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

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1. - E1A01

When using a transceiver that displays the carrier frequency of phone signals, which of the following displayed frequencies represents the highest frequency at which a properly adjusted USB emission will be totally within the band?

Select	Answer
A	300 Hz below the upper band edge
B	The exact upper band edge
C	1 kHz below the upper band edge
D	3 kHz below the upper band edge

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

3. - E1C01

What is a remotely controlled station?

Select	Answer
A	A station controlled indirectly through a control link
B	A station operating under automatic control
C	A station operated away from its regular home location
D	A station controlled by someone other than the licensee

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	One-way transmission of measurements at a distance from the measuring instrument
C	Two-way radiotelephone transmissions in excess of 1000 feet
D	Two-way single channel transmissions of data

5. - E1E04

Which of the following best describes the Volunteer Examiner accreditation process?

Select	Answer
A	The amateur operator applying must pass a VE examination administered by the FCC Enforcement Bureau
B	The prospective VE obtains accreditation from the FCC
C	The procedure by which a VEC confirms that the VE applicant meets FCC requirements to serve as an examiner
D	Each General, Advanced and Amateur Extra Class operator is automatically accredited as a VE when the license is granted

6. - E1F08

Which of the following types of amateur station communications are prohibited?

Select	Answer
A	Communications that have a political content, except as allowed by the Fairness Doctrine
B	Communications transmitted for hire or material compensation, except as otherwise provided in the rules
C	Communications that have a religious content
D	Communications in a language other than English

7. - E2A09

What do the terms L band and S band specify with regard to satellite communications?

Select	Answer
A	FM and Digital Store-and-Forward systems
B	The 23 centimeter and 13 centimeter bands
C	Which sideband to use
D	The 2 meter and 70 centimeter bands

8. - E2B08

Which of the following is a common method of transmitting accompanying audio with amateur fast-scan television?

Select	Answer
A	A separate VHF or UHF audio link
B	Frequency-modulated sub-carrier
C	All of these choices are correct
D	Frequency modulation of the video carrier

9. - E2C04

What type of transmission is most often used for a ham radio mesh network?

Select	Answer
A	Store and forward on the 440 MHz band
B	Frequency division multiplex in the 24 GHz band
C	Spread spectrum in the 2.4 GHz band
D	Multiple Frequency Shift Keying in the 10 GHz band

10. - E2D06

Which of the following describes a method of establishing EME contacts?

Select	Answer
A	High speed CW identification to avoid fading
B	Time synchronous transmissions alternately from each station
C	Storing and forwarding digital messages
D	Judging optimum transmission times by monitoring beacons reflected from the Moon

11. - E2E10

Which of these digital modes has the narrowest bandwidth?

Select	Answer
A	300-baud packet
B	MFSK16
C	PSK31
D	170 Hz shift, 45 baud RTTY

12. - E3A07

Atmospheric ducts capable of propagating microwave signals often form over what geographic feature?

Select	Answer
A	Bodies of water
B	Forests
C	Mountain ranges
D	Urban areas

13. - E3B12

What is the primary characteristic of chordal hop propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Signals reflected back toward the transmitting station
B	Propagation away from the great circle bearing between stations
C	Propagation across the geomagnetic equator
D	Successive ionospheric reflections without an intermediate reflection from the ground

14. - E3C15

What might a sudden rise in radio background noise indicate?

Select	Answer
A	Long-path propagation is occurring
B	A solar flare has occurred
C	Increased transequatorial propagation likely
D	A meteor ping

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. - E4B04

If a frequency counter with a specified accuracy of +/- 0.1 ppm reads 146,520,000 Hz, what is the most the actual frequency being measured could differ from the reading?

Select	Answer
A	1.4652 Hz
B	1.4652 kHz
C	0.1 MHz
D	14.652 Hz

17. - E4C08

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

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

18. - E4D06

What is the term for unwanted signals generated by the mixing of two or more signals?

Select	Answer
A	Intermodulation interference
B	Amplifier desensitization
C	Neutralization
D	Adjacent channel interference

19. - E4E08

What type of signal is picked up by electrical wiring near a radio antenna?

Select	Answer
A	An electrical-sparking signal
B	Harmonics of the AC power line frequency
C	A differential-mode signal at the AC power line frequency
D	A common-mode signal at the frequency of the radio transmitter

20. - E5A15

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

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

21. - E5B10

What is the relationship between the current through an inductor and the voltage across an inductor?

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

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

23. - E5D08

What type of energy is stored in an electromagnetic or electrostatic field?

Select	Answer
A	Electromechanical energy
B	Kinetic energy
C	Thermodynamic energy
D	Potential energy

24. - E6A14

How does DC input impedance at the gate of a field-effect transistor compare with the DC input impedance of a bipolar transistor?

