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

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1. - E1A04

With your transceiver displaying the carrier frequency of phone signals, you hear a DX station calling CQ on 3.601 MHz LSB. Is it legal to return the call using lower sideband on the same frequency?

Select	Answer
A	No, U.S. stations are not permitted to use phone emissions below 3.610 MHz
B	Yes, because the displayed frequency is within the 75 meter phone band segment
C	Yes, because the DX station initiated the contact
D	No, the sideband will extend beyond the edge of the phone band segment

2. - E1B01

Which of the following constitutes a spurious emission?

Select	Answer
A	An amateur station transmission made at random without the proper call sign identification
B	An emission outside its necessary bandwidth that can be reduced or eliminated without affecting the information transmitted
C	A signal transmitted to prevent its detection by any station other than the intended recipient
D	Any transmitted signal that unintentionally interferes with another licensed radio station

3. - E1C05

When may an automatically controlled station originate third party communications?

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

4. - E1D05

What class of licensee is authorized to be the control operator of a space station?

Select	Answer
A	Any class with appropriate operator privileges
B	All except Technician Class
C	Only General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class
D	Only Amateur Extra Class

5. - E1E05

What is the minimum passing score on amateur operator license examinations?

Select	Answer
A	Minimum passing score of 70%
B	Minimum passing score of 80%
C	Minimum passing score of 77%
D	Minimum passing score of 74%

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 144 MHz
C	Only on amateur frequencies above 420 MHz
D	Only on amateur frequencies above 222 MHz

7. - E2A12

What is one way to predict the location of a satellite at a given time?

Select	Answer
A	By calculations using the Keplerian elements for the specified satellite
B	By adding the mean anomaly to the orbital inclination
C	By subtracting the mean anomaly from the orbital inclination
D	By means of the Doppler data for the specified satellite

8. - E2B15

What signals SSTV receiving equipment to begin a new picture line?

Select	Answer
A	A two-tone signal
B	Specific tone amplitudes
C	Elapsed time
D	Specific tone frequencies

9. - E2C11

How should you generally identify your station when attempting to contact a DX station during a contest or in a pileup?

Select	Answer
A	Send the call sign of the DX station three times, the words "this is", then your call sign three times
B	Send your full call sign once or twice
C	Send your full call sign and grid square
D	Send only the last two letters of your call sign until you make contact

10. - E2D02

Which of the following is a good technique for making meteor scatter contacts?

Select	Answer
A	Use of high speed CW or digital modes
B	15 second timed transmission sequences with stations alternating based on location
C	Short transmission with rapidly repeated call signs and signal reports
D	All of these choices are correct

11. - E2E11

What is the difference between direct FSK and audio FSK?

Select	Answer
A	Audio FSK has a superior frequency response
B	Audio FSK can be performed anywhere in the transmit chain
C	Direct FSK applies the data signal to the transmitter VFO
D	Direct FSK uses a DC-coupled data connection

12. - E3A09

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

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

13. - E3B01

What is transequatorial propagation?

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

14. - E3C01

What does the term ray tracing describe in regard to radio communications?

Select	Answer
A	Evaluating high voltage sources for X-Rays
B	Determining the radiation pattern from an array of antennas
C	Modeling a radio wave's path through the ionosphere
D	The process in which an electronic display presents a pattern

15. - E4A10

Which of the following displays multiple digital signal states simultaneously?

Select	Answer
A	Logic analyzer
B	Network analyzer
C	Bit error rate tester
D	Modulation monitor

16. - E4B16

Which S parameter represents return loss or SWR?

Select	Answer
A	S21
B	S12
C	S22
D	S11

17. - E4C12

What is an undesirable effect of using too wide a filter bandwidth in the IF section of a receiver?

Select	Answer
A	Filter ringing
B	Output-offset overshoot
C	Undesired signals may be heard
D	Thermal-noise distortion

18. - E4D07

Which describes the most significant effect of an off-frequency signal when it is causing cross-modulation interference to a desired signal?

Select	Answer
A	A large increase in background noise
B	The desired signal can no longer be heard
C	The off-frequency unwanted signal is heard in addition to the desired signal
D	A reduction in apparent signal strength

19. - E4E13

What might be the cause of a loud roaring or buzzing AC line interference that comes and goes at intervals?

Select	Answer
A	A malfunctioning illuminated advertising display
B	Arcing contacts in a thermostatically controlled device
C	All of these choices are correct
D	A defective doorbell or doorbell transformer inside a nearby residence

20. - E5A09

How is the Q of an RLC parallel resonant circuit calculated?

Select	Answer
A	Resistance divided by the reactance of either the inductance or capacitance
B	Reactance of the inductance multiplied by the reactance of the capacitance
C	Reactance of either the inductance or capacitance multiplied by the resistance
D	Reactance of either the inductance or capacitance divided by the resistance

21. - E5B04

What is the time constant of a circuit having two 220 microfarad capacitors and two 1 megohm resistors, all in parallel?

