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

2. - E1A03

What is the maximum legal carrier frequency on the 20 meter band for transmitting USB AFSK digital signals having a 1 kHz bandwidth?

Select	Answer
A	14.349 MHz
B	14.149 MHz
C	14.100 MHz
D	14.070 MHz

3. - E1B06

Which of the following additional rules apply if you are installing an amateur station antenna at a site at or near a public use airport?

Select	Answer
A	You must submit engineering drawings to the FAA
B	You may have to notify the Federal Aviation Administration and register it with the FCC as required by Part 17 of the FCC rules
C	You must obtain a construction permit from the airport zoning authority
D	You must file an Environmental Impact Statement with the EPA before construction begins

4. - E1C05

When may an automatically controlled station originate third party communications?

Select	Answer
A	Only when transmitting RTTY or data emissions
B	Never
C	When agreed upon by the sending or receiving station
D	When approved by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration

5. - E1D07

Which HF amateur bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?

Select	Answer
A	Only the 40, 20, 17, 15, and 10 meter bands
B	Only the 40, 20, 17, 15, 12, and 10 meter bands
C	Only the 40, 30, 20, 15, 12, and 10 meter bands
D	All HF bands

6. - E1E06

Who is responsible for the proper conduct and necessary supervision during an amateur operator license examination session?

Select	Answer
A	The FCC
B	Each administering VE
C	The VEC coordinating the session
D	The VE session manager

7. - E1F10

Who may be the control operator of an auxiliary station?

Select	Answer
A	Any licensed amateur operator
B	Only Technician, General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operators
C	Only Amateur Extra Class operators
D	Only General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operators

8. - E2A02

Which of the following occurs when a satellite is using an inverting linear transponder?

Select	Answer
A	Doppler shift is reduced because the uplink and downlink shifts are in opposite directions
B	Upper sideband on the uplink becomes lower sideband on the downlink, and vice versa
C	All these choices are correct
D	Signal position in the band is reversed

9. - E2B11

What is the function of the Vertical Interval Signaling (VIS) code sent as part of an SSTV transmission?

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

10. - E2C12

What technique do individual nodes use to form a mesh network?

Select	Answer
A	Discovery and link establishment protocols
B	Acting as store-and-forward digipeaters
C	Custom code plugs for the local trunking systems
D	Forward error correction and Viterbi codes

11. - E2D03

Which of the following digital modes is especially useful for EME communications?

Select	Answer
A	Olivia
B	MSK144
C	PACTOR III
D	JT65

12. - E2E06

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

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

13. - E3A05

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

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

14. - E3B11

At what time of day can sporadic E propagation occur?

Select	Answer
A	Only around sunset
B	Any time
C	Only in hours of darkness
D	Only around sunset and sunrise

15. - E3C13

What type of polarization is best for ground-wave propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Vertical
B	Elliptical
C	Circular
D	Horizontal

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

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	75 watts
B	100 watts
C	125 watts
D	25 watts

18. - E4C07

What does the MDS of a receiver represent?

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

19. - E4D09

What is the purpose of the preselector in a communications receiver?

Select	Answer
A	To provide a range of AGC time constants
B	To store often-used frequencies
C	To increase rejection of signals outside the desired band
D	To allow selection of the optimum RF amplifier device

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	Reactive current only
D	Return current

21. - E5A16

What is the resonant frequency of an RLC circuit if R is 33 ohms, L is 50 microhenries and C is 10 picofarads?

Select	Answer
A	23.5 kHz
B	7.12 kHz
C	23.5 MHz
D	7.12 MHz

22. - E5B02

What letter is commonly used to represent susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	B
B	X
C	G
D	Y

23. - E5C11

Which point in Figure E5-1 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 300-ohm resistor and an 18-microhenry inductor at 3.505 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	Point 8
B	Point 3
C	Point 7
D	Point 1

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	1.73
B	1.414
C	0.866
D	0.5

25. - E6A04

What is the name given to an impurity atom that adds holes to a semiconductor crystal structure?

Select	Answer
A	Insulator impurity
B	Acceptor impurity
C	Donor impurity
D	N-type impurity

26. - E6B05

What characteristic of a PIN diode makes it useful as an RF switch?

Select	Answer
A	Ability to dissipate large amounts of power
B	Reverse bias controls its forward voltage drop
C	Extremely high reverse breakdown voltage
D	Low junction capacitance

27. - E6C01

What is the function of hysteresis in a comparator?

Select	Answer
A	To prevent input noise from causing unstable output signals
B	To increase the sensitivity
C	To cause the output to change states continually
D	To allow the comparator to be used with AC input signals

28. - E6D02

What is the equivalent circuit of a quartz crystal?

