US Amateur Radio - Amateur Extra (Element 4, 2020-2024) Practice Test

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

1. - E0A01

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

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

2. - E1A03

What is the maximum legal carrier frequency on the 20 meter band for transmitting USB AFSK digital signals having a 1 kHz bandwidth?

Select	Answer
A	14.100 MHz
B	14.349 MHz
C	14.149 MHz
D	14.070 MHz

3. - E1B10

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

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

4. - E1C14

How long must an operator wait after filing a notification with the Utilities Technology Council (UTC) before operating on the 2200 meter or 630 meter band?

Select	Answer
A	Operators must not operate until approval is received
B	Operators may operate after 30 days, providing they have not been told that their station is within 1 km of PLC systems using those frequencies
C	Operators may not operate until a test signal has been transmitted in coordination with the local power company
D	Operations may commence immediately, and may continue unless interference is reported by the UTC

5. - E1D05

What must be posted at the station location of a station being operated by telecommand on or within 50 km of the earth's surface?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	A label with the name, address, and telephone number of the control operator
C	A label with the name, address, and telephone number of the station licensee
D	A photocopy of the station license

6. - E1E05

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

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

7. - E1F01

On what frequencies are spread spectrum transmissions permitted?

Select	Answer
A	Only on amateur frequencies above 144 MHz
B	Only on amateur frequencies above 222 MHz
C	Only on amateur frequencies above 420 MHz
D	Only on amateur frequencies above 50 MHz

8. - E2A09

What do the terms L band and S band specify regarding satellite communications?

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

9. - E2B01

How many times per second is a new frame transmitted in a fast-scan (NTSC) television system?

Select	Answer
A	90
B	60
C	120
D	30

10. - E2C01

What indicator is required to be used by U.S.-licensed operators when operating a station via remote control and the remote transmitter is located in the U.S.?

Select	Answer
A	No additional indicator is required
B	/ followed by the ARRL Section of the remote station
C	/R# where # is the district of the remote station
D	/ followed by the USPS two-letter abbreviation for the state in which the remote station is located

11. - E2D02

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

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

12. - E2E01

Which of the following types of modulation is common for data emissions below 30 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	Spread spectrum
B	Pulse modulation
C	DTMF tones modulating an FM signal
D	FSK

13. - E3A11

What is a typical range for tropospheric propagation of microwave signals?

Select	Answer
A	10 miles to 50 miles
B	1200 miles
C	2500 miles
D	100 miles to 300 miles

14. - E3B09

At what time of year is sporadic E propagation most likely to occur?

Select	Answer
A	Around the solstices, especially the summer solstice
B	Around the equinoxes, especially the fall equinox
C	Around the equinoxes, especially the spring equinox
D	Around the solstices, especially the winter solstice

15. - E3C04

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

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

16. - E4A03

Which of the following test instruments is used to display spurious signals and/or intermodulation distortion products generated by an SSB transmitter?

Select	Answer
A	A logic analyzer
B	A spectrum analyzer
C	A time-domain reflectometer
D	A wattmeter

17. - E4B06

How much power is being absorbed by the load when a directional power meter connected between a transmitter and a terminating load reads 100 watts forward power and 25 watts reflected power?

Select	Answer
A	75 watts
B	25 watts
C	125 watts
D	100 watts

18. - E4C03

What is the term for the suppression in an FM receiver of one signal by another stronger signal on the same frequency?

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

19. - E4D10

What does a third-order intercept level of 40 dBm mean with respect to receiver performance?

Select	Answer
A	A pair of 1 mW input signals will produce a third-order intermodulation product that is 40 dB stronger than the input signal
B	A pair of 40 dBm input signals will theoretically generate a third-order intermodulation product that has the same output amplitude as either of the input signals
C	The receiver can tolerate signals up to 40 dB above the noise floor without producing third-order intermodulation products
D	Signals less than 40 dBm will not generate audible third-order intermodulation products

20. - E4E04

How can conducted and radiated noise caused by an automobile alternator be suppressed?

Select	Answer
A	By connecting the radio's power leads directly to the battery and by installing coaxial capacitors in line with the alternator leads
B	By installing a noise suppression resistor and a blocking capacitor in both leads
C	By installing filter capacitors in series with the DC power lead and a blocking capacitor in the field lead
D	By installing a high-pass filter in series with the radio's power lead and a low-pass filter in parallel with the field lead

21. - E5A06

What is the magnitude of the circulating current within the components of a parallel LC circuit at resonance?

Select	Answer
A	It equals 2 multiplied by pi, multiplied by frequency, multiplied by inductance
B	It is at a maximum
C	It is at a minimum
D	It equals 1 divided by the quantity 2 times pi, multiplied by the square root of inductance L multiplied by capacitance C

22. - E5B05

What happens to the magnitude of a pure reactance when it is converted to a susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	The sign is reversed
B	It is unchanged
C	It is shifted by 90 degrees
D	It becomes the reciprocal

23. - E5C02

How are impedances described in polar coordinates?

