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	Polychlorinated biphenyls
B	Polyethylene
C	Polytetrafluoroethylene
D	Polymorphic silicon

2. - E1A02

When using a transceiver that displays the carrier frequency of phone signals, which of the following displayed frequencies represents the lowest frequency at which a properly adjusted LSB emission will be totally within the band?

Select	Answer
A	The exact lower band edge
B	300 Hz above the lower band edge
C	1 kHz above the lower band edge
D	3 kHz above the lower band edge

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 in Florida surrounding Cape Canaveral
C	An area surrounding the National Radio Astronomy Observatory
D	An area in Puerto Rico surrounding the Arecibo Radio Telescope

4. - E1C10

What is the permitted mean power of any spurious emission relative to the mean power of the fundamental emission from a station transmitter or external RF amplifier installed after January 1, 2003 and transmitting on a frequency below 30 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	At least 53 dB below
B	At least 63 dB below
C	At least 73 dB below
D	At least 43 dB below

5. - E1D08

Which VHF amateur bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?

Select	Answer
A	2 meters and 1.25 meters
B	6 meters, 2 meters, and 1.25 meters
C	2 meters
D	6 meters and 2 meters

6. - E1E07

What should a VE do if a candidate fails to comply with the examiner's instructions during an amateur operator license examination?

Select	Answer
A	Immediately terminate the candidate's examination
B	Warn the candidate that continued failure to comply will result in termination of the examination
C	Immediately terminate everyone's examination and close the session
D	Allow the candidate to complete the examination, but invalidate the results

7. - E1F11

Which of the following best describes one of the standards that must be met by an external RF power amplifier if it is to qualify for a grant of FCC certification?

Select	Answer
A	It must satisfy the FCC's spurious emission standards when operated at the lesser of 1500 watts or its full output power
B	It must produce full legal output when driven by not more than 5 watts of mean RF input power
C	It must exhibit a gain of 0 dB or less over its full output range
D	It must be capable of external RF switching between its input and output networks

8. - E2A07

Which of the following types of signals can be relayed through a linear transponder?

Select	Answer
A	SSB and SSTV
B	All these choices are correct
C	PSK and packet
D	FM and CW

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. - 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	AMTOR
B	AX.25
C	802.11
D	PACTOR

12. - E2E10

Which of these digital modes has the narrowest bandwidth?

Select	Answer
A	PSK31
B	MFSK16
C	170 Hz shift, 45-baud RTTY
D	300-baud packet

13. - E3A06

What might help to restore contact when DX signals become too weak to copy across an entire HF band a few hours after sunset?

Select	Answer
A	Switch to a higher frequency HF band
B	Switch to a lower frequency HF band
C	Wait 24 hours before attempting another communication on the band
D	Wait 90 minutes or so for the signal degradation to pass

14. - E3B05

Which amateur bands typically support long-path propagation?

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

15. - E3C14

Why does the radio-path horizon distance exceed the geometric horizon?

Select	Answer
A	E-region skip
B	D-region skip
C	Due to the Doppler effect
D	Downward bending due to density variations in the atmosphere

16. - E4A10

Which of the following displays multiple digital signal states simultaneously?

Select	Answer
A	Logic analyzer
B	Modulation monitor
C	Bit error rate tester
D	Network analyzer

17. - E4B03

Which S parameter is equivalent to forward gain?

Select	Answer
A	S12
B	S22
C	S11
D	S21

18. - E4C14

What transmit frequency might generate an image response signal in a receiver tuned to 14.300 MHz and that uses a 455 kHz IF frequency?

Select	Answer
A	15.210 MHz
B	14.445 MHz
C	14.755 MHz
D	13.845 MHz

19. - E4D08

What causes intermodulation in an electronic circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Lack of neutralization
B	Positive feedback
C	Nonlinear circuits or devices
D	Too little gain

20. - E4E10

What might be the cause of a loud roaring or buzzing AC line interference that comes and goes at intervals?

Select	Answer
A	A malfunctioning illuminated advertising display
B	Arcing contacts in a thermostatically controlled device
C	All these choices are correct
D	A defective doorbell or doorbell transformer inside a nearby residence

21. - E5A06

What is the magnitude of the circulating current within the components of a parallel LC circuit at resonance?

Select	Answer
A	It is at a maximum
B	It equals 2 multiplied by pi, multiplied by frequency, multiplied by inductance
C	It is at a minimum
D	It equals 1 divided by the quantity 2 times pi, multiplied by the square root of inductance L multiplied by capacitance C

22. - E5B02

What letter is commonly used to represent susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	X
B	G
C	B
D	Y

23. - E5C07

Where is the impedance of a pure resistance plotted on rectangular coordinates?

Select	Answer
A	On the vertical axis
B	On a line through the origin, slanted at 45 degrees
C	On the horizontal axis
D	On a horizontal line, offset vertically above the horizontal axis

24. - E5D05

What is the power factor of an RL circuit having a 30-degree phase angle between the voltage and the current?

Select	Answer
A	0.5
B	1.73
C	0.577
D	0.866

25. - E6A02

Which of the following semiconductor materials contains excess free electrons?

Select	Answer
A	N-type
B	Bipolar
C	Insulated gate
D	P-type

26. - E6B08

Which of the following is a Schottky barrier diode?

