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

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1. - E1A07

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

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

2. - E1B06

Which of the following additional rules apply if you are installing an amateur station antenna at a site at or near a public use airport?

Select	Answer
A	No special rules apply if your antenna structure will be less than 300 feet in height
B	You must file an Environmental Impact Statement with the EPA before construction begins
C	You must obtain a construction permit from the airport zoning authority
D	You may have to notify the Federal Aviation Administration and register it with the FCC as required by Part 17 of FCC rules

3. - E1C05

When may an automatically controlled station originate third party communications?

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

4. - E1D06

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

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

5. - E1E12

What must the VE team do with the application form if the examinee does not pass the exam?

Select	Answer
A	Send the application form to the FCC and inform the FCC of the grade
B	Maintain the application form with the VEC's records
C	Return the application document to the examinee
D	Destroy the application form

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 satisfy the FCC's spurious emission standards when operated at the lesser of 1500 watts or its full output power
D	It must be capable of external RF switching between its input and output networks

7. - E2A03

What is the orbital period of an Earth satellite?

Select	Answer
A	The point of minimum height of a satellite's orbit
B	The point of maximum height of a satellite's orbit
C	The time it takes for a satellite to travel from perigee to apogee
D	The time it takes for a satellite to complete one revolution around the Earth

8. - E2B19

What special operating frequency restrictions are imposed on slow scan TV transmissions?

Select	Answer
A	None; they are allowed on all amateur frequencies
B	They are not permitted above 54 MHz
C	They are restricted to phone band segments and their bandwidth can be no greater than that of a voice signal of the same modulation type
D	They are restricted to 7.245 MHz, 14.245 MHz, 21.345 MHz, and 28.945 MHz

9. - E2C04

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

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

10. - E2D02

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

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

11. - E2E07

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

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

12. - E3A10

Which type of atmospheric structure can create a path for microwave propagation?

Select	Answer
A	The jet stream
B	Temperature inversion
C	Dust devil
D	Wind shear

13. - E3B03

What is the best time of day for transequatorial propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Afternoon or early evening
B	Late at night
C	Noon
D	Morning

14. - E3C02

What is indicated by a rising A or K index?

Select	Answer
A	Increasing disruption of the geomagnetic field
B	Higher levels of solar UV radiation
C	Decreasing disruption of the geomagnetic field
D	An increase in the critical frequency

15. - E4A15

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

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

16. - E4B11

How should an antenna analyzer be connected when measuring antenna resonance and feed point impedance?

Select	Answer
A	Connect the antenna feed line directly to the analyzer's connector
B	Loosely couple the analyzer near the antenna base
C	Loosely couple the antenna and a dummy load to the analyzer
D	Connect the analyzer via a high-impedance transformer to the antenna

17. - E4C11

Which of the following is a desirable amount of selectivity for an amateur SSB phone receiver?

Select	Answer
A	4.8 kHz
B	1 kHz
C	2.4 kHz
D	4.2 kHz

18. - E4D09

What is the purpose of the preselector in a communications receiver?

Select	Answer
A	To store often-used frequencies
B	To provide a range of AGC time constants
C	To increase rejection of unwanted signals
D	To allow selection of the optimum RF amplifier device

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	Your station receiver IF amplifier stage is defective
D	Nearby corroded metal joints are mixing and re-radiating the broadcast signals

20. - E5A15

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

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

21. - E5B13

What letter is commonly used to represent susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	Y
B	B
C	G
D	X

22. - E5C07

What is a vector?

Select	Answer
A	The value of a quantity that changes over time
B	The inverse of the tangent function
C	The inverse of the sine function
D	A quantity with both magnitude and an angular component

23. - E5D04

Why are short connections necessary at microwave frequencies?

Select	Answer
A	To increase neutralizing resistance
B	Because of ground reflections
C	To reduce noise figure
D	To reduce phase shift along the connection

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

25. - E6B01

What is the most useful characteristic of a Zener diode?

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

26. - E6C03

What is tri-state logic?

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

27. - E6D10

What is a primary advantage of using a toroidal core instead of a solenoidal core in an inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Toroidal cores have lower Q characteristics
B	Toroidal cores make it easier to couple the magnetic energy into other components
C	Toroidal cores confine most of the magnetic field within the core material
D	Toroidal cores exhibit greater hysteresis

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
C	Silicon nitride
D	Silicon dioxide

29. - E6F10

What is the most common type of photovoltaic cell used for electrical power generation?

