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

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1. - E1A09

What is the first action you should take if your digital message forwarding station inadvertently forwards a communication that violates FCC rules?

Select	Answer
A	Discontinue forwarding the communication as soon as you become aware of it
B	Notify the nearest FCC Field Engineer's office
C	Discontinue forwarding all messages
D	Notify the originating station that the communication does not comply with FCC rules

2. - E1B04

What must be done before placing an amateur station within an officially designated wilderness area or wildlife preserve, or an area listed in the National Register of Historical Places?

Select	Answer
A	A proposal must be submitted to the National Park Service
B	A form FSD-15 must be submitted to the Department of the Interior
C	An Environmental Assessment must be submitted to the FCC
D	A letter of intent must be filed with the National Audubon Society

3. - E1C02

What is meant by automatic control of a station?

Select	Answer
A	Remotely controlling a station's antenna pattern through a directional control link
B	A station operating with its output power controlled automatically
C	The use of a control link between a control point and a locally controlled station
D	The use of devices and procedures for control so that the control operator does not have to be present at a control point

4. - E1D02

What is the amateur satellite service?

Select	Answer
A	A radio communications service using amateur radio stations on satellites
B	A spacecraft launching service for amateur-built satellites
C	A radio navigation service using satellites for the purpose of self training, intercommunication and technical studies carried out by amateurs
D	A radio communications service using stations on Earth satellites for public service broadcast

5. - E1E08

To which of the following examinees may a VE not administer an examination?

Select	Answer
A	Friends of the VE
B	All of these choices are correct
C	Relatives of the VE as listed in the FCC rules
D	Employees of the VE

6. - E1F01

On what frequencies are spread spectrum transmissions permitted?

Select	Answer
A	Only on amateur frequencies above 50 MHz
B	Only on amateur frequencies above 222 MHz
C	Only on amateur frequencies above 144 MHz
D	Only on amateur frequencies above 420 MHz

7. - E2A02

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

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

8. - E2B18

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

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

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

10. - E2D04

What is the purpose of digital store-and-forward functions on an Amateur Radio satellite?

Select	Answer
A	To relay messages between satellites
B	To store digital messages in the satellite for later download by other stations
C	To upload operational software for the transponder
D	To delay download of telemetry between satellites

11. - E2E06

What is the most common data rate used for HF packet?

Select	Answer
A	1200 baud
B	300 baud
C	110 baud
D	48 baud

12. - E3A09

Which of the following frequency range is most suited for meteor scatter communications?

Select	Answer
A	220 MHz - 450 MHz
B	10 MHz - 14 MHz
C	28 MHz - 148 MHz
D	1.8 MHz - 1.9 MHz

13. - E3B11

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

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

14. - E3C11

What does VOACAP software model?

Select	Answer
A	AC voltage and impedance
B	VHF radio propagation
C	HF propagation
D	AC current and impedance

15. - E4A05

What might be an advantage of a digital vs an analog oscilloscope?

Select	Answer
A	Manipulation of time base after trace capture
B	Automatic amplitude and frequency numerical readout
C	Storage of traces for future reference
D	All of these choices are correct

16. - E4B16

Which S parameter represents return loss or SWR?

Select	Answer
A	S12
B	S11
C	S21
D	S22

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	15.210 MHz
B	14.755 MHz
C	13.845 MHz
D	14.445 MHz

18. - E4D12

What is the term for the reduction in receiver sensitivity caused by a strong signal near the received frequency?

Select	Answer
A	Cross-modulation interference
B	Quieting
C	Desensitization
D	Squelch gain rollback

19. - E4E15

Which of the following can cause shielded cables to radiate or receive interference?

Select	Answer
A	Low inductance ground connections at both ends of the shield
B	Common mode currents on the shield and conductors
C	Tying all ground connections to a common point resulting in differential mode currents in the shield
D	Use of braided shielding material

20. - E5A15

Which of the following can increase Q for inductors and capacitors?

Select	Answer
A	Lower self-resonant frequency
B	Lower losses
C	Higher self-resonant frequency
D	Lower reactance

21. - E5B12

What is admittance?

Select	Answer
A	The turns ratio of a transformer
B	The unit used for Q factor
C	The term for the gain of a field effect transistor
D	The inverse of impedance

22. - E5C04

Which of the following represents a capacitive reactance in polar coordinates?

Select	Answer
A	A positive phase angle
B	A negative real part
C	A positive real part
D	A negative phase angle

23. - E5D05

Which parasitic characteristic increases with conductor length?

Select	Answer
A	Inductance
B	Permittivity
C	Permeability
D	Malleability

24. - E6A09

What is a depletion-mode FET?

Select	Answer
A	An FET that has no current flow between source and drain when no gate voltage is applied
B	Any FET without a channel
C	Any FET for which holes are the majority carriers
D	An FET that exhibits a current flow between source and drain when no gate voltage is applied

25. - E6B13

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

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

26. - E6C09

What is a Programmable Logic Device (PLD)?

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

27. - E6D07

What is the usable frequency range of inductors that use toroidal cores, assuming a correct selection of core material for the frequency being used?

