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

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

3. - E1C05

When may an automatically controlled station originate third party communications?

Select	Answer
A	When approved by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration
B	When agreed upon by the sending or receiving station
C	Never
D	Only when transmitting RTTY or data emissions

4. - E1D01

What is the definition of the term telemetry?

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

5. - E1E02

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

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

6. - E1F10

What is the maximum permitted transmitter peak envelope power for an amateur station transmitting spread spectrum communications?

Select	Answer
A	10 W
B	1.5 kW
C	1.5 W
D	1 W

7. - E2A13

What type of satellite appears to stay in one position in the sky?

Select	Answer
A	Geomagnetic
B	Geostationary
C	HEO
D	LEO

8. - E2B03

How is an interlaced scanning pattern generated in a fast-scan (NTSC) television system?

Select	Answer
A	By scanning odd numbered lines in one field and even numbered lines in the next
B	By scanning each field from bottom to top
C	By scanning lines from left to right in one field and right to left in the next
D	By scanning two fields simultaneously

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

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	PSK31
C	AMTOR
D	300 baud packet

11. - E2E08

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

Select	Answer
A	Hellschreiber
B	PACTOR
C	AMTOR
D	RTTY

12. - E3A06

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

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

13. - E3B03

What is the best time of day for transequatorial propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Noon
B	Late at night
C	Morning
D	Afternoon or early evening

14. - E3C14

Why does the radio-path horizon distance exceed the geometric horizon?

Select	Answer
A	Downward bending due to aurora refraction
B	Downward bending due to density variations in the atmosphere
C	D-region skip
D	E-region skip

15. - E4A13

How is the compensation of an oscilloscope probe typically adjusted?

Select	Answer
A	A DC voltage standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the displayed voltage is accurate
B	A frequency standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the deflection time is accurate
C	A high frequency sine wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted for maximum amplitude
D	A square wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the horizontal portions of the displayed wave are as nearly flat as possible

16. - E4B03

If a frequency counter with a specified accuracy of +/- 1.0 ppm reads 146,520,000 Hz, what is the most the actual frequency being measured could differ from the reading?

Select	Answer
A	14.652 kHz
B	1.4652 MHz
C	146.52 Hz
D	165.2 Hz

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	14.445 MHz
D	13.845 MHz

18. - E4D01

What is meant by the blocking dynamic range of a receiver?

Select	Answer
A	The difference in dB between the noise floor and the level of an incoming signal which will cause 1 dB of gain compression
B	The difference in dB between the noise floor and the third order intercept point
C	The minimum difference in dB between two signals which produce third order intermodulation products greater than the noise floor
D	The minimum difference in dB between the levels of two FM signals which will cause one signal to block the other

19. - E4E03

Which of the following signals might a receiver noise blanker be able to remove from desired signals?

Select	Answer
A	Signals which appear at one IF but not another
B	Signals which have a sharply peaked frequency distribution
C	Signals which are constant at all IF levels
D	Signals which appear across a wide bandwidth

20. - E5A08

What is the phase relationship between the current through and the voltage across a series resonant circuit at resonance?

Select	Answer
A	The voltage and current are in phase
B	The voltage and current are 180 degrees out of phase
C	The current leads the voltage by 90 degrees
D	The voltage leads the current by 90 degrees

21. - E5B08

What is the phase angle between the voltage across and the current through a series RLC circuit if XC is 100 ohms, R is 100 ohms, and XL is 75 ohms?

Select	Answer
A	76 degrees with the voltage leading the current
B	14 degrees with the voltage leading the current
C	76 degrees with the voltage lagging the current
D	14 degrees with the voltage lagging the current

22. - E5C13

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

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

23. - E5D03

What is microstrip?

Select	Answer
A	Lightweight transmission line made of common zip cord
B	Precision printed circuit conductors above a ground plane that provide constant impedance interconnects at microwave frequencies
C	Short lengths of coax mounted on printed circuit boards to minimize time delay between microwave circuits
D	Miniature coax used for low power applications

24. - E6A09

What is a depletion-mode FET?

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

25. - E6B09

What is a common use for point contact diodes?

Select	Answer
A	As a high voltage rectifier
B	As an RF detector
C	As a constant voltage source
D	As a constant current source

26. - E6C13

Which of the following is an advantage of BiCMOS logic?

Select	Answer
A	It is totally immune to electrostatic damage
B	Its simplicity results in much less expensive devices than standard CMOS
C	All of these choices are correct
D	It has the high input impedance of CMOS and the low output impedance of bipolar transistors

27. - E6D06

What core material property determines the inductance of a toroidal inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Resistance
B	Reactivity
C	Thermal impedance
D	Permeability

28. - E6E09

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

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

29. - E6F04

What is the photovoltaic effect?

