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. - 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	Ground reflections and scattering make the field strength vary with location
C	The body reacts to electromagnetic radiation from both the E and H fields
D	All these choices are correct

2. - E1A02

When using a transceiver that displays the carrier frequency of phone signals, which of the following displayed frequencies represents the lowest frequency at which a properly adjusted LSB emission will be totally within the band?

Select	Answer
A	The exact lower band edge
B	1 kHz above the lower band edge
C	3 kHz above the lower band edge
D	300 Hz above the lower band edge

3. - 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 on all frequencies below 30 MHz
B	The amateur station must cease operation
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 above 30 MHz

4. - E1C02

Which of the following types of communications may be transmitted to amateur stations in foreign countries?

Select	Answer
A	Messages intended for users of the maritime satellite service
B	All these choices are correct
C	Business-related messages for non-profit organizations
D	Communications incidental to the purpose of the amateur service and remarks of a personal nature

5. - E1D04

Which of the following is required in the identification transmissions from a balloon-borne telemetry station?

Select	Answer
A	Call sign
B	The station's six-character Maidenhead grid locator
C	All these choices are correct
D	The output power of the balloon transmitter

6. - E1E03

What is a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator?

Select	Answer
A	A person who has volunteered to administer amateur operator license examinations
B	An organization that has entered into an agreement with the FCC to coordinate, prepare, and administer amateur operator license examinations
C	The person who has entered into an agreement with the FCC to be the VE session manager
D	A person who has volunteered to prepare amateur operator license examinations

7. - E1F01

On what frequencies are spread spectrum transmissions permitted?

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

8. - E2A05

What do the letters in a satellite's mode designator specify?

Select	Answer
A	Power limits for uplink and downlink transmissions
B	The polarization of uplink and downlink signals
C	The location of the ground control station
D	The uplink and downlink frequency ranges

9. - 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 lines from left to right in one field and right to left in the next
D	By scanning odd numbered lines in one field and even numbered lines in the next

10. - E2C06

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

11. - E2D05

What is one advantage of the JT65 mode?

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

12. - E2E11

What is the difference between direct FSK and audio FSK?

Select	Answer
A	Only direct FSK can be decoded by computer
B	Direct FSK can transmit faster baud rates
C	Direct FSK applies the data signal to the transmitter VFO, while AFSK transmits tones via phone
D	Direct FSK occupies less bandwidth

13. - E3A01

What is the approximate maximum separation measured along the surface of the Earth between two stations communicating by EME?

Select	Answer
A	500 miles, if the moon is at perigee
B	12,000 miles, if the moon is visible by both stations
C	2000 miles, if the moon is at apogee
D	5000 miles, if the moon is at perigee

14. - E3B10

Why is chordal hop propagation desirable?

Select	Answer
A	Signals travel faster along ionospheric chords
B	The signal experiences less loss compared to multi-hop using Earth as a reflector
C	Atmospheric noise is lower in the direction of chordal hop propagation
D	The MUF for chordal hop propagation is much lower than for normal skip propagation

15. - E3C08

What does the space weather term G5 mean?

Select	Answer
A	Very low solar activity
B	Moderate solar wind
C	Waning sunspot numbers
D	An extreme geomagnetic storm

16. - E4A09

Which of the following is good practice when using an oscilloscope probe?

Select	Answer
A	Never use a high-impedance probe to measure a low-impedance circuit
B	Never use a DC-coupled probe to measure an AC circuit
C	All these choices are correct
D	Keep the signal ground connection of the probe as short as possible

17. - E4B05

What three test loads are used to calibrate an RF vector network analyzer?

Select	Answer
A	50 ohms, 75 ohms, and 90 ohms
B	50 ohms through 1/8 wavelength, 1/4 wavelength, and 1/2 wavelength of coaxial cable
C	Short circuit, open circuit, and resonant circuit
D	Short circuit, open circuit, and 50 ohms

18. - E4C02

Which of the following receiver circuits can be effective in eliminating interference from strong out-of-band signals?

Select	Answer
A	A narrow IF filter
B	A properly adjusted product detector
C	A notch filter
D	A front-end filter or pre-selector

19. - E4D03

How can intermodulation interference between two repeaters occur?

Select	Answer
A	When the signals from the transmitters are reflected in phase from airplanes passing overhead
B	When the signals from the transmitters are reflected out of phase from airplanes passing overhead
C	When the repeaters are in close proximity and the signals mix in the final amplifier of one or both transmitters
D	When the repeaters are in close proximity and the signals cause feedback in the final amplifier of one or both transmitters

20. - E4E11

What could cause local AM broadcast band signals to combine to generate spurious signals in the MF or HF bands?

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

21. - E5A01

What can cause the voltage across reactances in a series RLC circuit to be higher than the voltage applied to the entire circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Capacitance
B	Conductance
C	Resonance
D	Resistance

22. - E5B08

What is the phase angle between the voltage across and the current through a series RLC circuit if XC is 100 ohms, R is 100 ohms, and XL is 75 ohms?

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

23. - E5C01

Which of the following represents capacitive reactance in rectangular notation?

Select	Answer
A	+jX
B	Delta
C	-jX
D	Omega

24. - E5D10

How can the true power be determined in an AC circuit where the voltage and current are out of phase?

