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. - E1A05

What is the maximum power output permitted on the 60 meter band?

Select	Answer
A	100 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to an isotropic radiator
B	100 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to the gain of a half-wave dipole
C	50 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to a dipole
D	50 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to an isotropic radiator

2. - E1B02

Which of the following factors might cause the physical location of an amateur station apparatus or antenna structure to be restricted?

Select	Answer
A	The location is near an area of political conflict
B	The location is of geographical or horticultural importance
C	The location is in an ITU Zone designated for coordination with one or more foreign governments
D	The location is of environmental importance or significant in American history, architecture, or culture

3. - E1C04

What is meant by IARP?

Select	Answer
A	An international amateur radio permit that allows U.S. amateurs to operate in certain countries of the Americas
B	A forecast of intermittent aurora radio propagation
C	The internal amateur radio practices policy of the FCC
D	An indication of increased antenna reflected power

4. - E1D11

Which amateur stations are eligible to operate as Earth stations?

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

5. - E1E06

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

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

6. - E1F04

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

Select	Answer
A	A line roughly parallel to and south of the U.S.-Canadian border
B	A line roughly parallel to and east of the U.S. Pacific coastline
C	A line roughly parallel to and north of the U.S.-Mexican border and Gulf coastline
D	A line roughly parallel to and west of the U.S. Atlantic coastline

7. - E2A09

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

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

8. - E2B18

On which of the following frequencies is one likely to find FM ATV transmissions?

Select	Answer
A	1255 MHz
B	52.525 MHz
C	29.6 MHz
D	14.230 MHz

9. - E2C01

Which of the following is true about contest operating?

Select	Answer
A	Interference to other amateurs is unavoidable and therefore acceptable
B	It is mandatory to transmit the call sign of the station being worked as part of every transmission to that station
C	Operators are permitted to make contacts even if they do not submit a log
D	Every contest requires a signal report in the exchange

10. - E2D06

Which of the following describes a method of establishing EME contacts?

Select	Answer
A	Time synchronous transmissions alternately from each station
B	Storing and forwarding digital messages
C	High speed CW identification to avoid fading
D	Judging optimum transmission times by monitoring beacons reflected from the Moon

11. - E2E08

Which of the following HF digital modes can be used to transfer binary files?

Select	Answer
A	PACTOR
B	Hellschreiber
C	RTTY
D	AMTOR

12. - E3A06

Which of the following is required for microwave propagation via rain scatter?

Select	Answer
A	Rain droplets must be electrically charged
B	The rain must be within radio range of both stations
C	All of these choices are correct
D	Rain droplets must be within the E layer

13. - E3B08

What type of HF propagation is probably occurring if radio signals travel along the terminator between daylight and darkness?

Select	Answer
A	Gray-line
B	Transequatorial
C	Long-path
D	Sporadic-E

14. - E3C09

How does the intensity of an X3 flare compare to that of an X2 flare?

Select	Answer
A	Four times as great
B	50 percent greater
C	10 percent greater
D	Twice as great

15. - E4A08

Which of the following instrument would be best for measuring the SWR of a beam antenna?

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

16. - E4B14

What happens if a dip meter is too tightly coupled to a tuned circuit being checked?

Select	Answer
A	A less accurate reading results
B	Cross modulation occurs
C	Intermodulation distortion occurs
D	Harmonics are generated

17. - E4C03

What is the term for the blocking of one FM phone signal by another, stronger FM phone signal?

Select	Answer
A	Frequency discrimination
B	Cross-modulation interference
C	Desensitization
D	Capture effect

18. - E4D03

How can intermodulation interference between two repeaters occur?

Select	Answer
A	When the repeaters are in close proximity and the signals cause feedback in the final amplifier of one or both transmitters
B	When the signals from the transmitters are reflected out of phase from airplanes passing overhead
C	When the signals from the transmitters are reflected in phase from airplanes passing overhead
D	When the repeaters are in close proximity and the signals mix in the final amplifier of one or both transmitters

19. - E4E11

Which is the most likely cause if you are hearing combinations of local AM broadcast signals within one or more of the MF or HF ham bands?

Select	Answer
A	The broadcast station is transmitting an over-modulated signal
B	Your station receiver IF amplifier stage is defective
C	Nearby corroded metal joints are mixing and re-radiating the broadcast signals
D	You are receiving sky wave signals from a distant station

20. - E5A11

What is the half-power bandwidth of a parallel resonant circuit that has a resonant frequency of 7.1 MHz and a Q of 150?

Select	Answer
A	47.3 kHz
B	315.6 Hz
C	157.8 Hz
D	23.67 kHz

21. - E5B03

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

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

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 1
C	Point 3
D	Point 8

23. - E5D01

What is the result of skin effect?