Select	Answer
A	From approximately 10 Hz to no more than 3000 kHz
B	From about 100 kHz to at least 1000 GHz
C	From a few kHz to no more than 30 MHz
D	From less than 20 Hz to approximately 300 MHz

28. - E6E08

How is voltage from a power supply normally furnished to the most common type of monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC)?

Select	Answer
A	Through a capacitor and RF choke connected to the amplifier input lead
B	MMICs require no operating bias
C	Directly to the bias voltage (VCC IN) lead
D	Through a resistor and/or RF choke connected to the amplifier output lead

29. - E6F07

What is a solid state relay?

Select	Answer
A	A relay using transistors to drive the relay coil
B	A device that uses semiconductors to implement the functions of an electromechanical relay
C	A mechanical relay that latches in the on or off state each time it is pulsed
D	A passive delay line

30. - E7A05

Which of the following is a circuit that continuously alternates between two states without an external clock?

Select	Answer
A	J-K flip-flop
B	Monostable multivibrator
C	T flip-flop
D	Astable multivibrator

31. - E7B15

What is one way to prevent thermal runaway in a bipolar transistor amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	Use a resistor in series with the emitter
B	Neutralization
C	All of these choices are correct
D	Select transistors with high beta

32. - E7C14

Which mode is most affected by non-linear phase response in a receiver IF filter?

Select	Answer
A	Video
B	Single-Sideband voice
C	Digital
D	Meteor scatter

33. - E7D16

When several electrolytic filter capacitors are connected in series to increase the operating voltage of a power supply filter circuit, why should resistors be connected across each capacitor?

Select	Answer
A	To equalize, as much as possible, the voltage drop across each capacitor
B	All of these choices are correct
C	To provide a minimum load current to reduce voltage excursions at light loads
D	To provide a safety bleeder to discharge the capacitors when the supply is off

34. - E7E07

What is meant by the term baseband in radio communications?

Select	Answer
A	The unmodulated bandwidth of the transmitted signal
B	The basic oscillator frequency in an FM transmitter that is multiplied to increase the deviation and carrier frequency
C	The frequency components present in the modulating signal
D	The lowest frequency band that the transmitter or receiver covers

35. - E7F03

What type of digital signal processing filter is used to generate an SSB signal?

Select	Answer
A	An adaptive filter
B	A notch filter
C	An elliptical filter
D	A Hilbert-transform filter

36. - E7G05

How can unwanted ringing and audio instability be prevented in a multi-section op-amp RC audio filter circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Restrict gain but increase Q
B	Increase both gain and Q
C	Restrict both gain and Q
D	Restrict Q but increase gain

37. - E7H08

Which of the following components can be used to reduce thermal drift in crystal oscillators?

Select	Answer
A	Wirewound resistors
B	Toroidal inductors
C	NP0 capacitors
D	Non-inductive resistors

38. - E8A03

What type of wave does a Fourier analysis show to be made up of sine waves of a given fundamental frequency plus all of its harmonics?

Select	Answer
A	A sawtooth wave
B	A sine wave
C	A square wave
D	A cosine wave

39. - E8B08

What describes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing?

Select	Answer
A	A digital modulation technique using subcarriers at frequencies chosen to avoid intersymbol interference
B	A frequency modulation technique which uses non-harmonically related frequencies
C	A bandwidth compression technique using Fourier transforms
D	A digital mode for narrow band, slow speed transmissions

40. - E8C07

What is the necessary bandwidth of a 4800-Hz frequency shift, 9600-baud ASCII FM transmission?

Select	Answer
A	5.76 kHz
B	4.8 kHz
C	15.36 kHz
D	9.6 kHz

41. - E8D01

Why are received spread spectrum signals resistant to interference?

Select	Answer
A	The receiver is always equipped with a digital blanker
B	The high power used by a spread spectrum transmitter keeps its signal from being easily overpowered
C	If interference is detected by the receiver it will signal the transmitter to change frequencies
D	Signals not using the spread spectrum algorithm are suppressed in the receiver

42. - E9A07

What is meant by antenna gain?

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

43. - E9B15

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

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

44. - E9C08

What is a folded dipole antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A type of ground-plane antenna
B	A dipole one-quarter wavelength long
C	A dipole configured to provide forward gain
D	A dipole consisting of one wavelength of wire forming a very thin loop

45. - 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	As close to the transmitter as possible
C	At a voltage node
D	Near the center of the vertical radiator

46. - E9E08

Which of the following measurements is characteristic of a mismatched transmission line?

Select	Answer
A	An SWR greater than 1:1
B	An SWR less than 1:1
C	A reflection coefficient greater than 1
D	A dielectric constant greater than 1

47. - E9F06

What is the approximate physical length of an air-insulated, parallel conductor transmission line that is electrically one-half wavelength long at 14.10 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	71 meters
B	20 meters
C	15 meters
D	10 meters

48. - E9G07

On the Smith chart shown in Figure E9-3, what is the only straight line shown?

Select	Answer
A	The voltage axis
B	The current axis
C	The resistance axis
D	The reactance axis

49. - E9H11

What characteristic of a cardioid pattern antenna is useful for direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	A very sharp peak
B	High-radiation angle
C	A very sharp single null
D	Broad band response

50. - E0A05

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

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

Figure E9-2

Figure E9-3