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

Logging in (or registering) will help the system to select questions that you need to focus on.

1. - E1A07

Which amateur band requires transmission on specific channels rather than on a range of frequencies?

Select	Answer
A	60 meter band
B	30 meter band
C	12 meter band
D	17 meter band

2. - E1B03

Within what distance must an amateur station protect an FCC monitoring facility from harmful interference?

Select	Answer
A	3 miles
B	1 mile
C	10 miles
D	30 miles

3. - E1C13

Which of the following is required in order to operate in accordance with CEPT rules in foreign countries where permitted?

Select	Answer
A	You must bring a copy of FCC Public Notice DA 11-221
B	You must identify in the official language of the country in which you are operating
C	The U.S. embassy must approve of your operation
D	You must append "/CEPT" to your call sign

4. - E1D02

What is the amateur satellite service?

Select	Answer
A	A radio navigation service using satellites for the purpose of self training, intercommunication and technical studies carried out by amateurs
B	A spacecraft launching service for amateur-built satellites
C	A radio communications service using amateur radio stations on satellites
D	A radio communications service using stations on Earth satellites for public service broadcast

5. - E1E05

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

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

6. - E1F07

When may an amateur station send a message to a business?

Select	Answer
A	When neither the amateur nor his or her employer has a pecuniary interest in the communications
B	When the control operator is employed by the FCC or another government agency
C	When transmitting international third-party communications
D	When the total money involved does not exceed $25

7. - E2A13

What type of satellite appears to stay in one position in the sky?

Select	Answer
A	Geomagnetic
B	HEO
C	LEO
D	Geostationary

8. - E2B03

How is an interlaced scanning pattern generated in a fast-scan (NTSC) television system?

Select	Answer
A	By scanning two fields simultaneously
B	By scanning each field from bottom to top
C	By scanning odd numbered lines in one field and even numbered lines in the next
D	By scanning lines from left to right in one field and right to left in the next

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

10. - E2D03

Which of the following digital modes is especially useful for EME communications?

Select	Answer
A	JT65
B	Olivia
C	PACTOR III
D	FSK441

11. - E2E13

Which of the following is a possible reason that attempts to initiate contact with a digital station on a clear frequency are unsuccessful?

Select	Answer
A	Another station you are unable to hear is using the frequency
B	All of these choices are correct
C	The protocol version you are using is not the supported by the digital station
D	Your transmit frequency is incorrect

12. - E3A13

Which emission mode is best for aurora propagation?

Select	Answer
A	CW
B	RTTY
C	FM
D	SSB

13. - E3B05

Which amateur bands typically support long-path propagation?

Select	Answer
A	6 meters to 2 meters
B	160 meters to 10 meters
C	30 meters to 10 meters
D	160 meters to 40 meters

14. - E3C04

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

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

15. - E4A07

Which of the following is an advantage of using an antenna analyzer compared to an SWR bridge to measure antenna SWR?

Select	Answer
A	Antenna analyzers automatically tune your antenna for resonance
B	All of these choices are correct
C	Antenna analyzers do not need an external RF source
D	Antenna analyzers display a time-varying representation of the modulation envelope

16. - E4B12

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

Select	Answer
A	When used as an ohmmeter, the reading in ohms divided by the ohms per volt rating will determine the voltage applied to the circuit
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	The full scale reading of the voltmeter multiplied by its ohms per volt rating will indicate the input impedance of the voltmeter
D	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

17. - E4C15

What is usually the primary source of noise that is heard from an HF receiver with an antenna connected?

Select	Answer
A	Detector noise
B	Atmospheric noise
C	Receiver front-end noise
D	Induction motor noise

18. - E4D02

Which of the following describes two problems caused by poor dynamic range in a communications receiver?

Select	Answer
A	Cross-modulation of the desired signal and insufficient audio power to operate the speaker
B	Cross-modulation of the desired signal and desensitization from strong adjacent signals
C	Oscillator instability requiring frequent retuning and loss of ability to recover the opposite sideband
D	Oscillator instability and severe audio distortion of all but the strongest received signals

19. - E4E05

How can noise from an electric motor be suppressed?

Select	Answer
A	By installing a brute-force AC-line filter in series with the motor leads
B	By installing a high pass filter in series with the motor's power leads
C	By installing a bypass capacitor in series with the motor leads
D	By using a ground-fault current interrupter in the circuit used to power the motor

20. - E5A09

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

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

21. - E5B07

What is the phase angle between the voltage across and the current through a series RLC circuit if XC is 500 ohms, R is 1 kilohm, and XL is 250 ohms?