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

24. - E6A04

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

Select	Answer
A	N-type impurity
B	Acceptor impurity
C	Donor impurity
D	Insulator 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	Much higher reverse voltage breakdown
B	Less forward voltage drop
C	Controlled reverse avalanche voltage
D	Enhanced carrier retention time

26. - E6C10

In Figure E6-5, what is the schematic symbol for a NOR gate?

Select	Answer
A	4
B	2
C	1
D	3

27. - E6D10

What is a primary advantage of using a toroidal core instead of a solenoidal core in an inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Toroidal cores exhibit greater hysteresis
B	Toroidal cores confine most of the magnetic field within the core material
C	Toroidal cores have lower Q characteristics
D	Toroidal cores make it easier to couple the magnetic energy into other components

28. - E6E09

Which of the following component package types would be most suitable for use at frequencies above the HF range?

Select	Answer
A	TO-220
B	Surface mount
C	Axial lead
D	Radial lead

29. - E6F10

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

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

30. - 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 "1" 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. - E7B01

For what portion of a signal cycle does a Class AB amplifier operate?

Select	Answer
A	Exactly 180 degrees
B	More than 180 degrees but less than 360 degrees
C	The entire cycle
D	Less than 180 degrees

32. - E7C06

What are the distinguishing features of an elliptical filter?

Select	Answer
A	Gradual passband rolloff with extreme stop band ripple
B	Gradual passband rolloff with minimal stop band ripple
C	Extremely flat response over its pass band with gradually rounded stop band corners
D	Extremely sharp cutoff with one or more notches in the stop band

33. - E7D14

What is one purpose of a "bleeder" resistor in a conventional unregulated power supply?

Select	Answer
A	To balance the low-voltage filament windings
B	To boost the amount of output current
C	To improve output voltage regulation
D	To cut down on waste heat generated by the power supply

34. - E7E02

What is the function of a reactance modulator?

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

35. - E7F16

How might the sampling rate of an existing digital signal be adjusted by a factor of 3/4?

Select	Answer
A	Multiply each sample value by a factor of 3/4
B	Interpolate by a factor of three, then decimate by a factor of four
C	Change the gain by a factor of 3/4
D	Add 3 to each input value and subtract 4 from each output value

36. - E7G06

Which of the following is the most appropriate use of an op-amp active filter?

Select	Answer
A	As an audio filter in a receiver
B	As a high-pass filter used to block RFI at the input to receivers
C	For smoothing power supply output
D	As a low-pass filter used between a transmitter and a transmission line

37. - E7H07

How can an oscillator's microphonic responses be reduced?

Select	Answer
A	Using the oscillator only for CW and digital signals
B	Eliminating noise on the oscillator's power supply
C	Mechanically isolating the oscillator circuitry from its enclosure
D	Use of NP0 capacitors

38. - E8A13

Which of these methods is commonly used to convert analog signals to digital signals?

Select	Answer
A	Level shifting
B	Sequential sampling
C	Harmonic regeneration
D	Phase reversal

39. - E8B03

What is the modulation index of an FM-phone signal having a maximum frequency deviation of 3000 Hz either side of the carrier frequency when the modulating frequency is 1000 Hz?

Select	Answer
A	3
B	1000
C	3000
D	0.3

40. - E8C02

What is the definition of symbol rate in a digital transmission?

Select	Answer
A	The number of control characters in a message packet
B	The rate at which the waveform of a transmitted signal changes to convey information
C	The duration of each bit in a message sent over the air
D	The number of characters carried per second by the station-to-station link

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

42. - E9A02

What antenna has no gain in any direction?

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

43. - E9B07

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

Select	Answer
A	They are the same
B	The total amount of radiation from the directional antenna is stronger by its front-to-back ratio
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

44. - E9C09

What is a G5RV antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A multi-band dipole antenna fed with coax and a balun through a selected length of open wire transmission line
B	A wide band dipole using shorted coaxial cable for the radiating elements and fed with a 4:1 balun
C	A phased array antenna consisting of multiple loops
D	A multi-band trap antenna

45. - E9D04

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

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

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	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
D	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

47. - E9F01

What is the velocity factor of a transmission line?

Select	Answer
A	The index of shielding for coaxial cable
B	The velocity of the wave in the transmission line divided by the velocity of light in a vacuum
C	The velocity of the wave in the transmission line multiplied by the velocity of light in a vacuum
D	The ratio of the characteristic impedance of the line to the terminating impedance

48. - E9G01

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

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

49. - E9H07

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

Select	Answer
A	It prevents receiver overload which could make it difficult to determine peaks or nulls
B	It narrows the bandwidth of the received signal to improve signal to noise ratio
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. - E0A02

When evaluating RF exposure levels from your station at a neighbor's home, what must you do?

Select	Answer
A	Make sure signals from your station are less than the controlled MPE limits
B	Advise your neighbors of the results of your tests
C	You need only evaluate exposure levels on your own property
D	Make sure signals from your station are less than the uncontrolled MPE limits

Figure E5-2

Figure E6-5