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

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1. - E1A03

With your transceiver displaying the carrier frequency of phone signals, you hear a station calling CQ on 14.349 MHz USB. Is it legal to return the call using upper sideband on the same frequency?

Select	Answer
A	No, U.S. stations are not permitted to use phone emissions above 14.340 MHz
B	Yes, because you were not the station calling CQ
C	No, the sideband will extend beyond the band edge
D	Yes, because the displayed frequency is within the 20 meter band

2. - E1B10

What frequencies are authorized to an amateur station operating under RACES rules?

Select	Answer
A	Specific segments in the amateur service MF, HF, VHF and UHF bands
B	Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) channels
C	Specific local government channels
D	All amateur service frequencies authorized to the control operator

3. - E1C10

What types of amateur stations may automatically retransmit the radio signals of other amateur stations?

Select	Answer
A	Only auxiliary, beacon or space stations
B	Only auxiliary, repeater or space stations
C	Only earth stations, repeater stations or model craft
D	Only beacon, repeater or space stations

4. - E1D06

Which of the following is a requirement of a space station?

Select	Answer
A	All of these choices are correct
B	The space station must cease all transmissions after 5 years
C	The space station must be capable of changing its orbit whenever such a change is ordered by NASA
D	The space station must be capable of terminating transmissions by telecommand when directed by the FCC

5. - E1E14

For which types of out-of-pocket expenses do the Part 97 rules state that VEs and VECs may be reimbursed?

Select	Answer
A	No expenses are authorized for reimbursement
B	Teaching an amateur operator license examination preparation course
C	Providing amateur operator license examination preparation training materials
D	Preparing, processing, administering and coordinating an examination for an amateur radio license

6. - E1F05

Amateur stations may not transmit in which of the following frequency segments if they are located in the contiguous 48 states and north of Line A?

Select	Answer
A	222 MHz - 223 MHz
B	53 MHz - 54 MHz
C	440 MHz - 450 MHz
D	420 MHz - 430 MHz

7. - E2A12

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

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

8. - E2B05

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

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

9. - E2C12

What might help to restore contact when DX signals become too weak to copy across an entire HF band a few hours after sunset?

Select	Answer
A	Switch to a lower frequency HF band
B	Switch to a higher frequency HF band
C	Wait 90 minutes or so for the signal degradation to pass
D	Wait 24 hours before attempting another communication on the band

10. - E2D14

What is one advantage of using JT65 coding?

Select	Answer
A	The ability to decode signals which have a very low signal to noise ratio
B	Easily copied by ear if necessary
C	Uses only a 65 Hz bandwidth
D	Permits fast-scan TV transmissions over narrow bandwidth

11. - E2E09

Which of the following HF digital modes uses variable-length coding for bandwidth efficiency?

Select	Answer
A	PSK31
B	MT63
C	PACTOR
D	RTTY

12. - E3A13

Which emission mode is best for aurora propagation?

Select	Answer
A	FM
B	CW
C	RTTY
D	SSB

13. - E3B10

What is the cause of gray-line propagation?

Select	Answer
A	At midday, the Sun super heats the ionosphere causing increased refraction of radio waves
B	At twilight and sunrise, D-layer absorption is low while E-layer and F-layer propagation remains high
C	In darkness, solar absorption drops greatly while atmospheric ionization remains steady
D	At mid-afternoon, the Sun heats the ionosphere decreasing radio wave refraction and the MUF

14. - E3C04

What does the value of Bz (B sub Z) represent?

Select	Answer
A	Duration of long-delayed echoes
B	Geomagnetic field stability
C	Direction and strength of the interplanetary magnetic field
D	Critical frequency for vertical transmissions

15. - E4A06

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

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

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	0.1 MHz
B	1.4652 kHz
C	1.4652 Hz
D	14.652 Hz

17. - E4C03

What is the term for the blocking of one FM phone signal by another, stronger FM phone signal?

Select	Answer
A	Desensitization
B	Cross-modulation interference
C	Capture effect
D	Frequency discrimination

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

19. - E4E11

Which is the most likely cause if you are hearing combinations of local AM broadcast signals within one or more of the MF or HF ham bands?

Select	Answer
A	The broadcast station is transmitting an over-modulated signal
B	Your station receiver IF amplifier stage is defective
C	You are receiving sky wave signals from a distant station
D	Nearby corroded metal joints are mixing and re-radiating the broadcast signals

20. - E5A14

What is the resonant frequency of a series RLC circuit if R is 22 ohms, L is 50 microhenrys and C is 40 picofarads?

Select	Answer
A	44.72 MHz
B	1.78 MHz
C	22.36 MHz
D	3.56 MHz

21. - E5B13

What letter is commonly used to represent susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	X
B	B
C	G
D	Y

22. - E5C17

Which point on Figure E5-2 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 300 ohm resistor, a 0.64-microhenry inductor and an 85-picofarad capacitor at 24.900 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	Point 5
B	Point 1
C	Point 8
D	Point 3

23. - E5D08

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

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

24. - E6A08

What term indicates the frequency at which the grounded-base current gain of a transistor has decreased to 0.7 of the gain obtainable at 1 kHz?

