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

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1. - E0A08

What does SAR measure?

Select	Answer
A	The rate of RF energy reflected from stationary terrain
B	Signal Amplification Rating
C	Synthetic Aperture Ratio of the human body
D	The rate at which RF energy is absorbed by the body

2. - E1A08

If a station in a message forwarding system inadvertently forwards a message that is in violation of FCC rules, who is primarily accountable for the rules violation?

Select	Answer
A	The control operators of all the stations in the system
B	The control operator of the packet bulletin board station
C	The control operators of all the stations in the system not authenticating the source from which they accept communications
D	The control operator of the originating station

3. - E1B11

What does PRB-1 require of regulations affecting amateur radio?

Select	Answer
A	Use of wireless devices in a vehicle is exempt from regulation
B	Reasonable accommodations of amateur radio must be made
C	No limitations may be placed on antenna size or placement
D	Amateur radio operations must be permitted in any private residence

4. - E1C06

Which of the following is required in order to operate in accordance with CEPT rules in foreign countries where permitted?

Select	Answer
A	You must identify in the official language of the country in which you are operating
B	You must append "/CEPT" to your call sign
C	You must bring a copy of FCC Public Notice DA 16-1048
D	The U.S. embassy must approve of your operation

5. - E1D10

Which amateur stations are eligible to be telecommand stations of space stations (subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held by the control operator of the station)?

Select	Answer
A	Any amateur station so designated by the ITU
B	Any amateur station designated by NASA
C	All these choices are correct
D	Any amateur station so designated by the space station licensee

6. - E1E02

Who does Part 97 task with maintaining the pools of questions for all U.S. amateur license examinations?

Select	Answer
A	The VECs
B	The FCC
C	The ARRL
D	The VEs

7. - E1F07

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

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

8. - E2A09

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

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

9. - E2B07

What is the name of the signal component that carries color information in NTSC video?

Select	Answer
A	Hue
B	Spectral intensity
C	Luminance
D	Chroma

10. - E2C10

Why might a DX station state that they are listening on another frequency?

Select	Answer
A	To improve operating efficiency by reducing interference
B	Because the DX station may be transmitting on a frequency that is prohibited to some responding stations
C	All these choices are correct
D	To separate the calling stations from the DX station

11. - E2D04

What technology is used to track, in real time, balloons carrying amateur radio transmitters?

Select	Answer
A	Doppler shift of beacon signals
B	APRS
C	Ultrasonics
D	Bandwidth compressed LORAN

12. - E2E08

Which of the following HF digital modes can be used to transfer binary files?

Select	Answer
A	Hellschreiber
B	RTTY
C	PACTOR
D	AMTOR

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 lower frequency HF band
B	Wait 24 hours before attempting another communication on the band
C	Switch to a higher frequency HF 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	Only 30 meters to 10 meters
B	6 meters to 2 meters
C	Only 160 meters to 40 meters
D	160 meters to 10 meters

15. - E3C15

What might be indicated by a sudden rise in radio background noise across a large portion of the HF spectrum?

Select	Answer
A	Long-path propagation is likely
B	A solar flare has occurred
C	Increased transequatorial propagation is likely
D	A temperature inversion has occurred

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 automatically tune your antenna for resonance
B	Antenna analyzers do not need an external RF source
C	Antenna analyzers display a time-varying representation of the modulation envelope
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 an ohmmeter, the reading in ohms divided by the ohms per volt rating will determine the voltage applied to the circuit
B	When used as an ammeter, the full scale reading in amps divided by ohms per volt rating will determine the size of shunt needed
C	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
D	The full scale reading of the voltmeter multiplied by its ohms per volt rating will indicate the input impedance of the voltmeter

18. - E4C07

What does the MDS of a receiver represent?

Select	Answer
A	The meter display sensitivity
B	The maximum detectable spectrum
C	The multiplex distortion stability
D	The minimum discernible signal

19. - E4D07

Which of the following reduces the likelihood of receiver desensitization?

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

20. - E4E08

What current flows equally on all conductors of an unshielded multi-conductor cable?

Select	Answer
A	Common-mode current
B	Differential-mode current
C	Return current
D	Reactive current only

21. - E5A08

What is the phase relationship between the current through and the voltage across a series resonant circuit at resonance?

Select	Answer
A	The current leads the voltage by 90 degrees
B	The voltage and current are in phase
C	The voltage and current are 180 degrees out of phase
D	The voltage leads the current by 90 degrees

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

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	0.866
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 voltage of approximately 6 to 7 volts
B	Base-to-emitter voltage of approximately 0.6 to 0.7 volts
C	Base-to-emitter resistance of approximately 6 to 7 ohms
D	Base-to-emitter resistance of approximately 0.6 to 0.7 ohms

26. - E6B07

What is the failure mechanism when a junction diode fails due to excessive current?

Select	Answer
A	Charge carrier depletion
B	Insufficient forward voltage
C	Excessive inverse voltage
D	Excessive junction temperature

27. - E6C06

Why do CMOS digital integrated circuits have high immunity to noise on the input signal or power supply?