Select	Answer
A	They are both low impedance
B	An FET has high input impedance; a bipolar transistor has low input impedance
C	An FET has low input impedance; a bipolar transistor has high input impedance
D	They are both high impedance

25. - E6B04

What type of semiconductor device is designed for use as a voltage-controlled capacitor?

Select	Answer
A	Tunnel diode
B	Silicon-controlled rectifier
C	Zener diode
D	Varactor diode

26. - E6C03

What is tri-state logic?

Select	Answer
A	Logic devices that utilize ternary math
B	Low power logic devices designed to operate at 3 volts
C	Proprietary logic devices manufactured by Tri-State Devices
D	Logic devices with 0, 1, and high impedance output states

27. - E6D14

Which type of slug material decreases inductance when inserted into a coil?

Select	Answer
A	Ceramic
B	Powdered-iron
C	Brass
D	Ferrite

28. - E6E12

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

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

29. - E6F12

What absorbs the energy from light falling on a photovoltaic cell?

Select	Answer
A	Photons
B	Electrons
C	Protons
D	Holes

30. - E7A07

What logical operation does a NAND gate perform?

Select	Answer
A	It produces logic "0" at its output only when all inputs are logic "1"
B	It produces logic "0" at its output if some but not all inputs are logic "1"
C	It produces logic "1" at its output only when all inputs are logic "1"
D	It produces logic "0" at its output only when all inputs are logic "0"

31. - E7B18

What is a characteristic of a grounded-grid amplifier?

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

32. - E7C01

How are the capacitors and inductors of a low-pass filter Pi-network arranged between the network's input and output?

Select	Answer
A	An inductor is connected between the input and ground, another inductor is connected between the output and ground, and a capacitor is connected between the input and output
B	Two inductors are in series between the input and output, and a capacitor is connected between the two inductors and ground
C	A capacitor is connected between the input and ground, another capacitor is connected between the output and ground, and an inductor is connected between input and output
D	Two capacitors are in series between the input and output, and an inductor is connected between the two capacitors and ground

33. - E7D10

What is the primary reason that a high-frequency switching type high voltage power supply can be both less expensive and lighter in weight than a conventional power supply?

Select	Answer
A	It uses a diode bridge rectifier for increased output
B	The high frequency inverter design uses much smaller transformers and filter components for an equivalent power output
C	The inverter design does not require any output filtering
D	It uses a large power factor compensation capacitor to create free power from the unused portion of the AC cycle

34. - E7E11

Which type of detector is used for demodulating SSB signals?

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

35. - E7F16

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

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

36. - E7G04

What is meant by the term op-amp input offset voltage?

Select	Answer
A	The differential input voltage needed to bring the open loop output voltage to zero
B	The potential between the amplifier input terminals of the op-amp in an open loop condition
C	The output voltage of the op-amp minus its input voltage
D	The difference between the output voltage of the op-amp and the input voltage required in the immediately following stage

37. - E7H15

Which of these functions can be performed by a phase-locked loop?

Select	Answer
A	Frequency synthesis, FM demodulation
B	Photovoltaic conversion, optical coupling
C	Wide-band AF and RF power amplification
D	Comparison of two digital input signals, digital pulse counter

38. - E8A07

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

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

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	3
B	1000
C	3000
D	0.3

40. - E8C07

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

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

41. - E8D07

What is a common cause of overmodulation of AFSK signals?

Select	Answer
A	Bit errors in the modem
B	Ground loops
C	Excessive transmit audio levels
D	Excessive numbers of retries

42. - E9A03

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

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

43. - E9B08

How can the approximate beam-width in a given plane of a directional antenna be determined?

Select	Answer
A	Draw two imaginary lines through the ends of the elements and measure the angle between the lines
B	Measure the ratio of the signal strengths of the radiated power lobes from the front and rear of the antenna
C	Note the two points where the signal strength of the antenna is 3 dB less than maximum and compute the angular difference
D	Measure the ratio of the signal strengths of the radiated power lobes from the front and side of the antenna

44. - E9C04

What happens to the radiation pattern of an unterminated long wire antenna as the wire length is increased?

Select	Answer
A	The lobes align more in the direction of the wire
B	The front-to-back ratio decreases
C	The lobes become more perpendicular to the wire
D	The vertical angle increases

45. - E9D04

Why should an HF mobile antenna loading coil have a high ratio of reactance to resistance?

Select	Answer
A	To swamp out harmonics
B	To minimize the Q
C	To maximize losses
D	To minimize losses

46. - E9E12

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

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

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

48. - E9G03

Which of the following is often determined using a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Beam headings and radiation patterns
B	Impedance and SWR values in transmission lines
C	Trigonometric functions
D	Satellite azimuth and elevation bearings

49. - E9H11

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

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

50. - E0A01

What is the primary function of an external earth connection or ground rod?

Select	Answer
A	Reduce received noise
B	Reduce RFI to telephones and home entertainment systems
C	Reduce RF current flow between pieces of equipment
D	Lightning protection