Select	Answer
A	Thermionic emission diode
B	PIN junction
C	Electrolytic rectifier
D	Metal-semiconductor junction

27. - E6C02

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

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

28. - E6D06

What core material property determines the inductance of an inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Permeability
B	Resistance
C	Reactivity
D	Thermal impedance

29. - E6E08

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

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

30. - E6F06

Which of these materials is most commonly used to create photoconductive devices?

Select	Answer
A	A heavy metal
B	A crystalline semiconductor
C	A liquid semiconductor
D	An ordinary metal

31. - E7A11

What type of logic defines "1" as a high voltage?

Select	Answer
A	Reverse Logic
B	Negative logic
C	Assertive Logic
D	Positive Logic

32. - E7B06

Which of the following amplifier types reduces even-order harmonics?

Select	Answer
A	Class AB
B	Push-push
C	Class C
D	Push-pull

33. - E7C02

Which of the following is a property of a T-network with series capacitors and a parallel shunt inductor?

Select	Answer
A	It is a notch filter
B	It is a high-pass filter
C	It is a band-pass filter
D	It is a low-pass filter

34. - E7D12

What is the dropout voltage of an analog voltage regulator?

Select	Answer
A	Maximum that the output voltage may decrease at rated load
B	Maximum output voltage drops when the input voltage is varied over its specified range
C	Minimum input-to-output voltage required to maintain regulation
D	Minimum input voltage for rated power dissipation

35. - E7E02

What is the function of a reactance modulator?

Select	Answer
A	To produce AM signals by using an electrically variable inductance or capacitance
B	To produce PM or FM signals by using an electrically variable inductance or capacitance
C	To produce PM signals by using an electrically variable resistance
D	To produce AM signals by using an electrically variable resistance

36. - E7F01

What is meant by direct digital conversion as applied to software defined radios?

Select	Answer
A	Incoming RF is converted to a control voltage for a voltage controlled oscillator
B	A switching mixer is used to generate I and Q signals directly from the RF input
C	Incoming RF is digitized by an analog-to-digital converter without being mixed with a local oscillator signal
D	Software is converted from source code to object code during operation of the receiver

37. - E7G09

What will be the output voltage of the circuit shown in Figure E7-3 if R1 is 1000 ohms, RF is 10,000 ohms, and 0.23 volts DC is applied to the input?

Select	Answer
A	0.23 volts
B	-2.3 volts
C	2.3 volts
D	-0.23 volts

38. - E7H07

How can an oscillator's microphonic responses be reduced?

Select	Answer
A	Use NP0 capacitors
B	Increase the bias voltage
C	Mechanically isolate the oscillator circuitry from its enclosure
D	Reduce noise on the oscillator's power supply

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 low power consumption decreases frequency drift
C	Very high speed allows digitizing high frequencies
D	Immunity to out-of-sequence coding reduces spurious responses

40. - E8B02

How does the modulation index of a phase-modulated emission vary with RF carrier frequency?

Select	Answer
A	It increases as the RF carrier frequency increases
B	It does not depend on the RF carrier frequency
C	It decreases as the RF carrier frequency increases
D	It varies with the square root of the RF carrier frequency

41. - E8C02

What is the definition of symbol rate in a digital transmission?

Select	Answer
A	The number of characters carried per second by the station-to-station link
B	The rate at which the waveform changes to convey information
C	The duration of each bit in a message sent over the air
D	The number of control characters in a message packet

42. - E8D09

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

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

43. - E9A08

What is antenna bandwidth?

Select	Answer
A	Antenna length divided by the number of elements
B	The angle formed between two imaginary lines drawn through the element ends
C	The angle between the half-power radiation points
D	The frequency range over which an antenna satisfies a performance requirement

44. - E9B04

What is the front-to-back ratio of the radiation pattern shown in Figure E92?

Select	Answer
A	28 dB
B	3 dB
C	38 dB
D	15 dB

45. - E9C01

What is the radiation pattern of two 1/4-wavelength vertical antennas spaced 1/2-wavelength apart and fed 180 degrees out of phase?

Select	Answer
A	Omni-directional
B	Cardioid
C	A figure-8 oriented along the axis of the array
D	A figure-8 broadside to the axis of the array

46. - E9D02

How can linearly polarized Yagi antennas be used to produce circular polarization?

Select	Answer
A	Stack two Yagis fed in phase to form an array with the respective elements in parallel planes
B	Arrange two Yagis collinear to each other with the driven elements fed 180 degrees out of phase
C	Stack two Yagis fed 90 degrees out of phase to form an array with the respective elements in parallel planes
D	Arrange two Yagis perpendicular to each other with the driven elements at the same point on the boom fed 90 degrees out of phase

47. - E9E08

What is a use for a Wilkinson divider?

Select	Answer
A	It is used to feed high-impedance antennas from a low-impedance source
B	It is used to feed low-impedance loads from a high-impedance source
C	It divides the operating frequency of a transmitter signal so it can be used on a lower frequency band
D	It is used to divide power equally between two 50-ohm loads while maintaining 50-ohm input impedance

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

49. - E9G09

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

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

50. - E9H06

What is the triangulation method of direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	The geometric angles of sky waves from the source are used to determine its position
B	Antenna headings from several different receiving locations are used to locate the signal source
C	A fixed receiving station plots three headings to the signal source
D	A fixed receiving station uses three different antennas to plot the location of the signal source

Figure E7-3