Select	Answer
A	The input switching threshold is about two times the power supply voltage
B	Bandwidth is very limited
C	Large bypass capacitance is inherent
D	The input switching threshold is about one-half the power supply voltage

28. - E6D13

What is the primary cause of inductor self-resonance?

Select	Answer
A	The skin effect
B	Inter-turn capacitance
C	Inductive kickback
D	Non-linear core hysteresis

29. - E6E01

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

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

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 device that detects rotation of a control by interrupting a light source with a patterned wheel
D	A digital encryption device often used to encrypt spacecraft control signals

31. - E7A01

Which circuit is bistable?

Select	Answer
A	A bipolar amplifier
B	An AND gate
C	An OR gate
D	A flip-flop

32. - E7B17

Why are odd-order rather than even-order intermodulation distortion products of concern in linear power amplifiers?

Select	Answer
A	Because they invert the sidebands causing distortion
B	Because they are relatively far in frequency from the desired signal
C	Because they are relatively close in frequency to the desired signal
D	Because they maintain the sidebands, thus causing multiple duplicate signals

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

34. - E7D06

What is the purpose of Q1 in the circuit shown in Figure E7-2?

Select	Answer
A	It controls the current supplied to the load
B	It provides a constant load for the voltage source
C	It provides negative feedback to improve regulation
D	It provides D1 with current

35. - E7E06

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

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

36. - E7F10

What aspect of receiver analog-to-digital conversion determines the maximum receive bandwidth of a Direct Digital Conversion SDR?

Select	Answer
A	Sample clock phase noise
B	Processor latency
C	Sample rate
D	Sample width in bits

37. - E7G12

What is an operational amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	A RF amplifier used in the UHF and microwave regions
B	A high-gain, direct-coupled differential amplifier with very high input impedance and very low output impedance
C	An amplifier used to increase the average output of frequency modulated amateur signals to the legal limit
D	A digital audio amplifier whose characteristics are determined by components external to the amplifier

38. - E7H01

What are three oscillator circuits used in amateur radio equipment?

Select	Answer
A	Colpitts, Hartley and Pierce
B	Pierce, Fenner and Beane
C	Taft, Pierce and negative feedback
D	Taft, Hartley and Pierce

39. - E8A01

What is the name of the process that shows that a square wave is made up of a sine wave plus all its odd harmonics?

Select	Answer
A	Fourier analysis
B	Numerical analysis
C	Vector analysis
D	Differential analysis

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	3
B	3000
C	0.3
D	1000

41. - E8C04

What technique minimizes the bandwidth of a PSK31 signal?

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

42. - E8D08

What parameter evaluates distortion of an AFSK signal caused by excessive input audio levels?

Select	Answer
A	Signal-to-noise ratio
B	Baud rate
C	Intermodulation Distortion (IMD)
D	Repeat Request Rate (RRR)

43. - E9A10

Which of the following improves the efficiency of a ground-mounted quarter-wave vertical antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Isolating the coax shield from ground
B	Shortening the radiating element
C	Installing a radial system
D	All these choices are correct

44. - E9B04

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

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

45. - E9C13

How does the radiation pattern of a horizontally polarized 3-element beam antenna vary with increasing height above ground?

Select	Answer
A	The takeoff angle of the lowest elevation lobe increases
B	The horizontal beamwidth decreases
C	The takeoff angle of the lowest elevation lobe decreases
D	The horizontal beamwidth increases

46. - E9D02

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

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

47. - E9E10

Which of these choices is an effective way to match an antenna with a 100-ohm feed point impedance to a 50-ohm coaxial cable feed line?

Select	Answer
A	Insert a 1/4-wavelength piece of 75-ohm coaxial cable transmission line in series between the antenna terminals and the 50-ohm feed cable
B	Connect a 1/4-wavelength open stub of 300-ohm twinlead in parallel with the coaxial feed line where it connects to the antenna
C	Connect a 1/2 wavelength shorted stub of 75-ohm cable in parallel with the 50-ohm cable where it attaches to the antenna
D	Insert a 1/2 wavelength piece of 300-ohm twinlead in series between the antenna terminals and the 50-ohm feed cable

48. - E9F01

What is the velocity factor of a transmission line?

Select	Answer
A	The velocity of the wave in the transmission line divided by the velocity of light in a vacuum
B	The velocity of the wave in the transmission line multiplied by the velocity of light in a vacuum
C	The ratio of the characteristic impedance of the line to the terminating impedance
D	The index of shielding for coaxial cable

49. - E9G08

What is the process of normalization with regard to a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Reassigning impedance values with regard to the prime center
B	Reassigning reactance values with regard to the resistance axis
C	Reassigning resistance values with regard to the reactance axis
D	Reassigning prime center with regard to the reactance axis

50. - E9H04

What is an advantage of placing a grounded electrostatic shield around a small loop direction-finding antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It eliminates tracking errors caused by strong out-of-band signals
B	It eliminates unbalanced capacitive coupling to the surroundings, improving the nulls
C	It adds capacitive loading, increasing the bandwidth of the antenna
D	It increases signal strength by providing a better match to the feed line

Figure E7-2