Select	Answer
A	Motional capacitance, motional inductance, loss resistance, and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance all in series
B	Motional capacitance, motional inductance, loss resistance, and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance all in parallel
C	Motional capacitance, motional inductance, and loss resistance in series, all in parallel with a shunt capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance
D	Motional inductance and loss resistance in series, paralleled with motional capacitance and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance

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

30. - E6F04

What is the photovoltaic effect?

Select	Answer
A	The conversion of light to electrical energy
B	The conversion of electrical energy to mechanical energy
C	The conversion of voltage to current when exposed to light
D	The tendency of a battery to discharge when exposed to light

31. - E7A07

What logical operation does a NAND gate perform?

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

32. - E7B17

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

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

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	Two capacitors are in series between the input and output, and an inductor is connected between the two capacitors and ground
C	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
D	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

34. - E7D15

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

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

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

36. - E7F07

What function is performed by a Fast Fourier Transform?

Select	Answer
A	Converting digital signals to analog form
B	Converting analog signals to digital form
C	Converting digital signals from the time domain to the frequency domain
D	Converting 8-bit data to 16-bit data

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	0.07
B	28
C	7
D	14

38. - E7H09

What type of frequency synthesizer circuit uses a phase accumulator, lookup table, digital to analog converter, and a low-pass anti-alias filter?

Select	Answer
A	A diode-switching matrix synthesizer
B	A phase-locked loop synthesizer
C	A direct digital synthesizer
D	A hybrid synthesizer

39. - E8A08

Why would a direct or flash conversion analog-to-digital converter be useful for a software defined radio?

Select	Answer
A	Immunity to out-of-sequence coding reduces spurious responses
B	Very low power consumption decreases frequency drift
C	All these choices are correct
D	Very high speed allows digitizing high frequencies

40. - E8B04

What is the modulation index of an FM-phone signal having a maximum carrier deviation of plus or minus 6 kHz when modulated with a 2 kHz modulating frequency?

Select	Answer
A	3
B	6000
C	2000
D	1/3

41. - E8C09

Which digital code allows only one bit to change between sequential code values?

Select	Answer
A	Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code
B	Excess 3 code
C	Binary Coded Decimal Code
D	Gray code

42. - E8D08

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

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

43. - E9A03

What is the radiation resistance of an antenna?

Select	Answer
A	The value of a resistance that would dissipate the same amount of power as that radiated from an antenna
B	The combined losses of the antenna elements and feed line
C	The specific impedance of the antenna
D	The resistance in the atmosphere that an antenna must overcome to be able to radiate a signal

44. - E9B07

How does the total amount of radiation emitted by a directional gain antenna compare with the total amount of radiation emitted from a theoretical isotropic antenna, assuming each is driven by the same amount of power?

Select	Answer
A	The total amount of radiation from the directional antenna is stronger by its front-to-back ratio
B	They are the same
C	The radiation from the isotropic antenna is 2.15 dB stronger than that from the directional antenna
D	The total amount of radiation from the directional antenna is increased by the gain of the antenna

45. - E9C12

Which of the following describes an Extended Double Zepp antenna?

Select	Answer
A	An end-fed folded dipole antenna
B	A center-fed 1.25-wavelength antenna (two 5/8-wave elements in phase)
C	A wideband vertical antenna constructed from precisely tapered aluminum tubing
D	A portable antenna erected using two push support poles

46. - E9D05

What usually occurs if a Yagi antenna is designed solely for maximum forward gain?

Select	Answer
A	The front-to-back ratio decreases
B	The SWR is reduced
C	The front-to-back ratio increases
D	The frequency response is widened over the whole frequency band

47. - E9E04

What is the purpose of the series capacitor in a gamma-type antenna matching network?

Select	Answer
A	To provide a rejection notch that prevents the radiation of harmonics
B	To cancel the inductive reactance of the matching network
C	To transform the antenna impedance to a higher value
D	To provide DC isolation between the feed line and the antenna

48. - E9F11

What impedance does a 1/8-wavelength transmission line present to a generator when the line is open at the far end?

Select	Answer
A	The same as the characteristic impedance of the line
B	Infinite
C	An inductive reactance
D	A capacitive reactance

49. - E9G03

Which of the following is often determined using a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Trigonometric functions
B	Impedance and SWR values in transmission lines
C	Beam headings and radiation patterns
D	Satellite azimuth and elevation bearings

50. - E9H06

What is the triangulation method of direction finding?

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

Figure E5-1

Figure E7-3