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

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1. - E1A10

If an amateur station is installed aboard a ship or aircraft, what condition must be met before the station is operated?

Select	Answer
A	Its operation must be approved by the master of the ship or the pilot in command of the aircraft
B	The amateur operator must have an FCC Marine or Aircraft endorsement on his or her amateur license
C	The amateur station operator must agree not to transmit when the main radio of the ship or aircraft is in use
D	The amateur station must have a power supply that is completely independent of the main ship or aircraft power supply

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

3. - E1C09

Which of these ranges of frequencies is available for an automatically controlled repeater operating below 30 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	10.100 MHz - 10.150 MHz
B	29.500 MHz - 29.700 MHz
C	18.110 MHz - 18.168 MHz
D	24.940 MHz - 24.990 MHz

4. - E1D01

What is the definition of the term telemetry?

Select	Answer
A	Two-way single channel transmissions of data
B	Two-way radiotelephone transmissions in excess of 1000 feet
C	One-way transmission that initiates, modifies, or terminates the functions of a device at a distance
D	One-way transmission of measurements at a distance from the measuring instrument

5. - E1E12

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

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

6. - E1F05

Amateur stations may not transmit in which of the following frequency segments if they are located in the contiguous 48 states and north of Line A?

Select	Answer
A	440 MHz - 450 MHz
B	420 MHz - 430 MHz
C	53 MHz - 54 MHz
D	222 MHz - 223 MHz

7. - E2A09

What do the terms L band and S band specify with regard to satellite communications?

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

8. - E2B13

How many lines are commonly used in each frame of an amateur slow-scan color television picture?

Select	Answer
A	60 or 100
B	30 or 60
C	128 or 256
D	180 or 360

9. - E2C06

During a VHF/UHF contest, in which band segment would you expect to find the highest level of activity?

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

10. - E2D02

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

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

11. - E2E10

Which of these digital modes has the narrowest bandwidth?

Select	Answer
A	300-baud packet
B	MFSK16
C	PSK31
D	170 Hz shift, 45 baud RTTY

12. - E3A13

Which emission mode is best for aurora propagation?

Select	Answer
A	CW
B	FM
C	RTTY
D	SSB

13. - E3B11

At what time of day is Sporadic-E propagation most likely to occur?

Select	Answer
A	Around sunrise
B	Any time
C	Around sunset
D	Early evening

14. - E3C08

What does the space weather term G5 mean?

Select	Answer
A	Waning sunspot numbers
B	An extreme geomagnetic storm
C	Very low solar activity
D	Moderate solar wind

15. - E4A12

Which of the following procedures is an important precaution to follow when connecting a spectrum analyzer to a transmitter output?

Select	Answer
A	Use high quality double shielded coaxial cables to reduce signal losses
B	All of these choices are correct
C	Attenuate the transmitter output going to the spectrum analyzer
D	Match the antenna to the load

16. - E4B15

Which of the following can be used as a relative measurement of the Q for a series-tuned circuit?

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

17. - E4C10

Which of the following is a desirable amount of selectivity for an amateur RTTY HF receiver?

Select	Answer
A	300 Hz
B	6000 Hz
C	100 Hz
D	2400 Hz

18. - E4D09

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

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

19. - E4E16

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

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

20. - E5A17

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

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

21. - E5B03

What happens to the phase angle of a reactance when it is converted to a susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	The susceptance phase angle is the inverse of the reactance phase angle
B	It is shifted by 90 degrees
C	The sign is reversed
D	It is unchanged

22. - E5C17

Which point on Figure E5-2 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 300 ohm resistor, a 0.64-microhenry inductor and an 85-picofarad capacitor at 24.900 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	Point 5
B	Point 3
C	Point 1
D	Point 8

23. - E5D16

What is the power factor of an R-L circuit having a 30 degree phase angle between the voltage and the current?

Select	Answer
A	0.577
B	0.5
C	1.73
D	0.866

24. - E6A04

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

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

25. - E6B02

What is an important characteristic of a Schottky diode as compared to an ordinary silicon diode when used as a power supply rectifier?

Select	Answer
A	Less forward voltage drop
B	Controlled reverse avalanche voltage
C	Much higher reverse voltage breakdown
D	Enhanced carrier retention time

26. - E6C01

What is the function of hysteresis in a comparator?

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

27. - E6D14

Which type of slug material decreases inductance when inserted into a coil?

Select	Answer
A	Powdered-iron
B	Ceramic
C	Brass
D	Ferrite

28. - E6E01

Which of the following is true of a charge-coupled device (CCD)?

Select	Answer
A	It samples an analog signal and passes it in stages from the input to the output
B	It is a CMOS analog-to-digital converter
C	Its phase shift changes rapidly with frequency
D	It is used in a battery charger circuit

29. - E6F10

What is the most common type of photovoltaic cell used for electrical power generation?

