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

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1. - E1A10

If an amateur station is installed aboard a ship or aircraft, what condition must be met before the station is operated?

Select	Answer
A	The amateur station must have a power supply that is completely independent of the main ship or aircraft power supply
B	The amateur station operator must agree not to transmit when the main radio of the ship or aircraft is in use
C	The amateur operator must have an FCC Marine or Aircraft endorsement on his or her amateur license
D	Its operation must be approved by the master of the ship or the pilot in command of the aircraft

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. - E1C09

Which of these ranges of frequencies is available for an automatically controlled repeater operating below 30 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	29.500 MHz - 29.700 MHz
B	24.940 MHz - 24.990 MHz
C	18.110 MHz - 18.168 MHz
D	10.100 MHz - 10.150 MHz

4. - E1D07

Which amateur service HF bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?

Select	Answer
A	Only the 40 m, 30 m, 20 m, 15 m, 12 m and 10 m bands
B	Only the 40 m, 20 m, 17 m, 15 m and 10 m bands
C	All HF bands
D	Only the 40 m, 20 m, 17 m, 15 m, 12 m and 10 m bands

5. - E1E13

Which of these choices is an acceptable method for monitoring the applicants if a VEC opts to conduct an exam session remotely?

Select	Answer
A	Use a real-time video link and the Internet to connect the exam session to the observing VEs
B	The exam proctor observes the applicants and reports any violations
C	Have each applicant sign an affidavit stating that all session rules were followed
D	Record the exam session on video tape for later review by the VE team

6. - E1F02

What privileges are authorized in the U.S. to persons holding an amateur service license granted by the Government of Canada?

Select	Answer
A	The operating terms and conditions of the Canadian amateur service license, not to exceed U.S. Extra Class privileges
B	None, they must obtain a U.S. license
C	Full privileges, up to and including those of the Extra Class License, on the 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meter bands
D	All privileges of the Extra Class license

7. - E2A02

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

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

8. - E2B05

Which of the following is an advantage of using vestigial sideband for standard fast- scan TV transmissions?

Select	Answer
A	The vestigial sideband contains chroma information
B	Vestigial sideband provides high frequency emphasis to sharpen the picture
C	The vestigial sideband carries the audio information
D	Vestigial sideband reduces bandwidth while allowing for simple video detector circuitry

9. - E2C01

Which of the following is true about contest operating?

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

10. - E2D13

What type of modulation is used for JT65 contacts?

Select	Answer
A	Multi-tone AFSK
B	PSK
C	IEEE 802.11
D	RTTY

11. - E2E04

What is indicated when one of the ellipses in an FSK crossed-ellipse display suddenly disappears?

Select	Answer
A	The receiver has drifted 5 kHz from the desired receive frequency
B	Selective fading has occurred
C	One of the signal filters is saturated
D	The mark and space signal have been inverted

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 D layer
B	The F1 layer
C	The E layer
D	The F2 layer

13. - E3B01

What is transequatorial propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Propagation between two stations at the same latitude
B	Propagation between any two points located on the magnetic equator
C	Propagation between two continents by way of ducts along the magnetic equator
D	Propagation between two mid-latitude points at approximately the same distance north and south of the magnetic equator

14. - E3C14

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

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

15. - E4A09

When using a computer's soundcard input to digitize signals, what is the highest frequency signal that can be digitized without aliasing?

Select	Answer
A	It depends on how the data is stored internally
B	One-half the sample rate
C	One-tenth the sample rate
D	The same as the sample rate

16. - E4B12

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

Select	Answer
A	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
B	The full scale reading of the voltmeter multiplied by its ohms per volt rating will indicate the input impedance of the voltmeter
C	When used as an ammeter, the full scale reading in amps divided by ohms per volt rating will determine the size of shunt needed
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. - E4C08

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

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

18. - E4D10

What does a third-order intercept level of 40 dBm mean with respect to receiver performance?

Select	Answer
A	The receiver can tolerate signals up to 40 dB above the noise floor without producing third-order intermodulation products
B	A pair of 1 mW input signals will produce a third-order intermodulation product which is 40 dB stronger than the input signal
C	Signals less than 40 dBm will not generate audible third-order intermodulation products
D	A pair of 40 dBm signals will theoretically generate a third-order intermodulation product with the same level as the input signals

19. - E4E16

What current flows equally on all conductors of an unshielded multi-conductor cable?

Select	Answer
A	Differential-mode current
B	Common-mode current
C	Return current
D	Reactive current only

20. - E5A12

What is the half-power bandwidth of a parallel resonant circuit that has a resonant frequency of 3.7 MHz and a Q of 118?

Select	Answer
A	15.7 kHz
B	31.4 kHz
C	436.6 kHz
D	218.3 kHz

21. - E5B05

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

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

22. - E5C06

What does the impedance 50-j25 represent?

Select	Answer
A	25 ohms resistance in series with 50 ohms capacitive reactance
B	50 ohms resistance in series with 25 ohms inductive reactance
C	25 ohms resistance in series with 50 ohms inductive reactance
D	50 ohms resistance in series with 25 ohms capacitive reactance

23. - E5D03

What is microstrip?

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

24. - E6A07

Which of the following indicates that a silicon NPN junction transistor is biased on?

Select	Answer
A	Base-to-emitter resistance of approximately 0.6 to 0.7 ohms
B	Base-to-emitter voltage of approximately 6 to 7 volts
C	Base-to-emitter voltage of approximately 0.6 to 0.7 volts
D	Base-to-emitter resistance of approximately 6 to 7 ohms

25. - E6B12

What is one common use for PIN diodes?

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

26. - E6C04

What is the primary advantage of tri-state logic?