Select	Answer
A	Selenium
B	Silicon
C	Cadmium Sulfide
D	Copper oxide

30. - E7A03

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

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

31. - E7B01

For what portion of a signal cycle does a Class AB amplifier operate?

Select	Answer
A	More than 180 degrees but less than 360 degrees
B	Less than 180 degrees
C	The entire cycle
D	Exactly 180 degrees

32. - E7C07

What kind of filter would you use to attenuate an interfering carrier signal while receiving an SSB transmission?

Select	Answer
A	An all-pass filter
B	A notch filter
C	A Pi-network filter
D	A band-pass filter

33. - E7D16

When several electrolytic filter capacitors are connected in series to increase the operating voltage of a power supply filter circuit, why should resistors be connected across each capacitor?

Select	Answer
A	All of these choices are correct
B	To equalize, as much as possible, the voltage drop across each capacitor
C	To provide a minimum load current to reduce voltage excursions at light loads
D	To provide a safety bleeder to discharge the capacitors when the supply is off

34. - E7E01

Which of the following can be used to generate FM phone emissions?

Select	Answer
A	A reactance modulator on the oscillator
B	A balanced modulator on the oscillator
C	A reactance modulator on the final amplifier
D	A balanced modulator on the audio amplifier

35. - E7F09

Why is an anti-aliasing digital filter required in a digital decimator?

Select	Answer
A	It removes low frequency signal components to eliminate the need for DC restoration
B	It peaks the response of the decimator, improving bandwidth
C	It removes high-frequency signal components which would otherwise be reproduced as lower frequency components
D	It notches out the sampling frequency to avoid sampling errors

36. - E7G01

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

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

37. - E7H04

How is positive feedback supplied in a Colpitts oscillator?

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

38. - E8A05

What would be the most accurate way of measuring the RMS voltage of a complex waveform?

Select	Answer
A	By using a grid dip meter
B	By measuring the voltage with a D'Arsonval meter
C	By measuring the heating effect in a known resistor
D	By using an absorption wave meter

39. - E8B08

What describes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing?

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

40. - E8C04

What technique is used to minimize the bandwidth requirements of a PSK31 signal?

Select	Answer
A	Zero-sum character encoding
B	Use of trapezoidal data pulses
C	Use of sinusoidal data pulses
D	Reed-Solomon character encoding

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	High-pass filters at the transmitter output
D	Increase keying waveform rise and fall times

42. - E9A13

How much gain does an antenna have compared to a 1/2-wavelength dipole when it has 12 dB gain over an isotropic antenna?

Select	Answer
A	6.17 dB
B	9.85 dB
C	14.15 dB
D	12.5 dB

43. - E9B09

What type of computer program technique is commonly used for modeling antennas?

Select	Answer
A	Method of Moments
B	Graphical analysis
C	Mutual impedance analysis
D	Calculus differentiation with respect to physical properties

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

45. - E9D01

How does the gain of an ideal parabolic dish antenna change when the operating frequency is doubled?

Select	Answer
A	Gain increases by 3 dB
B	Gain is multiplied by 0.707
C	Gain does not change
D	Gain increases by 6 dB

46. - E9E09

Which of these matching systems is an effective method of connecting a 50 ohm coaxial cable feed line to a grounded tower so it can be used as a vertical antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Double-bazooka match
B	Hairpin match
C	All of these choices are correct
D	Gamma match

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

48. - E9G04

What are the two families of circles and arcs that make up a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Resistance and reactance
B	Voltage and impedance
C	Reactance and voltage
D	Resistance and voltage

49. - E9H02

Which is generally true for low band (160 meter and 80 meter) receiving antennas?

Select	Answer
A	Atmospheric noise is so high that gain over a dipole is not important
B	All of these choices are correct
C	They must be erected at least 1/2 wavelength above the ground to attain good directivity
D	Low loss coax transmission line is essential for good performance

50. - E0A07

How may dangerous levels of carbon monoxide from an emergency generator be detected?

Select	Answer
A	Only with a carbon monoxide detector
B	By the yellowish appearance of the gas
C	By the odor
D	Any ordinary smoke detector can be used