Select	Answer
A	Beta cutoff frequency
B	Corner frequency
C	Alpha cutoff frequency
D	Alpha rejection frequency

25. - E6B03

What special type of diode is capable of both amplification and oscillation?

Select	Answer
A	Zener
B	Tunnel
C	Junction
D	Point contact

26. - E6C11

In Figure E6-5, what is the schematic symbol for the NOT operation (inverter)?

Select	Answer
A	6
B	4
C	5
D	2

27. - E6D08

What is one reason for using powdered-iron cores rather than ferrite cores in an inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Powdered-iron cores generally require fewer turns to produce a given inductance
B	Powdered-iron cores generally have greater initial permeability
C	Powdered-iron cores use smaller diameter wire for the same inductance
D	Powdered-iron cores generally maintain their characteristics at higher currents

28. - E6E12

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

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

29. - E6F04

What is the photovoltaic effect?

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

30. - E7A03

Which of the following can divide the frequency of a pulse train by 2?

Select	Answer
A	An OR gate
B	An XOR gate
C	A flip-flop
D	A multiplexer

31. - E7B06

Which of the following amplifier types reduces or eliminates even order harmonics?

Select	Answer
A	Class C
B	Push-push
C	Class AB
D	Push-pull

32. - E7C12

Which describes a Pi-L-network used for matching a vacuum tube final amplifier to a 50 ohm unbalanced output?

Select	Answer
A	A network with only three discrete parts
B	A Pi-network with an additional series inductor on the output
C	A matching network in which all components are isolated from ground
D	A Phase Inverter Load network

33. - E7D04

Which of the following types of linear voltage regulator usually make the most efficient use of the primary power source?

Select	Answer
A	A series current source
B	A shunt current source
C	A shunt regulator
D	A series regulator

34. - E7E05

What circuit is added to an FM transmitter to boost the higher audio frequencies?

Select	Answer
A	A pre-emphasis network
B	A heterodyne suppressor
C	An audio prescaler
D	A de-emphasis network

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. - E7G09

What will be the output voltage of the circuit shown in Figure E7-4 if R1 is 1000 ohms, RF is 10,000 ohms, and 0.23 volts DC is applied to the input?

Select	Answer
A	-0.23 volts
B	2.3 volts
C	-2.3 volts
D	0.23 volts

37. - E7H05

How is positive feedback supplied in a Pierce oscillator?

Select	Answer
A	Through link coupling
B	Through a neutralizing capacitor
C	Through a tapped coil
D	Through a quartz crystal

38. - E8A12

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

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

39. - E8B04

What is the modulation index of an FM-phone signal having a maximum carrier deviation of plus or minus 6 kHz when modulated with a 2 kHz modulating frequency?

Select	Answer
A	2000
B	6000
C	3
D	1/3

40. - E8C02

What is the definition of symbol rate in a digital transmission?

Select	Answer
A	The rate at which the waveform of a transmitted signal changes to convey information
B	The number of control characters in a message packet
C	The duration of each bit in a message sent over the air
D	The number of characters carried per second by the station-to-station link

41. - E8D08

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

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

42. - E9A18

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

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

43. - E9B10

What is the principle of a Method of Moments analysis?

Select	Answer
A	A wire is modeled as a single sine-wave current generator
B	A wire is modeled as a series of segments, each having a distinct value of voltage across it
C	A wire is modeled as a series of points, each having a distinct location in space
D	A wire is modeled as a series of segments, each having a uniform value of current

44. - E9C05

What is an OCFD antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A remotely tunable dipole antenna using orthogonally controlled frequency diversity
B	A dipole feed approximately 1/3 the way from one end with a 4:1 balun to provide multiband operation
C	An eight band dipole antenna using octophase filters
D	A multiband dipole antenna using one-way circular polarization for frequency diversity

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

46. - E9E06

What is the equivalent lumped-constant network for a hairpin matching system of a 3-element Yagi?

Select	Answer
A	Pi-network
B	A series capacitor
C	Pi-L-network
D	A shunt inductor

47. - E9F15

What impedance does a 1/2 wavelength transmission line present to a generator when the line is open at the far end?

Select	Answer
A	Very low impedance
B	The same as the output impedance of the generator
C	Very high impedance
D	The same as the characteristic impedance of the line

48. - E9G05

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

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

49. - E9H04

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

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

50. - E0A05

What is one of the potential hazards of using microwaves in the amateur radio bands?

Select	Answer
A	Microwaves are ionizing radiation
B	The high gain antennas commonly used can result in high exposure levels
C	The extremely high frequency energy can damage the joints of antenna structures
D	Microwaves often travel long distances by ionospheric reflection

Figure E5-2

Figure E6-5

Figure E7-4

Figure E9-3