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

2. - E1A14

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

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

3. - E1B03

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

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

4. - E1C02

Which of the following types of communications may be transmitted to amateur stations in foreign countries?

Select	Answer
A	Business-related messages for non-profit organizations
B	All these choices are correct
C	Messages intended for users of the maritime satellite service
D	Communications incidental to the purpose of the amateur service and remarks of a personal nature

5. - E1D11

Which amateur stations are eligible to operate as Earth stations?

Select	Answer
A	Any amateur station whose licensee has filed a pre-space notification with the FCC's International Bureau
B	Only those of General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operators
C	Only those of Amateur Extra Class operators
D	Any amateur station, subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held by the control operator

6. - E1E09

What may be the penalty for a VE who fraudulently administers or certifies an examination?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	Revocation of the VE's amateur station license grant and the suspension of the VE's amateur operator license grant
C	A sentence of up to one year in prison
D	A fine of up to $1000 per occurrence

7. - E1F07

When may an amateur station send a message to a business?

Select	Answer
A	When neither the amateur nor his or her employer has a pecuniary interest in the communications
B	When transmitting international third-party communications
C	When the control operator is employed by the FCC or another government agency
D	When the total money involved does not exceed $25

8. - E2A03

How is the signal inverted by an inverting linear transponder?

Select	Answer
A	The signal is detected and remodulated on the reverse sideband
B	The signal is reduced to I and Q components and the Q component is filtered out
C	The signal is passed through a non-linear filter
D	The signal is passed through a mixer and the difference rather than the sum is transmitted

9. - E2B03

How is an interlaced scanning pattern generated in a fast-scan (NTSC) television system?

Select	Answer
A	By scanning lines from left to right in one field and right to left in the next
B	By scanning odd numbered lines in one field and even numbered lines in the next
C	By scanning two fields simultaneously
D	By scanning each field from bottom to top

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

11. - E2D09

What type of modulation is used for JT65 contacts?

Select	Answer
A	IEEE 802.11
B	PSK
C	RTTY
D	Multi-tone AFSK

12. - E2E11

What is the difference between direct FSK and audio FSK?

Select	Answer
A	Direct FSK applies the data signal to the transmitter VFO, while AFSK transmits tones via phone
B	Only direct FSK can be decoded by computer
C	Direct FSK occupies less bandwidth
D	Direct FSK can transmit faster baud rates

13. - E3A02

What characterizes libration fading of an EME signal?

Select	Answer
A	The returning echo is several hertz lower in frequency than the transmitted signal
B	A slow change in the pitch of the CW signal
C	A gradual loss of signal as the sun rises
D	A fluttery irregular fading

14. - E3B02

What is the approximate maximum range for signals using transequatorial propagation?

Select	Answer
A	5000 miles
B	7500 miles
C	1000 miles
D	2500 miles

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	NVIS
B	Polar
C	Sporadic E
D	Transequatorial

16. - E4A06

What is the effect of aliasing on a digital oscilloscope caused by setting the time base too slow?

Select	Answer
A	All signals will have a DC offset
B	A false, jittery low-frequency version of the signal is displayed
C	Excessive blanking occurs, which prevents display of the signal
D	Calibration of the vertical scale is no longer valid

17. - E4B06

How much power is being absorbed by the load when a directional power meter connected between a transmitter and a terminating load reads 100 watts forward power and 25 watts reflected power?

Select	Answer
A	125 watts
B	100 watts
C	25 watts
D	75 watts

18. - E4C12

Which of the following has the largest effect on an SDR receiver's dynamic range?

Select	Answer
A	Analog-to-digital converter sample width in bits
B	Anti-aliasing input filter bandwidth
C	CPU register width in bits
D	RAM speed used for data storage

19. - E4D07

Which of the following reduces the likelihood of receiver desensitization?

Select	Answer
A	Raise the receiver IF frequency
B	Increase the receiver front end gain
C	Switch from fast AGC to slow AGC
D	Decrease the RF bandwidth of the receiver

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

21. - E5A05

What is the result of increasing the Q of an impedance-matching circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Matching bandwidth is decreased
B	Matching bandwidth is increased
C	It has no effect on impedance matching
D	Matching range is increased

22. - E5B01

What is the term for the time required for the capacitor in an RC circuit to be charged to 63.2% of the applied voltage or to discharge to 36.8% of its initial voltage?

Select	Answer
A	An exponential rate of one
B	A time factor of one
C	One exponential period
D	One time constant

23. - E5C08

What coordinate system is often used to display the phase angle of a circuit containing resistance, inductive and/or capacitive reactance?

Select	Answer
A	Elliptical coordinates
B	Polar coordinates
C	Maidenhead grid
D	Faraday grid

24. - E5D11

What is the power factor of an RL circuit having a 60-degree phase angle between the voltage and the current?

Select	Answer
A	1.414
B	1.73
C	0.5
D	0.866

25. - E6A06

What is the beta of a bipolar junction transistor?

Select	Answer
A	The breakdown voltage of the base to collector junction
B	The frequency at which the current gain is reduced to 0.707
C	The switching speed
D	The change in collector current with respect to base current

26. - E6B06

Which of the following is a common use of a Schottky diode?