Select	Answer
A	By real and imaginary parts
B	By Y and G values
C	By phase angle and magnitude
D	By X and R values

24. - E5D01

What is the result of skin effect?

Select	Answer
A	Thermal effects on the surface of the conductor decrease the impedance
B	As frequency increases, RF current flows in a thinner layer of the conductor, closer to the surface
C	Thermal effects on the surface of the conductor increase the impedance
D	As frequency decreases, RF current flows in a thinner layer of the conductor, closer to the surface

25. - E6A03

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

Select	Answer
A	Only P-type semiconductor material can conduct current
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	Holes in P-type material and electrons in the N-type material are separated by the applied voltage, widening the depletion region

26. - E6B01

What is the most useful characteristic of a Zener diode?

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

27. - E6C03

What is tri-state logic?

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

28. - E6D06

What core material property determines the inductance of an inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Resistance
B	Thermal impedance
C	Reactivity
D	Permeability

29. - E6E06

What characteristics of the MMIC make it a popular choice for VHF through microwave circuits?

Select	Answer
A	The ability to retrieve information from a single signal even in the presence of other strong signals
B	Controlled gain, low noise figure, and constant input and output impedance over the specified frequency range
C	Plate current that is controlled by a control grid
D	Nearly infinite gain, very high input impedance, and very low output impedance

30. - E6F02

What happens to the conductivity of a photoconductive material when light shines on it?

Select	Answer
A	It stays the same
B	It becomes unstable
C	It decreases
D	It increases

31. - E7A02

What is the function of a decade counter?

Select	Answer
A	It produces 10 output pulses for every input pulse
B	It decodes a binary number for display on a seven-segment LED display
C	It produces one output pulse for every 10 input pulses
D	It decodes a decimal number for display on a seven-segment LED display

32. - E7B11

In Figure E7-1, what is the purpose of R3?

Select	Answer
A	Self bias
B	Fixed bias
C	Output load resistor
D	Emitter bypass

33. - E7C11

Which of the following describes a receiving filter's ability to reject signals occupying an adjacent channel?

Select	Answer
A	Shape factor
B	Phase response
C	Passband ripple
D	Noise factor

34. - E7D03

What device is typically used as a stable voltage reference in a linear voltage regulator?

Select	Answer
A	A Zener diode
B	A tunnel diode
C	An SCR
D	A varactor diode

35. - E7E06

Why is de-emphasis commonly used in FM communications receivers?

Select	Answer
A	To remove third-order distortion products
B	To reduce impulse noise reception
C	For compatibility with transmitters using phase modulation
D	For higher efficiency

36. - E7F08

What is the function of decimation?

Select	Answer
A	Attenuating the signal
B	Reducing the effective sample rate by removing samples
C	Converting data to binary code decimal form
D	Removing unnecessary significant digits

37. - E7G03

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

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

38. - E7H12

Which of the following must be done to ensure that a crystal oscillator provides the frequency specified by the crystal manufacturer?

Select	Answer
A	Provide the crystal with a specified parallel inductance
B	Bias the crystal at a specified voltage
C	Bias the crystal at a specified current
D	Provide the crystal with a specified parallel capacitance

39. - E8A11

Which of the following is a measure of the quality of an analog-to-digital converter?

Select	Answer
A	Reciprocal mixing
B	Peak envelope power
C	Total harmonic distortion
D	Power factor

40. - 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	0.3
B	3
C	1000
D	3000

41. - E8C07

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

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

42. - E8D07

What is a common cause of overmodulation of AFSK signals?

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

43. - E9A02

What is the effective radiated power relative to a dipole of a repeater station with 150 watts transmitter power output, 2 dB feed line loss, 2.2 dB duplexer loss, and 7 dBd antenna gain?

Select	Answer
A	286 watts
B	420 watts
C	1977 watts
D	78.7 watts

44. - E9B09

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

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

45. - E9C08

What is a folded dipole antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A half-wave dipole with an additional parallel wire connecting its two ends
B	A dipole configured to provide forward gain
C	A dipole one-quarter wavelength long
D	A type of ground-plane antenna

46. - E9D04

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

Select	Answer
A	To lower the radiation angle
B	To swamp out harmonics
C	To minimize the Q
D	To minimize losses

47. - E9E09

Which of the following is used to shunt-feed a grounded tower at its base?

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

48. - E9F13

What impedance does a 1/4-wavelength transmission line present to a generator when the line is shorted at the far end?

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

49. - E9G01

Which of the following can be calculated using a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Radiation resistance
B	Impedance along transmission lines
C	Antenna radiation pattern
D	Radio propagation

50. - E9H08

What is the function of a sense antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It increases the sensitivity of a DF antenna array
B	It allows DF antennas to receive signals at different vertical angles
C	It provides diversity reception that cancels multipath signals
D	It modifies the pattern of a DF antenna array to provide a null in one direction

Figure E7-1