US Amateur Radio - Amateur Extra (Element 4, 2016-2020) Practice Test

Logging in (or registering) will help the system to select questions that you need to focus on.

1. - E1A13

Who must be in physical control of the station apparatus of an amateur station aboard any vessel or craft that is documented or registered in the United States?

Select	Answer
A	Only a person named in an amateur station license grant
B	Only a person with an FCC Marine Radio
C	Any person named in an amateur station license grant or a person holding an unrestricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit
D	Any person holding an FCC issued amateur license or who is authorized for alien reciprocal operation

2. - E1B11

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 63 dB below
B	At least 43 dB below
C	At least 53 dB below
D	At least 73 dB below

3. - E1C13

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 append "/CEPT" to your call sign
B	The U.S. embassy must approve of your operation
C	You must identify in the official language of the country in which you are operating
D	You must bring a copy of FCC Public Notice DA 11-221

4. - E1D11

Which amateur stations are eligible to operate as Earth stations?

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

5. - E1E10

What must the administering VEs do after the administration of a successful examination for an amateur operator license?

Select	Answer
A	They must collect and submit the documents to the coordinating VEC for grading
B	They must collect and send the documents to the NCVEC for grading
C	They must collect and send the documents to the FCC according to instructions
D	They must submit the application document to the coordinating VEC according to the coordinating VEC instructions

6. - E1F12

Who may be the control operator of an auxiliary station?

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

7. - E2A14

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

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

8. - E2B08

Which of the following is a common method of transmitting accompanying audio with amateur fast-scan television?

Select	Answer
A	Frequency modulation of the video carrier
B	Frequency-modulated sub-carrier
C	All of these choices are correct
D	A separate VHF or UHF audio link

9. - E2C04

What type of transmission is most often used for a ham radio mesh network?

Select	Answer
A	Spread spectrum in the 2.4 GHz band
B	Store and forward on the 440 MHz band
C	Frequency division multiplex in the 24 GHz band
D	Multiple Frequency Shift Keying in the 10 GHz band

10. - E2D02

Which of the following is a good technique for making meteor scatter contacts?

Select	Answer
A	Use of high speed CW or digital modes
B	15 second timed transmission sequences with stations alternating based on location
C	All of these choices are correct
D	Short transmission with rapidly repeated call signs and signal reports

11. - E2E11

What is the difference between direct FSK and audio FSK?

Select	Answer
A	Direct FSK applies the data signal to the transmitter VFO
B	Audio FSK can be performed anywhere in the transmit chain
C	Audio FSK has a superior frequency response
D	Direct FSK uses a DC-coupled data connection

12. - E3A11

What is a typical range for tropospheric propagation of microwave signals?

Select	Answer
A	10 miles to 50 miles
B	100 miles to 300 miles
C	2500 miles
D	1200 miles

13. - E3B12

What is the primary characteristic of chordal hop propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Signals reflected back toward the transmitting station
B	Propagation away from the great circle bearing between stations
C	Successive ionospheric reflections without an intermediate reflection from the ground
D	Propagation across the geomagnetic equator

14. - E3C05

What orientation of Bz (B sub z) increases the likelihood that incoming particles from the Sun will cause disturbed conditions?

Select	Answer
A	Eastward
B	Westward
C	Northward
D	Southward

15. - E4A09

When using a computer's soundcard input to digitize signals, what is the highest frequency signal that can be digitized without aliasing?

Select	Answer
A	One-tenth the sample rate
B	The same as the sample rate
C	It depends on how the data is stored internally
D	One-half the sample rate

16. - E4B04

If a frequency counter with a specified accuracy of +/- 0.1 ppm reads 146,520,000 Hz, what is the most the actual frequency being measured could differ from the reading?

Select	Answer
A	1.4652 Hz
B	1.4652 kHz
C	14.652 Hz
D	0.1 MHz

17. - E4C14

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

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

18. - 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 allow selection of the optimum RF amplifier device
C	To store often-used frequencies
D	To increase rejection of unwanted signals

19. - E4E08

What type of signal is picked up by electrical wiring near a radio antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Harmonics of the AC power line frequency
B	An electrical-sparking signal
C	A differential-mode signal at the AC power line frequency
D	A common-mode signal at the frequency of the radio transmitter

20. - E5A09

How is the Q of an RLC parallel resonant circuit calculated?

Select	Answer
A	Resistance divided by the reactance of either the inductance or capacitance
B	Reactance of either the inductance or capacitance divided by the resistance
C	Reactance of the inductance multiplied by the reactance of the capacitance
D	Reactance of either the inductance or capacitance multiplied by the resistance

21. - E5B02

What is the term for the time it takes for a charged capacitor in an RC circuit to discharge to 36.8% of its initial voltage?

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

22. - E5C13

What coordinate system is often used to display the resistive, inductive, and/or capacitive reactance components of impedance?

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

23. - E5D01

What is the result of skin effect?

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

24. - E6A06

What is the beta of a bipolar junction transistor?

Select	Answer
A	The frequency at which the current gain is reduced to 1
B	The change in collector current with respect to base current
C	The switching speed of the transistor
D	The breakdown voltage of the base to collector junction

25. - E6B03

What special type of diode is capable of both amplification and oscillation?

Select	Answer
A	Junction
B	Zener
C	Tunnel
D	Point contact

26. - E6C05

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

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

27. - E6D15

What is current in the primary winding of a transformer called if no load is attached to the secondary?