Select	Answer
A	68.2 degrees with the voltage lagging the current
B	14.0 degrees with the voltage lagging the current
C	14.0 degrees with the voltage leading the current
D	68.2 degrees with the voltage leading the current

22. - E5C08

What coordinate system is often used to display the phase angle of a circuit containing resistance, inductive and/or capacitive reactance?

Select	Answer
A	Maidenhead grid
B	Faraday grid
C	Elliptical coordinates
D	Polar coordinates

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. - E6A03

Why does a PN-junction diode not conduct current when reverse biased?

Select	Answer
A	Only N-type semiconductor material can conduct current
B	Only P-type semiconductor material can conduct current
C	Holes in P-type material and electrons in the N-type material are separated by the applied voltage, widening the depletion region
D	Excess holes in P-type material combine with the electrons in N-type material, converting the entire diode into an insulator

25. - E6B11

What is used to control the attenuation of RF signals by a PIN diode?

Select	Answer
A	Capacitance of an RF coupling capacitor
B	Reverse voltage larger than the RF signal
C	A sub-harmonic pump signal
D	Forward DC bias current

26. - E6C07

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

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

27. - E6D12

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

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

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 dioxide
C	Silicon
D	Silicon nitride

29. - E6F04

What is the photovoltaic effect?

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

30. - E7A10

What is a truth table?

Select	Answer
A	A table of logic symbols that indicate the high logic states of an op-amp
B	A table of logic symbols that indicate the 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. - E7B02

What is a Class D amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	An amplifier that uses drift-mode FETs for high efficiency
B	A type of amplifier that uses switching technology to achieve high efficiency
C	A frequency doubling amplifier
D	A low power amplifier that uses a differential amplifier for improved linearity

32. - E7C03

What advantage does a Pi-L-network have over a regular Pi-network for impedance matching between the final amplifier of a vacuum-tube transmitter and an antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Lower losses
B	Higher efficiency
C	Greater harmonic suppression
D	Greater transformation range

33. - E7D01

What is one characteristic of a linear electronic voltage regulator?

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

34. - E7E07

What is meant by the term baseband in radio communications?

Select	Answer
A	The basic oscillator frequency in an FM transmitter that is multiplied to increase the deviation and carrier frequency
B	The lowest frequency band that the transmitter or receiver covers
C	The unmodulated bandwidth of the transmitted signal
D	The frequency components present in the modulating signal

35. - E7F07

What function can a Fast Fourier Transform perform?

Select	Answer
A	Converting digital signals to analog form
B	Converting 8-bit data to 16 bit data
C	Converting analog signals to digital form
D	Converting digital signals from the time domain to the frequency domain

36. - E7G03

What is the typical input impedance of an integrated circuit op-amp?

Select	Answer
A	100 ohms
B	Very low
C	1000 ohms
D	Very high

37. - E7H03

How is positive feedback supplied in a Hartley oscillator?

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

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 degree of carrier suppression
C	The amplifier gain
D	The characteristics of the modulating signal

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	1000
B	3000
C	0.3
D	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 number of characters carried per second by the station-to-station link
D	The duration of each bit in a message sent over the air

41. - E8D05

What is the most common method of reducing key clicks?

Select	Answer
A	Reduce keying waveform rise and fall times
B	Low-pass filters at the transmitter output
C	Increase keying waveform rise and fall times
D	High-pass filters at the transmitter output

42. - E9A02

What antenna has no gain in any direction?

Select	Answer
A	Yagi
B	Half-wave dipole
C	Quarter-wave vertical
D	Isotropic antenna

43. - E9B04

What may occur when a directional antenna is operated at different frequencies within the band for which it was designed?

Select	Answer
A	Element spacing limits could be exceeded
B	The gain may change depending on frequency
C	The E-field and H-field patterns may reverse
D	Feed point impedance may become negative

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. - E9D05

What is a disadvantage of using a multiband trapped antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It is too sharply directional at lower frequencies
B	It might radiate harmonics
C	It must be neutralized
D	It radiates the harmonics and fundamental equally well

46. - E9E06

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

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

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

48. - E9G11

How are the wavelength scales on a Smith chart calibrated?

Select	Answer
A	In fractions of antenna electrical wavelength
B	In fractions of antenna electrical frequency
C	In fractions of transmission line electrical frequency
D	In fractions of transmission line electrical wavelength

49. - E9H11

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

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

50. - E0A08

What does SAR measure?

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