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

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1. - E1A11

Which of the following describes authorization or licensing required when operating an amateur station aboard a U.S.-registered vessel in international waters?

Select	Answer
A	Any FCC-issued amateur license
B	Any amateur license with an FCC Marine or Aircraft endorsement
C	An unrestricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit
D	Only General class or higher amateur licenses

2. - 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 obtain a construction permit from the airport zoning authority
B	No special rules apply if your antenna structure will be less than 300 feet in height
C	You must file an Environmental Impact Statement with the EPA before construction begins
D	You may have to notify the Federal Aviation Administration and register it with the FCC as required by Part 17 of FCC rules

3. - E1C10

What types of amateur stations may automatically retransmit the radio signals of other amateur stations?

Select	Answer
A	Only earth stations, repeater stations or model craft
B	Only beacon, repeater or space stations
C	Only auxiliary, beacon or space stations
D	Only auxiliary, repeater or space stations

4. - E1D06

Which of the following is a requirement of a space station?

Select	Answer
A	The space station must cease all transmissions after 5 years
B	All of these choices are correct
C	The space station must be capable of changing its orbit whenever such a change is ordered by NASA
D	The space station must be capable of terminating transmissions by telecommand when directed by the FCC

5. - E1E02

Where are the questions for all written U.S. amateur license examinations listed?

Select	Answer
A	In a question pool maintained by the FCC
B	In the appropriate FCC Report and Order
C	In a question pool maintained by all the VECs
D	In FCC Part 97

6. - E1F12

Who may be the control operator of an auxiliary station?

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

7. - E2A02

What is the direction of a descending pass for an amateur satellite?

Select	Answer
A	From east to west
B	From south to north
C	From north to south
D	From west to east

8. - E2B07

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

Select	Answer
A	Luminance
B	Hue
C	Chroma
D	Spectral Intensity

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

10. - E2D09

Which of these digital modes has the fastest data throughput under clear communication conditions?

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

11. - E2E02

What do the letters FEC mean as they relate to digital operation?

Select	Answer
A	First Error Correction
B	Fatal Error Correction
C	Forward Error Correction
D	Final Error Correction

12. - E3A08

When a meteor strikes the Earth's atmosphere, a cylindrical region of free electrons is formed at what layer of the ionosphere?

Select	Answer
A	The F1 layer
B	The E layer
C	The F2 layer
D	The D layer

13. - E3B04

What is meant by the terms extraordinary and ordinary waves?

Select	Answer
A	Refracted rays and reflected waves
B	Long path and short path waves
C	Independent waves created in the ionosphere that are elliptically polarized
D	Extraordinary waves describe rare long skip propagation compared to ordinary waves which travel shorter distances

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	Northward
B	Westward
C	Eastward
D	Southward

15. - E4A14

What is the purpose of the prescaler function on a frequency counter?

Select	Answer
A	It divides a higher frequency signal so a low-frequency counter can display the input frequency
B	It multiplies a higher frequency signal so a low-frequency counter can display the operating frequency
C	It prevents oscillation in a low-frequency counter circuit
D	It amplifies low level signals for more accurate counting

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	0.1 MHz
B	1.4652 kHz
C	1.4652 Hz
D	14.652 Hz

17. - E4C08

An SDR receiver is overloaded when input signals exceed what level?

Select	Answer
A	One-half the maximum sampling buffer size
B	The maximum count value of the analog-to-digital converter
C	The reference voltage of the analog-to-digital converter
D	One-half the maximum sample rate

18. - E4D07

Which describes the most significant effect of an off-frequency signal when it is causing cross-modulation interference to a desired signal?

Select	Answer
A	The desired signal can no longer be heard
B	A large increase in background noise
C	The off-frequency unwanted signal is heard in addition to the desired signal
D	A reduction in apparent signal strength

19. - E4E07

How can you determine if line noise interference is being generated within your home?

Select	Answer
A	By observing the AC power line voltage with a spectrum analyzer
B	By observing the AC power line waveform with an oscilloscope
C	By turning off the AC power line main circuit breaker and listening on a battery operated radio
D	By checking the power line voltage with a time domain reflectometer

20. - E5A14

What is the resonant frequency of a series RLC circuit if R is 22 ohms, L is 50 microhenrys and C is 40 picofarads?

Select	Answer
A	3.56 MHz
B	22.36 MHz
C	44.72 MHz
D	1.78 MHz

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

22. - E5C11

What do the two numbers that are used to define a point on a graph using rectangular coordinates represent?

Select	Answer
A	The coordinate values along the horizontal and vertical axes
B	The sine and cosine values
C	The magnitude and phase of the point
D	The tangent and cotangent values

23. - E5D15

What is the power factor of an R-L circuit having a 45 degree phase angle between the voltage and the current?

Select	Answer
A	0.866
B	0.707
C	0.5
D	1.0

24. - E6A16

What are the majority charge carriers in N-type semiconductor material?

