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

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1. - E0A11

Which of the following injuries can result from using high-power UHF or microwave transmitters?

Select	Answer
A	Hearing loss caused by high voltage corona discharge
B	Localized heating of the body from RF exposure in excess of the MPE limits
C	Blood clotting from the intense magnetic field
D	Ingestion of ozone gas from the cooling system

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	14.149 MHz
B	14.070 MHz
C	14.100 MHz
D	14.349 MHz

3. - E1B08

What limitations may the FCC place on an amateur station if its signal causes interference to domestic broadcast reception, assuming that the receivers involved are of good engineering design?

Select	Answer
A	The amateur station must cease operation on all frequencies above 30 MHz
B	The amateur station must avoid transmitting during certain hours on frequencies that cause the interference
C	The amateur station must cease operation
D	The amateur station must cease operation on all frequencies below 30 MHz

4. - E1C07

At what level below a signal's mean power level is its bandwidth determined according to FCC rules?

Select	Answer
A	6 dB
B	26 dB
C	3 dB
D	23 dB

5. - E1D05

What must be posted at the station location of a station being operated by telecommand on or within 50 km of the earth's surface?

Select	Answer
A	A label with the name, address, and telephone number of the station licensee
B	A photocopy of the station license
C	All these choices are correct
D	A label with the name, address, and telephone number of the control operator

6. - E1E12

What must the VE team do with the application form if the examinee does not pass the exam?

Select	Answer
A	Maintain the application form with the VEC's records
B	Return the application document to the examinee
C	Send the application form to the FCC and inform the FCC of the grade
D	Destroy the application form

7. - E1F04

Which of the following geographic descriptions approximately describes "Line A"?

Select	Answer
A	A line roughly parallel to and north of the border between the U.S. and Mexico
B	A line roughly parallel to and east of the U.S. Pacific coastline
C	A line roughly parallel to and west of the U.S. Atlantic coastline
D	A line roughly parallel to and south of the border between the U.S. and Canada

8. - E2A11

What type of antenna can be used to minimize the effects of spin modulation and Faraday rotation?

Select	Answer
A	An isotropic antenna
B	A linearly polarized antenna
C	A log-periodic dipole array
D	A circularly polarized antenna

9. - E2B02

How many horizontal lines make up a fast-scan (NTSC) television frame?

Select	Answer
A	30
B	60
C	525
D	1080

10. - E2C05

What is the function of a DX QSL Manager?

Select	Answer
A	To allocate frequencies for DXpeditions
B	To relay calls to and from a DX station
C	To handle the receiving and sending of confirmation cards for a DX station
D	To run a net to allow many stations to contact a rare DX station

11. - E2D07

What digital protocol is used by APRS?

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

12. - E2E05

Which of these digital modes does not support keyboard-to-keyboard operation?

Select	Answer
A	MFSK
B	PACTOR
C	RTTY
D	PSK31

13. - E3A02

What characterizes libration fading of an EME signal?

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

14. - E3B03

What is the best time of day for transequatorial propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Noon
B	Morning
C	Afternoon or early evening
D	Late at night

15. - E3C10

What does the 304A solar parameter measure?

Select	Answer
A	UV emissions at 304 angstroms, correlated to the solar flux index
B	The solar wind velocity at 304 degrees from the solar equator, correlated to solar activity
C	The solar emission at 304 GHz, correlated to x-ray flare levels
D	The ratio of x-ray flux to radio flux, correlated to sunspot number

16. - E4A08

Which of the following measures SWR?

Select	Answer
A	An ohmmeter
B	A Q meter
C	An antenna analyzer
D	A spectrum analyzer

17. - E4B08

Which of the following can be used to measure the Q of a series-tuned circuit?

Select	Answer
A	The bandwidth of the circuit's frequency response
B	The resonant frequency of the circuit
C	The inductance to capacitance ratio
D	The frequency shift

18. - E4C15

What is reciprocal mixing?

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

19. - E4D01

What is meant by the blocking dynamic range of a receiver?

Select	Answer
A	The minimum difference in dB between two signals which produce third-order intermodulation products greater than the noise floor
B	The difference in dB between the noise floor and the level of an incoming signal that will cause 1 dB of gain compression
C	The minimum difference in dB between the levels of two FM signals that will cause one signal to block the other
D	The difference in dB between the noise floor and the third-order intercept point

20. - E4E02

Which of the following types of noise can often be reduced with a digital signal processing noise filter?

Select	Answer
A	Ignition noise
B	All these choices are correct
C	Power line noise
D	Broadband white noise

21. - E5A13

What is an effect of increasing Q in a series resonant circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Phase shift can become uncontrolled
B	Parasitic effects are minimized
C	Internal voltages increase
D	Fewer components are needed for the same performance

22. - E5B08

What is the phase angle between the voltage across and the current through a series RLC circuit if XC is 100 ohms, R is 100 ohms, and XL is 75 ohms?

Select	Answer
A	76 degrees with the voltage lagging 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 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	Venn diagram
B	Phasor diagram
C	Far field diagram
D	Near field diagram

24. - E5D01

What is the result of skin effect?