Select	Answer
A	55 seconds
B	220 seconds
C	440 seconds
D	110 seconds

22. - E5C12

If you plot the impedance of a circuit using the rectangular coordinate system and find the impedance point falls on the right side of the graph on the horizontal axis, what do you know about the circuit?

Select	Answer
A	It contains resistance and inductive reactance
B	It contains resistance and capacitive reactance
C	It is equivalent to a pure resistance
D	It has to be a direct current circuit

23. - E5D14

What is reactive power?

Select	Answer
A	Power lost because of capacitor leakage
B	Power consumed in wire resistance in an inductor
C	Power consumed in circuit Q
D	Wattless, nonproductive power

24. - E6A05

What is the alpha of a bipolar junction transistor?

Select	Answer
A	The change of collector current with respect to gate current
B	The change of base current with respect to collector current
C	The change of collector current with respect to base current
D	The change of collector current with respect to emitter current

25. - E6B01

What is the most useful characteristic of a Zener diode?

Select	Answer
A	A constant voltage drop under conditions of varying current
B	A constant current drop under conditions of varying voltage
C	An internal capacitance that varies with the applied voltage
D	A negative resistance region

26. - E6C07

What best describes a pull-up or pull-down resistor?

Select	Answer
A	A resistor that insures that an oscillator frequency does not drive lower over time
B	A resistor in a keying circuit used to reduce key clicks
C	A resistor connected to an op-amp output that only functions when the logic output is false
D	A resistor connected to the positive or negative supply line used to establish a voltage when an input or output is an open circuit

27. - E6D12

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

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

28. - E6E03

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

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

29. - E6F13

What is a liquid crystal display (LCD)?

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

30. - E7A01

Which is a bi-stable circuit?

Select	Answer
A	An "OR" gate
B	A flip-flop
C	An "AND" gate
D	A clock

31. - E7B17

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

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

32. - E7C06

What are the distinguishing features of an elliptical filter?

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

33. - E7D01

What is one characteristic of a linear electronic voltage regulator?

Select	Answer
A	It has a ramp voltage as its output
B	The conduction of a control element is varied to maintain a constant output voltage
C	It eliminates the need for a pass transistor
D	The control element duty cycle is proportional to the line or load conditions

34. - E7E06

Why is de-emphasis commonly used in FM communications receivers?

Select	Answer
A	For compatibility with transmitters using phase modulation
B	To remove third-order distortion products
C	For higher efficiency
D	To reduce impulse noise reception

35. - E7F02

What kind of digital signal processing audio filter is used to remove unwanted noise from a received SSB signal?

Select	Answer
A	An adaptive filter
B	A Hilbert-transform filter
C	A phase-inverting filter
D	A crystal-lattice filter

36. - E7G06

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

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

37. - E7H08

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

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

38. - E8A11

What type of information can be conveyed using digital waveforms?

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

39. - E8B08

What describes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing?

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

40. - E8C05

What is the necessary bandwidth of a 13-WPM international Morse code transmission?

Select	Answer
A	Approximately 26 Hz
B	Approximately 52 Hz
C	Approximately 104 Hz
D	Approximately 13 Hz

41. - E8D08

What parameter might indicate that excessively high input levels are causing distortion in an AFSK signal?

Select	Answer
A	Repeat Request Rate (RRR)
B	Intermodulation Distortion (IMD)
C	Signal to noise ratio
D	Baud rate

42. - E9A07

What is meant by antenna gain?

Select	Answer
A	The ratio of the radiated signal strength of an antenna in the direction of maximum radiation to that of a reference antenna
B	The ratio of the signal in the forward direction to that in the opposite direction
C	The ratio of the amount of power radiated by an antenna compared to the transmitter output power
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	28 dB
B	3 dB
C	24 dB
D	15 dB

44. - E9C11

How is the far-field elevation pattern of a vertically polarized antenna affected by being mounted over seawater versus rocky ground?

Select	Answer
A	The low-angle radiation decreases
B	The high-angle radiation increases
C	The low-angle radiation increases
D	Both the high-angle and low-angle radiation decrease

45. - E9D07

What is an advantage of using top loading in a shortened HF vertical antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Higher losses
B	Lower Q
C	Greater structural strength
D	Improved radiation efficiency

46. - E9E08

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

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

47. - E9F16

Which of the following is a significant difference between foam dielectric coaxial cable and solid dielectric cable, assuming all other parameters are the same?

Select	Answer
A	Foam dielectric has higher velocity factor
B	All of these choices are correct
C	Foam dielectric has lower loss per unit of length
D	Foam dielectric has lower safe operating voltage limits

48. - E9G09

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

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

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

Figure E9-2