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

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1. - E1A05

What is the maximum power output permitted on the 60 meter band?

Select	Answer
A	50 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to a dipole
B	50 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to an isotropic radiator
C	100 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to the gain of a half-wave dipole
D	100 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to an isotropic radiator

2. - E1B08

What limitations may the FCC place on an amateur station if its signal causes interference to domestic broadcast reception, assuming that the receivers involved are of good engineering design?

Select	Answer
A	The amateur station must cease operation
B	The amateur station must cease operation on all frequencies above 30 MHz
C	The amateur station must avoid transmitting during certain hours on frequencies that cause the interference
D	The amateur station must cease operation on all frequencies below 30 MHz

3. - E1C03

How do the control operator responsibilities of a station under automatic control differ from one under local control?

Select	Answer
A	Under automatic control the control operator is not required to be present at the control point
B	Under local control a control operator is not required to be present at a control point
C	Under local control there is no control operator
D	Under automatic control there is no control operator

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	Only Amateur Extra Class
C	Only General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class
D	All except Technician 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 77%
C	Minimum passing score of 80%
D	Minimum passing score of 74%

6. - E1F11

Which of the following best describes one of the standards that must be met by an external RF power amplifier if it is to qualify for a grant of FCC certification?

Select	Answer
A	It must exhibit a gain of 0 dB or less over its full output range
B	It must produce full legal output when driven by not more than 5 watts of mean RF input power
C	It must be capable of external RF switching between its input and output networks
D	It must satisfy the FCC's spurious emission standards when operated at the lesser of 1500 watts or its full output power

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 means of the Doppler data for the specified satellite
D	By subtracting the mean anomaly from the orbital inclination

8. - E2B09

What hardware, other than a receiver with SSB capability and a suitable computer, is needed to decode SSTV using Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM)?

Select	Answer
A	A special notch filter to remove synchronization pulses
B	A special front end limiter
C	A special IF converter
D	No other hardware is needed

9. - E2C06

During a VHF/UHF contest, in which band segment would you expect to find the highest level of activity?

Select	Answer
A	In the weak signal segment of the band, with most of the activity near the calling frequency
B	In the middle of each band, usually on the national calling frequency
C	In the middle of the band, usually 25 kHz above the national calling frequency
D	At the top of each band, usually in a segment reserved for contests

10. - E2D04

What is the purpose of digital store-and-forward functions on an Amateur Radio satellite?

Select	Answer
A	To relay messages between satellites
B	To upload operational software for the transponder
C	To delay download of telemetry between satellites
D	To store digital messages in the satellite for later download by other stations

11. - E2E07

What is the typical bandwidth of a properly modulated MFSK16 signal?

Select	Answer
A	550 Hz
B	2.16 kHz
C	316 Hz
D	31 Hz

12. - E3A05

Tropospheric propagation of microwave signals often occurs along what weather related structure?

Select	Answer
A	Sprites and jets
B	Gray-line
C	Warm and cold fronts
D	Lightning discharges

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	In darkness, solar absorption drops greatly while atmospheric ionization remains steady
C	At twilight and sunrise, D-layer absorption is low while E-layer and F-layer propagation remains high
D	At mid-afternoon, the Sun heats the ionosphere decreasing radio wave refraction and the MUF

14. - E3C09

How does the intensity of an X3 flare compare to that of an X2 flare?

Select	Answer
A	10 percent greater
B	50 percent greater
C	Twice as great
D	Four times as great

15. - E4A15

What is an advantage of a period-measuring frequency counter over a direct-count type?

Select	Answer
A	It provides improved resolution of low-frequency signals within a comparable time period
B	It can run on battery power for remote measurements
C	It does not require an expensive high-precision time base
D	It can directly measure the modulation index of an FM transmitter

16. - E4B03

If a frequency counter with a specified accuracy of +/- 1.0 ppm reads 146,520,000 Hz, what is the most the actual frequency being measured could differ from the reading?

Select	Answer
A	146.52 Hz
B	165.2 Hz
C	14.652 kHz
D	1.4652 MHz

17. - E4C12

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

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

18. - E4D14

Which of the following is a way to reduce the likelihood of receiver desensitization?

Select	Answer
A	Switch from fast AGC to slow AGC
B	Raise the receiver IF frequency
C	Decrease the RF bandwidth of the receiver
D	Increase the receiver front end gain

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

20. - E5A11

What is the half-power bandwidth of a parallel resonant circuit that has a resonant frequency of 7.1 MHz and a Q of 150?

Select	Answer
A	157.8 Hz
B	47.3 kHz
C	315.6 Hz
D	23.67 kHz

21. - E5B11

What is the phase angle between the voltage across and the current through a series RLC circuit if XC is 25 ohms, R is 100 ohms, and XL is 50 ohms?

Select	Answer
A	14 degrees with the voltage leading the current
B	76 degrees with the voltage leading the current
C	76 degrees with the voltage lagging the current
D	14 degrees with the voltage lagging the current

22. - E5C14

Which point on Figure E5-2 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 400 ohm resistor and a 38 picofarad capacitor at 14 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	Point 5
B	Point 6
C	Point 4
D	Point 2

23. - E5D09

What happens to reactive power in an AC circuit that has both ideal inductors and ideal capacitors?

