same channel by transmitting time of transmission as the sub-carrier
D	Two or more data streams are assigned to discrete sub-carriers on an FM transmitter

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	0.3 kHz
D	1.0 kHz

42. - E8D07

What is a common cause of overmodulation of AFSK signals?

Select	Answer
A	Excessive transmit audio levels
B	Bit errors in the modem
C	Excessive numbers of retries
D	Ground loops

43. - E9A01

What is an isotropic antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A grounded antenna used to measure Earth conductivity
B	A theoretical, omnidirectional antenna used as a reference for antenna gain
C	A horizontally polarized antenna used to compare Yagi antennas
D	A spacecraft antenna used to direct signals toward Earth

44. - E9B06

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

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

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. - 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 a metal water pipe
D	An electrically short connection to 3 or 4 interconnected ground rods via a series RF choke

47. - E9E09

Which of the following is used to shunt-feed a grounded tower at its base?

Select	Answer
A	Hairpin match
B	Double-bazooka match
C	Gamma match
D	All these choices are correct

48. - E9F08

Which of the following is a significant difference between foam dielectric coaxial cable and solid dielectric cable, assuming all other parameters are the same?

Select	Answer
A	Foam dielectric has higher velocity factor
B	Foam dielectric has lower loss per unit of length
C	All these choices are correct
D	Foam dielectric has lower safe operating voltage limits

49. - E9G04

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

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

50. - E9H09

What is a Pennant antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A four-element, high-gain vertical array invented by George Pennant
B	A form of rhombic antenna terminated in a variable capacitor to provide frequency diversity
C	A stealth antenna built to look like a flagpole
D	A small, vertically oriented receiving antenna consisting of a triangular loop terminated in approximately 900 ohms

Figure E7-3

Figure E9-2