Select	Answer
A	As a variable capacitance in an automatic frequency control circuit
B	As a VHF/UHF mixer or detector
C	As a rectifier in high current power supplies
D	As a constant voltage reference in a power supply

27. - E6C07

What best describes a pull-up or pull-down resistor?

Select	Answer
A	A resistor connected to an op-amp output that prevents signals from exceeding the power supply voltage
B	A resistor in a keying circuit used to reduce key clicks
C	A resistor connected to the positive or negative supply line used to establish a voltage when an input or output is an open circuit
D	A resistor that ensures that an oscillator frequency does not drift

28. - E6D08

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

Select	Answer
A	Powdered-iron cores use smaller diameter wire for the same inductance
B	Powdered-iron cores generally maintain their characteristics at higher currents
C	Powdered-iron cores generally have greater initial permeability
D	Powdered-iron cores generally require fewer turns to produce a given inductance

29. - E6E03

Which of the following materials is likely to provide the highest frequency of operation when used in MMICs?

Select	Answer
A	Silicon dioxide
B	Silicon
C	Silicon nitride
D	Gallium nitride

30. - E6F09

What is the efficiency of a photovoltaic cell?

Select	Answer
A	The output RF power divided by the input DC power
B	Cost per kilowatt-hour generated
C	The relative fraction of light that is converted to current
D	The open-circuit voltage divided by the short-circuit current under full illumination

31. - E7A07

What logical operation does a NAND gate perform?

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

32. - E7B05

What can be done to prevent unwanted oscillations in an RF power amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	Install parasitic suppressors and/or neutralize the stage
B	Tune the stage for maximum SWR
C	Use a phase inverter in the output filter
D	Tune both the input and output for maximum power

33. - E7C04

How does an impedance-matching circuit transform a complex impedance to a resistive impedance?

Select	Answer
A	It introduces transconductance to cancel the reactive part of impedance
B	Reactive currents are dissipated in matched resistances
C	It cancels the reactive part of the impedance and changes the resistive part to a desired value
D	It introduces negative resistance to cancel the resistive part of impedance

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 regulator
C	A shunt current source
D	A series current source

35. - E7E06

Why is de-emphasis commonly used in FM communications receivers?

Select	Answer
A	For compatibility with transmitters using phase modulation
B	To remove third-order distortion products
C	To reduce impulse noise reception
D	For higher efficiency

36. - E7F13

What is the function of taps in a digital signal processing filter?

Select	Answer
A	Provide access for debugging software
B	To reduce excess signal pressure levels
C	Provide incremental signal delays for filter algorithms
D	Select the point at which baseband signals are generated

37. - E7G02

What is ringing in a filter?

Select	Answer
A	A reduction in high frequency response
B	Undesired oscillations added to the desired signal
C	An echo caused by a long time delay
D	Partial cancellation of the signal over a range of frequencies

38. - E7H15

Which of these functions can be performed by a phase-locked loop?

Select	Answer
A	Photovoltaic conversion, optical coupling
B	Comparison of two digital input signals, digital pulse counter
C	Wide-band AF and RF power amplification
D	Frequency synthesis, FM demodulation

39. - E8A07

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

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

40. - E8B03

What is the modulation index of an FM-phone signal having a maximum frequency deviation of 3000 Hz either side of the carrier frequency when the modulating frequency is 1000 Hz?

Select	Answer
A	1000
B	0.3
C	3
D	3000

41. - E8C11

What is the relationship between symbol rate and baud?

Select	Answer
A	Baud is only used for RTTY
B	Baud is twice the symbol rate
C	They are the same
D	Symbol rate is only used for packet-based modes

42. - E8D11

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

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

43. - E9A09

What is antenna efficiency?

Select	Answer
A	Total resistance divided by radiation resistance
B	Radiation resistance divided by total resistance
C	Effective radiated power divided by transmitter output
D	Radiation resistance divided by transmission resistance

44. - E9B10

What is the principle of a Method of Moments analysis?

Select	Answer
A	A wire is modeled as a single sine-wave voltage source
B	A wire is modeled as a single sine-wave current generator
C	A wire is modeled as a series of segments, each having a uniform value of current
D	A wire is modeled as a series of segments, each having a distinct value of voltage across it

45. - E9C11

How is the far-field elevation pattern of a vertically polarized antenna affected by being mounted over seawater versus soil?

Select	Answer
A	Additional higher vertical angle lobes will appear
B	Fewer vertical angle lobes will be present
C	The low-angle radiation decreases
D	The low-angle radiation increases

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. - E9E11

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

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

48. - E9F04

What impedance does a 1/2-wavelength transmission line present to a generator when the line is shorted at the far end?

Select	Answer
A	Very high impedance
B	Very low impedance
C	The same as the characteristic impedance of the line
D	The same as the output impedance of the generator

49. - E9G02

What type of coordinate system is used in a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Voltage lines and current chords
B	Voltage circles and current arcs
C	Resistance lines and reactance chords
D	Resistance circles and reactance arcs

50. - E9H09

What is a Pennant antenna?

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