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

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1. - E1A05

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

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

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

3. - E1C12

What types of communications may be transmitted to amateur stations in foreign countries?

Select	Answer
A	Business-related messages for non-profit organizations
B	All of these choices are correct
C	Communications incidental to the purpose of the amateur service and remarks of a personal nature
D	Messages intended for connection to users of the maritime satellite service

4. - E1D08

Which VHF amateur service bands have frequencies available for space stations?

Select	Answer
A	2 meters and 1.25 meters
B	6 meters and 2 meters
C	2 meters
D	6 meters, 2 meters, and 1.25 meters

5. - E1E11

What must the VE team do if an examinee scores a passing grade on all examination elements needed for an upgrade or new license?

Select	Answer
A	Three VEs must certify that the examinee is qualified for the license grant and that they have complied with the administering VE requirements
B	Photocopy all examination documents and forward them to the FCC for processing
C	All these choices are correct
D	Issue the examinee the new or upgrade license

6. - E1F11

Which of the following best describes one of the standards that must be met by an external RF power amplifier if it is to qualify for a grant of FCC certification?

Select	Answer
A	It must be capable of external RF switching between its input and output networks
B	It must exhibit a gain of 0 dB or less over its full output range
C	It must satisfy the FCC's spurious emission standards when operated at the lesser of 1500 watts or its full output power
D	It must produce full legal output when driven by not more than 5 watts of mean RF input power

7. - E2A03

What is the orbital period of an Earth satellite?

Select	Answer
A	The time it takes for a satellite to travel from perigee to apogee
B	The point of maximum height of a satellite's orbit
C	The point of minimum height of a satellite's orbit
D	The time it takes for a satellite to complete one revolution around the Earth

8. - E2B07

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

Select	Answer
A	Spectral Intensity
B	Hue
C	Luminance
D	Chroma

9. - E2C07

What is the Cabrillo format?

Select	Answer
A	A method of exchanging information during a contest QSO
B	The most common set of contest rules
C	A standard for submission of electronic contest logs
D	The rules of order for meetings between contest sponsors

10. - E2D10

How can an APRS station be used to help support a public service communications activity?

Select	Answer
A	APRS stations with General Personnel Scanners can automatically relay the participant numbers and time as they pass the check points
B	An APRS station with an emergency medical technician can automatically transmit medical data to the nearest hospital
C	All of these choices are correct
D	An APRS station with a GPS unit can automatically transmit information to show a mobile station's position during the event

11. - E2E02

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

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

12. - E3A01

What is the approximate maximum separation measured along the surface of the Earth between two stations communicating by Moon bounce?

Select	Answer
A	12,000 miles, if the Moon is visible by both stations
B	5000 miles, if the Moon is at perigee
C	2000 miles, if the Moon is at apogee
D	500 miles, if the Moon is at perigee

13. - E3B04

What is meant by the terms extraordinary and ordinary waves?

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

14. - E3C06

By how much does the VHF/UHF radio horizon distance exceed the geometric horizon?

Select	Answer
A	By approximately 50 percent of the distance
B	By approximately four times the distance
C	By approximately 15 percent of the distance
D	By approximately twice the distance

15. - E4A06

What is the effect of aliasing in a digital or computer-based oscilloscope?

Select	Answer
A	Calibration of the vertical scale is no longer valid
B	All signals will have a DC offset
C	False signals are displayed
D	False triggering occurs

16. - E4B12

What is the significance of voltmeter sensitivity expressed in ohms per volt?

Select	Answer
A	The full scale reading of the voltmeter multiplied by its ohms per volt rating will indicate the input impedance of the voltmeter
B	When used as an ammeter, the full scale reading in amps divided by ohms per volt rating will determine the size of shunt needed
C	When used as a galvanometer, the reading in volts multiplied by the ohms per volt rating will determine the power drawn by the device under test
D	When used as an ohmmeter, the reading in ohms divided by the ohms per volt rating will determine the voltage applied to the circuit

17. - E4C13

How does a narrow-band roofing filter affect receiver performance?

Select	Answer
A	It improves intelligibility by using low Q circuitry to reduce ringing
B	All of these choices are correct
C	It improves sensitivity by reducing front end noise
D	It improves dynamic range by attenuating strong signals near the receive frequency

18. - E4D04

Which of the following may reduce or eliminate intermodulation interference in a repeater caused by another transmitter operating in close proximity?

Select	Answer
A	A properly terminated circulator at the output of the transmitter
B	A band-pass filter in the feed line between the transmitter and receiver
C	A Class D final amplifier
D	A Class C final amplifier

19. - E4E14

What is one type of electrical interference that might be caused by the operation of a nearby personal computer?

Select	Answer
A	The appearance of unstable modulated or unmodulated signals at specific frequencies
B	A clicking noise at intervals of a few seconds
C	A whining type noise that continually pulses off and on
D	A loud AC hum in the audio output of your station receiver

20. - E5A16

What is the resonant frequency of a parallel RLC circuit if R is 33 ohms, L is 50 microhenrys and C is 10 picofarads?

Select	Answer
A	7.12 kHz
B	23.5 kHz
C	23.5 MHz
D	7.12 MHz

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

22. - E5C10

When using rectangular coordinates to graph the impedance of a circuit, what does the vertical axis represent?