Select	Answer
A	It is dissipated as heat in the circuit
B	It is dissipated in the formation of inductive and capacitive fields
C	It is repeatedly exchanged between the associated magnetic and electric fields, but is not dissipated
D	It is dissipated as kinetic energy in the circuit

24. - E6A03

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

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

25. - E6B09

What is a common use for point contact diodes?

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

26. - E6C01

What is the function of hysteresis in a comparator?

Select	Answer
A	To allow the comparator to be used with AC input signal
B	To prevent input noise from causing unstable output signals
C	To increase the sensitivity
D	To cause the output to change states continually

27. - E6D13

What is the primary cause of inductor self-resonance?

Select	Answer
A	Inductive kickback
B	The skin effect
C	Non-linear core hysteresis
D	Inter-turn capacitance

28. - E6E08

How is voltage from a power supply normally furnished to the most common type of monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC)?

Select	Answer
A	Through a capacitor and RF choke connected to the amplifier input lead
B	Directly to the bias voltage (VCC IN) lead
C	MMICs require no operating bias
D	Through a resistor and/or RF choke connected to the amplifier output lead

29. - E6F07

What is a solid state relay?

Select	Answer
A	A device that uses semiconductors to implement the functions of an electromechanical relay
B	A passive delay line
C	A relay using transistors to drive the relay coil
D	A mechanical relay that latches in the on or off state each time it is pulsed

30. - E7A06

What is a characteristic of a monostable multivibrator?

Select	Answer
A	It switches momentarily to the opposite binary state and then returns to its original state after a set time
B	It maintains a constant output voltage, regardless of variations in the input voltage
C	It stores one bit of data in either a 0 or 1 state
D	It produces a continuous square wave oscillating between 1 and 0

31. - E7B05

What can be done to prevent unwanted oscillations in an RF power amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	Install parasitic suppressors and/or neutralize the stage
B	Tune both the input and output for maximum power
C	Use a phase inverter in the output filter
D	Tune the stage for maximum SWR

32. - E7C04

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

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

33. - E7D06

What is the purpose of Q1 in the circuit shown in Figure E7-3?

Select	Answer
A	It provides negative feedback to improve regulation
B	It increases the current-handling capability of the regulator
C	It provides a constant load for the voltage source
D	It provides D1 with current

34. - E7E04

What is one way a single-sideband phone signal can be generated?

Select	Answer
A	By driving a product detector with a DSB signal
B	By using a loop modulator followed by a mixer
C	By using a reactance modulator followed by a mixer
D	By using a balanced modulator followed by a filter

35. - E7F17

What do the letters I and Q in I/Q Modulation represent?

Select	Answer
A	Inactive and Quiescent
B	Instantaneous and Quasi-stable
C	Instantaneous and Quenched
D	In-phase and Quadrature

36. - E7G01

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

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

37. - E7H02

Which describes a microphonic?

Select	Answer
A	Changes in oscillator frequency due to mechanical vibration
B	An IC used for amplifying microphone signals
C	Excess loading of the microphone by an oscillator
D	Distortion caused by RF pickup on the microphone cable

38. - E8A01

What is the name of the process that shows that a square wave is made up of a sine wave plus all of its odd harmonics?

Select	Answer
A	Numerical analysis
B	Fourier analysis
C	Differential analysis
D	Vector analysis

39. - E8B10

What describes frequency division multiplexing?

Select	Answer
A	The transmitted signal jumps from band to band at a predetermined rate
B	Two or more information streams are merged into a digital combiner, which then pulse position modulates the transmitter
C	The transmitted signal is divided into packets of information
D	Two or more information streams are merged into a baseband, which then modulates the transmitter

40. - E8C09

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

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

41. - E8D04

What is the primary effect of extremely short rise or fall time on a CW signal?

Select	Answer
A	The generation of key clicks
B	The generation of RF harmonics
C	Limits data speed
D	More difficult to copy

42. - E9A03

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

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

43. - E9B16

How many elevation lobes appear in the forward direction of the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-2?

Select	Answer
A	7
B	3
C	1
D	4

44. - E9C06

What is the effect of a terminating resistor on a rhombic antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It changes the radiation pattern from bidirectional to unidirectional
B	It reflects the standing waves on the antenna elements back to the transmitter
C	It changes the radiation pattern from horizontal to vertical polarization
D	It decreases the ground loss

45. - E9D09

What is the function of a loading coil used as part of an HF mobile antenna?

Select	Answer
A	To cancel capacitive reactance
B	To lower the losses
C	To lower the Q
D	To increase the SWR bandwidth

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	Pi-network
C	A shunt inductor
D	A series capacitor

47. - E9F04

What is the typical velocity factor for a coaxial cable with solid polyethylene dielectric?

Select	Answer
A	2.70
B	0.10
C	0.30
D	0.66

48. - E9G05

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

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

49. - E9H05

What is the main drawback of a wire-loop antenna for direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	It is non-rotatable
B	It has a bidirectional pattern
C	It is practical for use only on VHF bands
D	It receives equally well in all directions

50. - E0A06

Why are there separate electric (E) and magnetic (H) field MPE limits?

Select	Answer
A	E field and H field radiation intensity peaks can occur at different locations
B	All of these choices are correct
C	The body reacts to electromagnetic radiation from both the E and H fields
D	Ground reflections and scattering make the field impedance vary with location

Figure E5-2

Figure E7-3

Figure E9-2

Figure E9-3