Select	Answer
A	As frequency increases, RF current flows in a thinner layer of the conductor, closer to the surface
B	As frequency decreases, RF current flows in a thinner layer of the conductor, closer to the surface
C	Thermal effects on the surface of the conductor increase the impedance
D	Thermal effects on the surface of the conductor decrease the impedance

25. - E6A05

How does DC input impedance at the gate of a field-effect transistor compare with the DC input impedance of a bipolar transistor?

Select	Answer
A	They are both high impedance
B	An FET has higher input impedance
C	They are both low impedance
D	An FET has lower input impedance

26. - E6B01

What is the most useful characteristic of a Zener diode?

Select	Answer
A	An internal capacitance that varies with the applied voltage
B	A negative resistance region
C	A constant voltage drop under conditions of varying current
D	A constant current drop under conditions of varying voltage

27. - E6C05

What is an advantage of CMOS logic devices over TTL devices?

Select	Answer
A	Immune to damage from static discharge
B	Differential output capability
C	Lower power consumption
D	Lower distortion

28. - E6D03

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

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

29. - E6E02

Which of the following device packages is a through-hole type?

Select	Answer
A	PLCC
B	SOT
C	Ball grid array
D	DIP

30. - E6F04

What is the photovoltaic effect?

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

31. - E7A08

What logical operation does an OR gate perform?

Select	Answer
A	It only produces logic 0 at its output when all inputs are logic 1
B	It produces logic 1 at its output if all inputs are logic 0
C	It produces logic 1 at its output if any or all inputs are logic 1
D	It produces logic 0 at its output if 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 are relatively far in frequency from the desired signal
C	Because they invert the sidebands causing distortion
D	Because they maintain the sidebands, thus causing multiple duplicate signals

33. - E7C03

What advantage does a series-L Pi-L-network have over a series-L Pi-network for impedance matching between the final amplifier of a vacuum-tube transmitter and an antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Greater harmonic suppression
B	Does not require a capacitor
C	Greater transformation range
D	Higher efficiency

34. - E7D03

What device is typically used as a stable voltage reference in a linear voltage regulator?

Select	Answer
A	A varactor diode
B	A Zener diode
C	A tunnel diode
D	An SCR

35. - E7E03

What is a frequency discriminator stage in a FM receiver?

Select	Answer
A	An FM generator circuit
B	An automatic band-switching circuit
C	A circuit for detecting FM signals
D	A circuit for filtering two closely adjacent signals

36. - E7F04

What is a common method of generating an SSB signal using digital signal processing?

Select	Answer
A	Signals are combined in quadrature phase relationship
B	Varying quartz crystal characteristics emulated in digital form
C	Mixing products are converted to voltages and subtracted by adder circuits
D	A frequency synthesizer removes the unwanted sidebands

37. - E7G10

What absolute voltage gain can be expected from the circuit in Figure E7-3 when R1 is 1800 ohms and RF is 68 kilohms?

Select	Answer
A	38
B	1
C	0.03
D	76

38. - E7H15

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

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

39. - E8A06

What is the approximate ratio of PEP-to-average power in a typical single-sideband phone signal?

Select	Answer
A	2.5 to 1
B	25 to 1
C	1 to 1
D	100 to 1

40. - E8B07

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing is a technique used for which type of amateur communication?

Select	Answer
A	Extremely low-power contacts
B	High-speed digital modes
C	OFDM signals are not allowed on amateur bands
D	EME

41. - E8C08

How does ARQ accomplish error correction?

Select	Answer
A	If errors are detected, redundant data is substituted
B	Special binary codes provide automatic correction
C	If errors are detected, a retransmission is requested
D	Special polynomial codes provide automatic correction

42. - E8D07

What is a common cause of overmodulation of AFSK signals?

Select	Answer
A	Excessive numbers of retries
B	Ground loops
C	Excessive transmit audio levels
D	Bit errors in the modem

43. - E9A10

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

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

44. - E9B02

In the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-1, what is the front-to-back ratio?

Select	Answer
A	36 dB
B	24 dB
C	18 dB
D	14 dB

45. - E9C12

Which of the following describes an Extended Double Zepp antenna?

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

46. - E9D03

Where should a high Q loading coil be placed to minimize losses in a shortened vertical antenna?

Select	Answer
A	As low as possible on the vertical radiator
B	At a voltage node
C	Near the center of the vertical radiator
D	As close to the transmitter as possible

47. - E9E05

How must an antenna's driven element be tuned to use a hairpin matching system?

Select	Answer
A	The driven element radiation resistance must be higher than the characteristic impedance of the transmission line
B	The driven element resonance must be lower than the operating frequency
C	The driven element reactance must be inductive
D	The driven element reactance must be capacitive

48. - E9F10

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

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

49. - E9G01

Which of the following can be calculated using a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Impedance along transmission lines
B	Radiation resistance
C	Antenna radiation pattern
D	Radio propagation

50. - E9H02

Which is generally true for low band (160 meter and 80 meter) receiving antennas?

Select	Answer
A	Low loss coax transmission line is essential for good performance
B	All these choices are correct
C	They must be erected at least 1/2 wavelength above the ground to attain good directivity
D	Atmospheric noise is so high that gain over a dipole is not important

Figure E7-3

Figure E9-1