Select	Answer
A	Free electrons
B	Free neutrons
C	Holes
D	Free protons

25. - E6B13

What type of bias is required for an LED to emit light?

Select	Answer
A	Zero bias
B	Reverse bias
C	Forward bias
D	Inductive bias

26. - E6C09

What is a Programmable Logic Device (PLD)?

Select	Answer
A	A device to control industrial equipment
B	An algorithm for simulating logic functions during circuit design
C	A programmable collection of logic gates and circuits in a single integrated circuit
D	Programmable equipment used for testing digital logic integrated circuits

27. - E6D04

Which materials are commonly used as a slug core in a variable inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Ferrite and brass
B	Polystyrene and polyethylene
C	Teflon and Delrin
D	Cobalt and aluminum

28. - E6E11

What is a characteristic of DIP packaging used for integrated circuits?

Select	Answer
A	Package mounts in a direct inverted position
B	A total of two rows of connecting pins placed on opposite sides of the package (Dual In-line Package)
C	Two chips in each package (Dual In Package)
D	Low leakage doubly insulated package

29. - E6F03

What is the most common configuration of an optoisolator or optocoupler?

Select	Answer
A	A lens and a photomultiplier
B	An amplitude modulated helium-neon laser
C	A frequency modulated helium-neon laser
D	An LED and a phototransistor

30. - E7A07

What logical operation does a NAND gate perform?

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

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	Linear amplifiers have high gain resulting in higher harmonic content
C	Switching amplifiers use push-pull circuits
D	Switching amplifiers operate at higher voltages

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	Omega
B	Pi-L
C	Pi
D	Cascode

33. - E7D07

What is the purpose of C2 in the circuit shown in Figure E7-3?

Select	Answer
A	It bypasses hum around D1
B	To provide fixed DC bias for Q1
C	To self-resonate at the hum frequency
D	It is a brute force filter for the output

34. - E7E02

What is the function of a reactance modulator?

Select	Answer
A	To produce PM signals by using an electrically variable inductance or capacitance
B	To produce AM signals by using an electrically variable resistance
C	To produce PM signals by using an electrically variable resistance
D	To produce AM signals by using an electrically variable inductance or capacitance

35. - E7F15

Which of the following is an advantage of a Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filter vs an Infinite Impulse Response (IIR) digital filter?

Select	Answer
A	FIR filters are easier to implement for a given set of passband rolloff requirements
B	FIR filters can respond faster to impulses
C	All of these choices are correct
D	FIR filters delay all frequency components of the signal by the same amount

36. - E7G12

What is an integrated circuit operational amplifier?

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

37. - 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

38. - 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	1 to 1
C	25 to 1
D	100 to 1

39. - E8B05

What is the deviation ratio of an FM-phone signal having a maximum frequency swing of plus-or-minus 5 kHz when the maximum modulation frequency is 3 kHz?

Select	Answer
A	0.167
B	1.67
C	0.6
D	60

40. - E8C05

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

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

41. - E8D03

How does the spread spectrum technique of frequency hopping work?

Select	Answer
A	The frequency of the transmitted signal is changed very rapidly according to a particular sequence also used by the receiving station
B	If interference is detected by the receiver it will signal the transmitter to change frequencies
C	A pseudo-random binary bit stream is used to shift the phase of an RF carrier very rapidly in a particular sequence
D	If interference is detected by the receiver it will signal the transmitter to wait until the frequency is clear

42. - E9A14

What is meant by the radiation resistance of an antenna?

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

43. - E9B09

What type of computer program technique is commonly used for modeling antennas?

Select	Answer
A	Mutual impedance analysis
B	Calculus differentiation with respect to physical properties
C	Graphical analysis
D	Method of Moments

44. - E9C10

Which of the following describes a Zepp antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A dipole constructed from zip cord
B	A vertical array capable of quickly changing the direction of maximum radiation by changing phasing lines
C	An omni-directional antenna commonly used for satellite communications
D	An end fed dipole antenna

45. - E9D04

Why should an HF mobile antenna loading coil have a high ratio of reactance to resistance?

Select	Answer
A	To minimize losses
B	To minimize the Q
C	To maximize losses
D	To swamp out harmonics

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

47. - 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 input impedance to the final generator stage
B	A capacitive reactance
C	An inductive reactance
D	The same as the characteristic impedance of the line

48. - E9G06

On the Smith chart shown in Figure E9-3, what is the name for the large outer circle on which the reactance arcs terminate?

Select	Answer
A	Prime axis
B	Reactance axis
C	Polar axis
D	Impedance axis

49. - E9H06

What is the triangulation method of direction finding?

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

50. - E0A04

When evaluating a site with multiple transmitters operating at the same time, the operators and licensees of which transmitters are responsible for mitigating over-exposure situations?

Select	Answer
A	Only commercial transmitters
B	Each transmitter that produces 5 percent or more of its MPE limit at accessible locations
C	Each transmitter operating with a duty-cycle greater than 50 percent
D	Only the most powerful transmitter

Figure E7-3

Figure E9-3