Select	Answer
A	The difference between the resistive and reactive components
B	Resistive component
C	The sum of the reactive and resistive components
D	Reactive component

23. - E5D03

What is microstrip?

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

24. - E6A11

In Figure E6-2, what is the schematic symbol for a P-channel junction FET?

Select	Answer
A	6
B	2
C	3
D	1

25. - E6B09

What is a common use for point contact diodes?

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

26. - E6C01

What is the function of hysteresis in a comparator?

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

27. - E6D03

Which of the following is an aspect of the piezoelectric effect?

Select	Answer
A	Generation of electrical energy in the presence of light
B	Mechanical deformation of material by the application of a voltage
C	Mechanical deformation of material by the application of a magnetic field
D	Increased conductivity in the presence of light

28. - E6E03

Which of the following materials is likely to provide the highest frequency of operation when used in MMICs?

Select	Answer
A	Gallium nitride
B	Silicon
C	Silicon dioxide
D	Silicon nitride

29. - E6F13

What is a liquid crystal display (LCD)?

Select	Answer
A	A modern replacement for a quartz crystal oscillator which displays its fundamental frequency
B	A frequency-determining unit for a transmitter or receiver
C	A display that uses a glowing liquid to remain brightly lit in dim light
D	A display utilizing a crystalline liquid and polarizing filters which becomes opaque when voltage is applied

30. - E7A10

What is a truth table?

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

31. - E7B18

What is a characteristic of a grounded-grid amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	High filament voltage
B	Low input impedance
C	Low bandwidth
D	High power gain

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

33. - E7D11

What circuit element is controlled by a series analog voltage regulator to maintain a constant output voltage?

Select	Answer
A	Pass transistor
B	Reference voltage
C	Switching inductance
D	Error amplifier

34. - E7E09

What occurs when an excessive amount of signal energy reaches a mixer circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Spurious mixer products are generated
B	A beat frequency is generated
C	Automatic limiting occurs
D	Mixer blanking occurs

35. - E7F06

What is the minimum number of bits required for an analog-to-digital converter to sample a signal with a range of 1 volt at a resolution of 1 millivolt?

Select	Answer
A	10 bits
B	8 bits
C	6 bits
D	4 bits

36. - E7G05

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

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

37. - E7H02

Which describes a microphonic?

Select	Answer
A	Excess loading of the microphone by an oscillator
B	An IC used for amplifying microphone signals
C	Changes in oscillator frequency due to mechanical vibration
D	Distortion caused by RF pickup on the microphone cable

38. - E8A11

What type of information can be conveyed using digital waveforms?

Select	Answer
A	All of these choices are correct
B	Video signals
C	Human speech
D	Data

39. - E8B01

What is the term for the ratio between the frequency deviation of an RF carrier wave and the modulating frequency of its corresponding FM-phone signal?

Select	Answer
A	Quieting index
B	FM compressibility
C	Modulation index
D	Percentage of modulation

40. - E8C09

Which is the name of a digital code where each preceding or following character changes by only one bit?

Select	Answer
A	Excess 3 code
B	Gray code
C	Binary Coded Decimal Code
D	Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code

41. - E8D10

What are some of the differences between the Baudot digital code and ASCII?

Select	Answer
A	Baudot uses 4 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot uses 1 character as a letters/figures shift code, ASCII has no letters/figures code
B	Baudot uses 6 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes
C	Baudot uses 5 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot uses 2 characters as letters/figures shift codes, ASCII has no letters/figures shift code
D	Baudot uses 7 data bits per character, ASCII uses 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes

42. - E9A18

What term describes station output, taking into account all gains and losses?

Select	Answer
A	Half-power bandwidth
B	Effective radiated power
C	Apparent power
D	Power factor

43. - E9B16

How many elevation lobes appear in the forward direction of the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-2?

Select	Answer
A	4
B	3
C	7
D	1

44. - E9C15

How does the radiation pattern of a horizontally polarized 3-element beam antenna vary with its height above ground?

Select	Answer
A	The main lobe takeoff angle decreases with increasing height
B	The horizontal beam width decreases with height
C	The main lobe takeoff angle increases with increasing height
D	The horizontal beam width increases with height

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 maximize losses
C	To swamp out harmonics
D	To minimize the Q

46. - E9E07

What term best describes the interactions at the load end of a mismatched transmission line?

Select	Answer
A	Velocity factor
B	Reflection coefficient
C	Dielectric constant
D	Characteristic impedance

47. - E9F04

What is the typical velocity factor for a coaxial cable with solid polyethylene dielectric?

Select	Answer
A	0.10
B	0.66
C	2.70
D	0.30

48. - E9G05

What type of chart is shown in Figure E9-3?

Select	Answer
A	Free space radiation directivity chart
B	Azimuth angle radiation pattern chart
C	Elevation angle radiation pattern chart
D	Smith chart

49. - E9H09

Which of the following describes the construction of a receiving loop antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A large circularly polarized antenna
B	A vertical antenna coupled to a feed line through an inductive loop of wire
C	One or more turns of wire wound in the shape of a large open coil
D	A small coil of wire tightly wound around a toroidal ferrite core

50. - E0A08

What does SAR measure?

Select	Answer
A	Synthetic Aperture Ratio of the human body
B	Signal Amplification Rating
C	The rate at which RF energy is absorbed by the body
D	The rate of RF energy reflected from stationary terrain

Figure E6-2

Figure E9-2

Figure E9-3