Select	Answer
A	Low power consumption
B	High speed operation
C	Ability to connect many device outputs to a common bus
D	More efficient arithmetic operations

27. - E6D12

What is the definition of saturation in a ferrite core inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Adjacent inductors become over-coupled
B	The ability of the inductor's core to store magnetic energy has been exceeded
C	The inductor's voltage rating is exceeded causing a flashover
D	The inductor windings are over coupled

28. - E6E12

Why are high-power RF amplifier ICs and transistors sometimes mounted in ceramic packages?

Select	Answer
A	Better dissipation of heat
B	Enhanced sensitivity to light
C	High-voltage insulating ability
D	To provide a low-pass frequency response

29. - E6F01

What is photoconductivity?

Select	Answer
A	The decreased conductivity of an illuminated semiconductor
B	The conversion of photon energy to electromotive energy
C	The increased conductivity of an illuminated semiconductor
D	The conversion of electromotive energy to photon energy

30. - E7A08

What logical operation does an OR gate perform?

Select	Answer
A	It produces logic "1" at its output if all inputs are logic "0"
B	It produces logic "1" at its output if any or all inputs are logic "1"
C	It only produces logic "0" at its output when all inputs are logic "1"
D	It produces logic "0" at its output if all inputs are logic "1"

31. - E7B17

Why are odd-order rather than even-order intermodulation distortion products of concern in linear power amplifiers?

Select	Answer
A	Because they are relatively close in frequency to the desired signal
B	Because they invert the sidebands causing distortion
C	Because they maintain the sidebands, thus causing multiple duplicate signals
D	Because they are relatively far in frequency from the desired signal

32. - E7C04

How does an impedance-matching circuit transform a complex impedance to a resistive impedance?

Select	Answer
A	It introduces transconductance to cancel the reactive part of impedance
B	It introduces negative resistance to cancel the resistive part of impedance
C	Network resistances are substituted for load resistances and reactances are matched to the resistances
D	It cancels the reactive part of the impedance and changes the resistive part to a desired value

33. - E7D14

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

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

34. - E7E11

Which type of detector is used for demodulating SSB signals?

Select	Answer
A	Phase comparator
B	Discriminator
C	Product detector
D	Phase detector

35. - E7F03

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

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

36. - E7G11

What absolute voltage gain can be expected from the circuit in Figure E7-4 when R1 is 3300 ohms and RF is 47 kilohms?

Select	Answer
A	0.07
B	14
C	7
D	28

37. - E7H04

How is positive feedback supplied in a Colpitts oscillator?

Select	Answer
A	Through a capacitive divider
B	Through a neutralizing capacitor
C	Through a tapped coil
D	Through link coupling

38. - E8A12

What is an advantage of using digital signals instead of analog signals to convey the same information?

Select	Answer
A	Digital signals can be regenerated multiple times without error
B	All of these choices are correct
C	Digital signals always occupy a narrower bandwidth
D	Less complex circuitry is required for digital signal generation and detection

39. - E8B09

What is meant by deviation ratio?

Select	Answer
A	The ratio of the maximum carrier frequency deviation to the highest audio modulating frequency
B	The ratio of the carrier center frequency to the audio modulating frequency
C	The ratio of the audio modulating frequency to the center carrier frequency
D	The ratio of the highest audio modulating frequency to the average audio modulating frequency

40. - E8C09

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

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

41. - E8D11

What is one advantage of using ASCII code for data communications?

Select	Answer
A	It includes built in error correction features
B	It uses one character as a shift code to send numeric and special characters
C	It contains fewer information bits per character than any other code
D	It is possible to transmit both upper and lower case text

42. - E9A06

How does the beamwidth of an antenna vary as the gain is increased?

Select	Answer
A	It decreases
B	It increases arithmetically
C	It increases geometrically
D	It is essentially unaffected

43. - E9B14

What type of information can be obtained by submitting the details of a proposed new antenna to a modeling program?

Select	Answer
A	All of these choices are correct
B	Polar plots of the far field elevation and azimuth patterns
C	Antenna gain
D	SWR vs frequency charts

44. - E9C09

What is a G5RV antenna?

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

45. - E9D10

What happens to feed point impedance at the base of a fixed length HF mobile antenna as the frequency of operation is lowered?

Select	Answer
A	The radiation resistance decreases and the capacitive reactance decreases
B	The radiation resistance increases and the capacitive reactance increases
C	The radiation resistance decreases and the capacitive reactance increases
D	The radiation resistance increases and the capacitive reactance decreases

46. - E9E11

What is an effective way of matching a feed line to a VHF or UHF antenna when the impedances of both the antenna and feed line are unknown?

Select	Answer
A	Connect a series-resonant LC network across the antenna feed terminals
B	Connect a parallel-resonant LC network across the antenna feed terminals
C	Use the universal stub matching technique
D	Use a 50 ohm 1:1 balun between the antenna and feed line

47. - E9F11

What impedance does a 1/8 wavelength transmission line present to a generator when the line is open at the far end?

Select	Answer
A	The same as the characteristic impedance of the line
B	An inductive reactance
C	A capacitive reactance
D	The same as the input impedance of the final generator stage

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	Polar axis
B	Prime axis
C	Impedance axis
D	Reactance axis

49. - E9H07

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

Select	Answer
A	It reduces loss of received signals caused by antenna pattern nulls, thereby increasing sensitivity
B	It prevents receiver overload which could make it difficult to determine peaks or nulls
C	It narrows the bandwidth of the received signal to improve signal to noise ratio
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	Advise your neighbors of the results of your tests
B	You need only evaluate exposure levels on your own property
C	Make sure signals from your station are less than the uncontrolled MPE limits
D	Make sure signals from your station are less than the controlled MPE limits

Figure E7-4

Figure E9-3