Select	Answer
A	The conversion of voltage to current when exposed to light
B	The conversion of light to electrical energy
C	The conversion of electrical energy to mechanical energy
D	The tendency of a battery to discharge when used outside

30. - E7A10

What is a truth table?

Select	Answer
A	A table of logic symbols that indicate the high logic states of an op-amp
B	A list of inputs and corresponding outputs for a digital device
C	A diagram showing logic states when the digital device output is true
D	A table of logic symbols that indicate the logic states of an op-amp

31. - E7B09

Which of the following describes how the loading and tuning capacitors are to be adjusted when tuning a vacuum tube RF power amplifier that employs a Pi-network output circuit?

Select	Answer
A	The loading capacitor is adjusted to minimum plate current while alternately adjusting the tuning capacitor for maximum allowable plate current
B	The tuning capacitor is adjusted for minimum plate current, and the loading capacitor is adjusted for maximum permissible plate current
C	The loading capacitor is set to maximum capacitance and the tuning capacitor is adjusted for minimum allowable plate current
D	The tuning capacitor is set to maximum capacitance and the loading capacitor is adjusted for minimum plate permissible current

32. - E7C13

What is one advantage of a Pi-matching network over an L-matching network consisting of a single inductor and a single capacitor?

Select	Answer
A	L-networks cannot perform impedance transformation
B	Pi-networks are designed for balanced input and output
C	Pi-networks have fewer components
D	The Q of Pi-networks can be varied depending on the component values chosen

33. - E7D03

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

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

34. - E7E03

How does an analog phase modulator function?

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

35. - E7F16

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

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

36. - E7G01

What is the typical output impedance of an integrated circuit op-amp?

Select	Answer
A	100 ohms
B	Very low
C	1000 ohms
D	Very high

37. - E7H06

Which of the following oscillator circuits are commonly used in VFOs?

Select	Answer
A	Pierce and Zener
B	Armstrong and deForest
C	Colpitts and Hartley
D	Negative feedback and balanced feedback

38. - E8A07

What determines the PEP-to-average power ratio of a single-sideband phone signal?

Select	Answer
A	The amplifier gain
B	The degree of carrier suppression
C	The characteristics of the modulating signal
D	The frequency of the modulating signal

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	3000
B	0.3
C	3
D	1000

40. - E8C10

What is an advantage of Gray code in digital communications where symbols are transmitted as multiple bits

Select	Answer
A	It has more resolution than simple binary
B	It has more possible states than simple binary
C	It facilitates error detection
D	It increases security

41. - E8D03

How does the spread spectrum technique of frequency hopping work?

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

42. - E9A03

Why would one need to know the feed point impedance of an antenna?

Select	Answer
A	To calculate the front-to-back ratio of the antenna
B	To measure the near-field radiation density from a transmitting antenna
C	To calculate the front-to-side ratio of the antenna
D	To match impedances in order to minimize standing wave ratio on the transmission line

43. - E9B11

What is a disadvantage of decreasing the number of wire segments in an antenna model below the guideline of 10 segments per half-wavelength?

Select	Answer
A	The antenna will become mechanically unstable
B	The resulting design will favor radiation of harmonic energy
C	Ground conductivity will not be accurately modeled
D	The computed feed point impedance may be incorrect

44. - E9C03

What is the radiation pattern of two 1/4 wavelength vertical antennas spaced a 1/2 wavelength apart and fed in phase?

Select	Answer
A	A Figure-8 broadside to the axis of the array
B	A Figure-8 end-fire along the axis of the array
C	Omni-directional
D	Cardioid

45. - E9D08

What happens as the Q of an antenna increases?

Select	Answer
A	More common-mode current is present on the feed line
B	SWR bandwidth decreases
C	SWR bandwidth increases
D	Gain is reduced

46. - E9E12

What is the primary purpose of a phasing line when used with an antenna having multiple driven elements?

Select	Answer
A	It prevents reflected power from traveling back down the feed line and causing harmonic radiation from the transmitter
B	It ensures that each driven element operates in concert with the others to create the desired antenna pattern
C	It makes sure the antenna has a low-angle radiation pattern
D	It allows single-band antennas to operate on other bands

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	Characteristic impedance
B	Surge impedance
C	Velocity factor
D	Standing wave ratio

48. - E9G09

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

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

49. - E9H04

What is an advantage of using a shielded loop antenna for direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	It allows stations to communicate without giving away their position
B	It eliminates tracking errors caused by strong out-of-band signals
C	It is electro statically balanced against ground, giving better nulls
D	It automatically cancels ignition noise in mobile installations

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 uncontrolled 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 controlled MPE limits