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

2. - E1A01

Which of the following carrier frequencies is illegal for LSB AFSK emissions on the 17 meter band RTTY and data segment of 18.068 to 18.110 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	18.110 MHz
B	18.107 MHz
C	18.100 MHz
D	18.068 MHz

3. - E1B12

What must the control operator of a repeater operating in the 70 cm band do if a radiolocation system experiences interference from that repeater?

Select	Answer
A	Cease operation or make changes to the repeater to mitigate the interference
B	Reduce the repeater antenna HAAT (Height Above Average Terrain)
C	File an FAA NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) with the repeater system's ERP, call sign, and six-character grid locator
D	All these choices are correct

4. - E1C01

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

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

5. - E1D02

Which of the following may transmit special codes intended to obscure the meaning of messages?

Select	Answer
A	Auxiliary relay links carrying repeater audio
B	Binary control characters
C	Telecommand signals from a space telecommand station
D	Data containing personal information

6. - E1E03

What is a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator?

Select	Answer
A	The person who has entered into an agreement with the FCC to be the VE session manager
B	A person who has volunteered to prepare amateur operator license examinations
C	An organization that has entered into an agreement with the FCC to coordinate, prepare, and administer amateur operator license examinations
D	A person who has volunteered to administer amateur operator license examinations

7. - E1F05

Amateur stations may not transmit in which of the following frequency segments if they are located in the contiguous 48 states and north of Line A?

Select	Answer
A	222 MHz - 223 MHz
B	53 MHz - 54 MHz
C	420 MHz - 430 MHz
D	440 MHz - 450 MHz

8. - E2A01

What is the direction of an ascending pass for an amateur satellite?

Select	Answer
A	From east to west
B	From west to east
C	From south to north
D	From north to south

9. - E2B09

What hardware, other than a receiver with SSB capability and a suitable computer, is needed to decode SSTV using Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM)?

Select	Answer
A	A special notch filter to remove synchronization pulses
B	No other hardware is needed
C	A special IF converter
D	A special front end limiter

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

11. - E2D07

What digital protocol is used by APRS?

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

12. - E2E06

What is the most common data rate used for HF packet?

Select	Answer
A	110 baud
B	1200 baud
C	48 baud
D	300 baud

13. - E3A05

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

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

14. - E3B05

Which amateur bands typically support long-path propagation?

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

15. - E3C09

How does the intensity of an X3 flare compare to that of an X2 flare?

Select	Answer
A	10 percent greater
B	Twice as great
C	Four times as great
D	50 percent greater

16. - E4A01

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

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

17. - E4B02

What is the significance of voltmeter sensitivity expressed in ohms per volt?

Select	Answer
A	When used as a galvanometer, the reading in volts multiplied by the ohms per volt rating will determine the power drawn by the device under test
B	The full scale reading of the voltmeter multiplied by its ohms per volt rating will indicate the input impedance of the voltmeter
C	When used as an ammeter, the full scale reading in amps divided by ohms per volt rating will determine the size of shunt needed
D	When used as an ohmmeter, the reading in ohms divided by the ohms per volt rating will determine the voltage applied to the circuit

18. - E4C15

What is reciprocal mixing?

Select	Answer
A	Two out-of-band signals mixing to generate an in-band spurious signal
B	In-phase signals cancelling in a mixer resulting in loss of receiver sensitivity
C	Local oscillator phase noise mixing with adjacent strong signals to create interference to desired signals
D	Two digital signals combining from alternate time slots

19. - E4D02

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

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

20. - E4E07

Which of the following can cause shielded cables to radiate or receive interference?

Select	Answer
A	Tying all ground connections to a common point resulting in differential-mode currents in the shield
B	Common-mode currents on the shield and conductors
C	Use of braided shielding material
D	Low inductance ground connections at both ends of the shield

21. - E5A10

How is the Q of an RLC series resonant circuit calculated?

Select	Answer
A	Reactance of either the inductance or capacitance multiplied by the resistance
B	Reactance of either the inductance or capacitance divided by the resistance
C	Reactance of the inductance multiplied by the reactance of the capacitance
D	Resistance divided by the reactance of either the inductance or capacitance

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 lagging the current
C	14 degrees with the voltage leading the current
D	76 degrees with the voltage lagging the current

23. - E5C06

What does the impedance 50-j25 represent?

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

24. - E5D08

How many watts are consumed in a circuit having a power factor of 0.6 if the input is 200VAC at 5 amperes?

Select	Answer
A	1000 watts
B	200 watts
C	1600 watts
D	600 watts

25. - E6A11

In Figure E6-1, what is the schematic symbol for a P-channel junction FET?

Select	Answer
A	1
B	3
C	2
D	6

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

27. - E6C04

Which of the following is an advantage of BiCMOS logic?

Select	Answer
A	It has the high input impedance of CMOS and the low output impedance of bipolar transistors
B	All these choices are correct
C	It is immune to electrostatic damage
D	Its simplicity results in much less expensive devices than standard CMOS

28. - E6D03

Which of the following is an aspect of the piezoelectric effect?