Select	Answer
A	Excitation current
B	Magnetizing current
C	Direct current
D	Stabilizing current

28. - E6E03

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

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

29. - E6F13

What is a liquid crystal display (LCD)?

Select	Answer
A	A modern replacement for a quartz crystal oscillator which displays its fundamental frequency
B	A display utilizing a crystalline liquid and polarizing filters which becomes opaque when voltage is applied
C	A display that uses a glowing liquid to remain brightly lit in dim light
D	A frequency-determining unit for a transmitter or receiver

30. - E7A03

Which of the following can divide the frequency of a pulse train by 2?

Select	Answer
A	An OR gate
B	An XOR gate
C	A flip-flop
D	A multiplexer

31. - E7B14

Why are switching amplifiers more efficient than linear amplifiers?

Select	Answer
A	The power transistor is at saturation or cut off most of the time, resulting in low power dissipation
B	Switching amplifiers operate at higher voltages
C	Switching amplifiers use push-pull circuits
D	Linear amplifiers have high gain resulting in higher harmonic content

32. - E7C11

Which of the following is the common name for a filter network which is equivalent to two L-networks connected back-to-back with the two inductors in series and the capacitors in shunt at the input and output?

Select	Answer
A	Pi
B	Cascode
C	Pi-L
D	Omega

33. - E7D03

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

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

34. - E7E03

How does an analog phase modulator function?

Select	Answer
A	By varying the tuning of a microphone preamplifier to produce AM signals
B	By varying the tuning of an amplifier tank circuit to produce AM signals
C	By varying the tuning of an amplifier tank circuit to produce PM signals
D	By varying the tuning of a microphone preamplifier to produce PM signals

35. - E7F11

What sets the minimum detectable signal level for an SDR in the absence of atmospheric or thermal noise?

Select	Answer
A	Data storage transfer rate
B	Missing codes and jitter
C	Reference voltage level and sample width in bits
D	Sample clock phase noise

36. - E7G08

How does the gain of an ideal operational amplifier vary with frequency?

Select	Answer
A	It increases linearly with increasing frequency
B	It does not vary with frequency
C	It decreases logarithmically with increasing frequency
D	It decreases linearly with increasing frequency

37. - E7H03

How is positive feedback supplied in a Hartley oscillator?

Select	Answer
A	Through a neutralizing capacitor
B	Through link coupling
C	Through a tapped coil
D	Through a capacitive divider

38. - E8A11

What type of information can be conveyed using digital waveforms?

Select	Answer
A	Data
B	Human speech
C	All of these choices are correct
D	Video signals

39. - E8B11

What is digital time division multiplexing?

Select	Answer
A	Two or more data streams share the same channel by transmitting time of transmission as the sub-carrier
B	Two or more signals are quadrature modulated to increase bandwidth efficiency
C	Two or more signals are arranged to share discrete time slots of a data transmission
D	Two or more data streams are assigned to discrete sub-carriers on an FM transmitter

40. - E8C04

What technique is used to minimize the bandwidth requirements of a PSK31 signal?

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

41. - E8D10

What are some of the differences between the Baudot digital code and ASCII?

Select	Answer
A	Baudot uses 7 data bits per character, ASCII uses 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes
B	Baudot uses 4 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot uses 1 character as a letters/figures shift code, ASCII has no letters/figures code
C	Baudot uses 6 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes
D	Baudot uses 5 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot uses 2 characters as letters/figures shift codes, ASCII has no letters/figures shift code

42. - E9A02

What antenna has no gain in any direction?

Select	Answer
A	Isotropic antenna
B	Half-wave dipole
C	Quarter-wave vertical
D	Yagi

43. - E9B15

What is the front-to-back ratio of the radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-2?

Select	Answer
A	3 dB
B	28 dB
C	24 dB
D	15 dB

44. - E9C14

How does the performance of a horizontally polarized antenna mounted on the side of a hill compare with the same antenna mounted on flat ground?

Select	Answer
A	The main lobe takeoff angle decreases in the downhill direction
B	The horizontal beam width decreases in the downhill direction
C	The horizontal beam width increases in the uphill direction
D	The main lobe takeoff angle increases in the downhill direction

45. - E9D12

Which of the following would provide the best RF ground for your station?

Select	Answer
A	An electrically short connection to 3 or 4 interconnected ground rods via a series RF choke
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	A 50 ohm resistor connected to ground

46. - E9E05

How must the driven element in a 3-element Yagi be tuned to use a hairpin matching system?

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

47. - E9F08

What is the term for the ratio of the actual speed at which a signal travels through a transmission line to the speed of light in a vacuum?

Select	Answer
A	Surge impedance
B	Velocity factor
C	Standing wave ratio
D	Characteristic impedance

48. - E9G11

How are the wavelength scales on a Smith chart calibrated?

Select	Answer
A	In fractions of antenna electrical frequency
B	In fractions of antenna electrical wavelength
C	In fractions of transmission line electrical wavelength
D	In fractions of transmission line electrical frequency

49. - E9H07

Why is it advisable to use an RF attenuator on a receiver being used for direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	It narrows the bandwidth of the received signal to improve signal to noise ratio
B	It prevents receiver overload which could make it difficult to determine peaks or nulls
C	It reduces loss of received signals caused by antenna pattern nulls, thereby increasing sensitivity
D	It compensates for the effects of an isotropic antenna, thereby improving directivity

50. - E0A01

What is the primary function of an external earth connection or ground rod?

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

Figure E9-2