Select	Answer
A	Copper oxide
B	Silicon
C	Cadmium Sulfide
D	Selenium

30. - E7A04

How many flip-flops are required to divide a signal frequency by 4?

Select	Answer
A	4
B	2
C	8
D	1

31. - E7B12

What type of amplifier circuit is shown in Figure E7-1?

Select	Answer
A	Common base
B	Emitter follower
C	Common emitter
D	Common collector

32. - 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 capacitors are in series between the input and output, and an inductor is connected between the two capacitors and ground
B	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
C	Two inductors are in series between the input and output, and a capacitor is connected between the two inductors and ground
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

33. - E7D06

What is the purpose of Q1 in the circuit shown in Figure E7-3?

Select	Answer
A	It increases the current-handling capability of the regulator
B	It provides a constant load for the voltage source
C	It provides negative feedback to improve regulation
D	It provides D1 with current

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 a microphone preamplifier to produce PM signals
D	By varying the tuning of an amplifier tank circuit to produce PM signals

35. - E7F09

Why is an anti-aliasing digital filter required in a digital decimator?

Select	Answer
A	It removes low frequency signal components to eliminate the need for DC restoration
B	It removes high-frequency signal components which would otherwise be reproduced as lower frequency components
C	It peaks the response of the decimator, improving bandwidth
D	It notches out the sampling frequency to avoid sampling errors

36. - E7G11

What absolute voltage gain can be expected from the circuit in Figure E7-4 when R1 is 3300 ohms and RF is 47 kilohms?

Select	Answer
A	14
B	7
C	0.07
D	28

37. - E7H13

Which of the following is a technique for providing highly accurate and stable oscillators needed for microwave transmission and reception?

Select	Answer
A	Use a rubidium stabilized reference oscillator
B	Use a temperature-controlled high Q dielectric resonator
C	Use a GPS signal reference
D	All of these choices are correct

38. - E8A04

What is "dither" with respect to analog to digital converters?

Select	Answer
A	A small amount of noise added to the input signal to allow more precise representation of a signal over time
B	An error caused by irregular quantization step size
C	A method of decimation by randomly skipping samples
D	An abnormal condition where the converter cannot settle on a value to represent the signal

39. - 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

40. - E8C05

What is the necessary bandwidth of a 13-WPM international Morse code transmission?

Select	Answer
A	Approximately 52 Hz
B	Approximately 104 Hz
C	Approximately 26 Hz
D	Approximately 13 Hz

41. - E8D02

What spread spectrum communications technique uses a high speed binary bit stream to shift the phase of an RF carrier?

Select	Answer
A	Frequency hopping
B	Binary phase-shift keying
C	Direct sequence
D	Phase compandored spread spectrum

42. - E9A07

What is meant by antenna gain?

Select	Answer
A	The final amplifier gain minus the transmission line losses
B	The ratio of the radiated signal strength of an antenna in the direction of maximum radiation to that of a reference antenna
C	The ratio of the amount of power radiated by an antenna compared to the transmitter output power
D	The ratio of the signal in the forward direction to that in the opposite direction

43. - E9B01

In the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-1, what is the 3 dB beam-width?

Select	Answer
A	75 degrees
B	50 degrees
C	30 degrees
D	25 degrees

44. - E9C13

What is the main effect of placing a vertical antenna over an imperfect ground?

Select	Answer
A	It reduces losses in the radiating portion of the antenna
B	It reduces low-angle radiation
C	It changes the impedance angle of the matching network
D	It causes increased SWR

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 driven into the Earth
B	A 50 ohm resistor connected to ground
C	An electrically short connection to 3 or 4 interconnected ground rods via a series RF choke
D	An electrically short connection to a metal water pipe

46. - E9E02

What is the name of an antenna matching system that matches an unbalanced feed line to an antenna by feeding the driven element both at the center of the element and at a fraction of a wavelength to one side of center?

Select	Answer
A	The delta match
B	The stub match
C	The gamma match
D	The epsilon match

47. - E9F12

What impedance does a 1/4 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	Very low impedance
C	The same as the input impedance to the generator
D	Very high impedance

48. - E9G09

What third family of circles is often added to a Smith chart during the process of solving problems?

Select	Answer
A	Coaxial-length circles
B	Antenna-length circles
C	Standing wave ratio circles
D	Radiation-pattern circles

49. - E9H05

What is the main drawback of a wire-loop antenna for direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	It receives equally well in all directions
B	It is non-rotatable
C	It is practical for use only on VHF bands
D	It has a bidirectional pattern

50. - E0A05

What is one of the potential hazards of using microwaves in the amateur radio bands?

Select	Answer
A	Microwaves are ionizing radiation
B	The high gain antennas commonly used can result in high exposure levels
C	Microwaves often travel long distances by ionospheric reflection
D	The extremely high frequency energy can damage the joints of antenna structures

Figure E5-2

Figure E7-1

Figure E7-3

Figure E7-4

Figure E9-1