Select	Answer
A	Mechanical deformation of material by the application of a magnetic field
B	Increased conductivity in the presence of light
C	Mechanical deformation of material by the application of a voltage
D	Generation of electrical energy in the presence of light

29. - E6E08

How is power supplied to the most common type of MMIC?

Select	Answer
A	Through a capacitor and RF choke connected to the amplifier input lead
B	Directly to the bias voltage (VCC IN) lead
C	MMICs require no operating bias
D	Through a resistor and/or RF choke connected to the amplifier output lead

30. - E6F02

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

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

31. - E7A10

What is a truth table?

Select	Answer
A	A table of logic symbols that indicate the high logic states of an op-amp
B	A diagram showing logic states when the digital device output is true
C	A table of logic symbols that indicate the logic states of an op-amp
D	A list of inputs and corresponding outputs for a digital device

32. - E7B13

Which of the following describes an emitter follower (or common collector) amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	An amplifier with a low impedance output that follows the base input voltage
B	A two-transistor amplifier with the emitters sharing a common bias resistor
C	An OR circuit with only one emitter used for output
D	A differential amplifier with both inputs fed to the emitter of the input transistor

33. - E7C01

How are the capacitors and inductors of a low-pass filter Pi-network arranged between the network's input and output?

Select	Answer
A	Two inductors are in series between the input and output, and a capacitor is connected between the two inductors and ground
B	An inductor is connected between the input and ground, another inductor is connected between the output and ground, and a capacitor is connected between the input and output
C	Two capacitors are in series between the input and output, and an inductor is connected between the two capacitors and ground
D	A capacitor is connected between the input and ground, another capacitor is connected between the output and ground, and an inductor is connected between input and output

34. - E7D15

What is the purpose of a step-start circuit in a high-voltage power supply?

Select	Answer
A	To allow for remote control of the power supply
B	To provide a dual-voltage output for reduced power applications
C	To compensate for variations of the incoming line voltage
D	To allow the filter capacitors to charge gradually

35. - E7E05

What circuit is added to an FM transmitter to boost the higher audio frequencies?

Select	Answer
A	A pre-emphasis network
B	A de-emphasis network
C	A heterodyne enhancer
D	A heterodyne suppressor

36. - E7F02

What kind of digital signal processing audio filter is used to remove unwanted noise from a received SSB signal?

Select	Answer
A	A crystal-lattice filter
B	An adaptive filter
C	A phase-inverting filter
D	A Hilbert-transform filter

37. - E7G03

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

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

38. - E7H06

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

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

39. - E8A07

What determines the PEP-to-average power ratio of a single-sideband phone signal?

Select	Answer
A	Speech characteristics
B	The frequency of the modulating signal
C	Amplifier gain
D	The degree of carrier suppression

40. - E8B10

What is frequency division multiplexing?

Select	Answer
A	The transmitted signal is divided into packets of information
B	Two or more information streams are merged into a baseband, which then modulates the transmitter
C	Two or more information streams are merged into a digital combiner, which then pulse position modulates the transmitter
D	The transmitted signal jumps from band to band at a predetermined rate

41. - E8C04

What technique minimizes the bandwidth of a PSK31 signal?

Select	Answer
A	Reed-Solomon character encoding
B	Use of sinusoidal data pulses
C	Use of trapezoidal data pulses
D	Zero-sum character encoding

42. - E8D11

What is one advantage of using ASCII code for data communications?

Select	Answer
A	It uses one character as a shift code to send numeric and special characters
B	It is possible to transmit both upper and lower case text
C	It contains fewer information bits per character than any other code
D	It includes built-in error correction features

43. - E9A11

Which of the following factors determines ground losses for a ground-mounted vertical antenna operating in the 3 MHz to 30 MHz range?

Select	Answer
A	The standing wave ratio
B	Soil conductivity
C	Take-off angle
D	Distance from the transmitter

44. - E9B01

In the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-1, what is the beamwidth?

Select	Answer
A	50 degrees
B	25 degrees
C	75 degrees
D	30 degrees

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

46. - E9D01

How much does the gain of an ideal parabolic dish antenna change when the operating frequency is doubled?

Select	Answer
A	3 dB
B	2 dB
C	6 dB
D	4 dB

47. - E9E07

What parameter describes the interactions at the load end of a mismatched transmission line?

Select	Answer
A	Reflection coefficient
B	Characteristic impedance
C	Dielectric constant
D	Velocity factor

48. - E9F03

Why is the physical length of a coaxial cable transmission line shorter than its electrical length?

Select	Answer
A	The surge impedance is higher in a parallel feed line
B	Electrical signals move more slowly in a coaxial cable than in air
C	The characteristic impedance is higher in a parallel feed line
D	Skin effect is less pronounced in the coaxial cable

49. - E9G11

How are the wavelength scales on a Smith chart calibrated?

Select	Answer
A	In fractions of transmission line electrical wavelength
B	In fractions of antenna electrical wavelength
C	In fractions of transmission line electrical frequency
D	In fractions of antenna electrical frequency

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

Figure E6-1

Figure E9-1