Select	Answer
A	By multiplying the reactive power by the power factor
B	By dividing the reactive power by the power factor
C	By dividing the apparent power by the power factor
D	By multiplying the apparent power by the power factor

25. - E6A07

Which of the following indicates that a silicon NPN junction transistor is biased on?

Select	Answer
A	Base-to-emitter voltage of approximately 6 to 7 volts
B	Base-to-emitter voltage of approximately 0.6 to 0.7 volts
C	Base-to-emitter resistance of approximately 6 to 7 ohms
D	Base-to-emitter resistance of approximately 0.6 to 0.7 ohms

26. - E6B07

What is the failure mechanism when a junction diode fails due to excessive current?

Select	Answer
A	Charge carrier depletion
B	Excessive junction temperature
C	Excessive inverse voltage
D	Insufficient forward voltage

27. - E6C02

What happens when the level of a comparator's input signal crosses the threshold?

Select	Answer
A	The IC input can be damaged
B	The comparator enters latch-up
C	The feedback loop becomes unstable
D	The comparator changes its output state

28. - E6D06

What core material property determines the inductance of an inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Thermal impedance
B	Reactivity
C	Resistance
D	Permeability

29. - E6E06

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

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

30. - E6F10

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

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

31. - E7A09

What logical operation is performed by an exclusive NOR gate?

Select	Answer
A	It produces logic 0 at its output only if all inputs are logic 0
B	It produces logic 1 at its output if only one input is logic 1
C	It produces logic 1 at its output only if all inputs are logic 1
D	It produces logic 0 at its output if only one input is logic 1

32. - E7B15

What is one way to prevent thermal runaway in a bipolar transistor amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	Neutralization
B	All these choices are correct
C	Select transistors with high beta
D	Use a resistor in series with the emitter

33. - E7C10

Which of the following filters would be the best choice for use in a 2 meter band repeater duplexer?

Select	Answer
A	A cavity filter
B	An L-C filter
C	A DSP filter
D	A crystal filter

34. - E7D14

What is the purpose of connecting equal-value resistors across power supply filter capacitors connected in series?

Select	Answer
A	Provide a minimum load on the supply
B	Discharge the capacitors when voltage is removed
C	Equalize the voltage across each capacitor
D	All these choices are correct

35. - E7E05

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

Select	Answer
A	A heterodyne enhancer
B	A pre-emphasis network
C	A heterodyne suppressor
D	A de-emphasis network

36. - E7F05

How frequently must an analog signal be sampled by an analog-to-digital converter so that the signal can be accurately reproduced?

Select	Answer
A	At least half the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
B	At least twice the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
C	At four times the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
D	At the same rate as the highest frequency component of the signal

37. - E7G03

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

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

38. - E7H04

How is positive feedback supplied in a Colpitts oscillator?

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

39. - E8A09

How many different input levels can be encoded by an analog-to-digital converter with 8-bit resolution?

Select	Answer
A	256
B	256 divided by the gain of the input amplifier
C	8
D	8 multiplied by the gain of the input amplifier

40. - E8B01

What is the modulation index of an FM signal?

Select	Answer
A	The ratio of frequency deviation to modulating signal frequency
B	The bandwidth of the transmitted signal divided by the modulating signal frequency
C	The type of modulation used by the transmitter
D	The ratio of modulating signal amplitude to frequency deviation

41. - E8C05

What is the approximate bandwidth of a 13-WPM International Morse Code transmission?

Select	Answer
A	26 Hz
B	104 Hz
C	52 Hz
D	13 Hz

42. - E8D02

What spread spectrum communications technique uses a high-speed binary bit stream to shift the phase of an RF carrier?

Select	Answer
A	Direct sequence
B	Frequency hopping
C	Binary phase-shift keying
D	Phase compandored spread spectrum

43. - E9A13

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

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

44. - E9B01

In the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-1, what is the beamwidth?

Select	Answer
A	75 degrees
B	50 degrees
C	30 degrees
D	25 degrees

45. - E9C07

What is the approximate feed point impedance at the center of a two-wire folded dipole antenna?

Select	Answer
A	450 ohms
B	50 ohms
C	72 ohms
D	300 ohms

46. - E9D07

What is an advantage of using top loading in a shortened HF vertical antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Higher losses
B	Lower Q
C	Improved radiation efficiency
D	Greater structural strength

47. - E9E11

What is the primary purpose of phasing lines when used with an antenna having multiple driven elements?

Select	Answer
A	It prevents reflected power from traveling back down the feed line and causing harmonic radiation from the transmitter
B	It creates a low-angle radiation pattern
C	It ensures that each driven element operates in concert with the others to create the desired antenna pattern
D	It allows single-band antennas to operate on other bands

48. - E9F05

What is the approximate physical length of a solid polyethylene dielectric coaxial transmission line that is electrically 1/4 wavelength long at 14.1 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	3.5 meters
B	4.3 meters
C	10.6 meters
D	5.3 meters

49. - E9G05

Which of the following is a common use for a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Determine the length and position of an impedance matching stub
B	Determine the impedance of a transmission line, given the physical dimensions
C	Determine the loss/100 feet of a transmission line, given the velocity factor and conductor materials
D	Determine the gain of an antenna given the physical and electrical parameters

50. - E9H01

When constructing a Beverage antenna, which of the following factors should be included in the design to achieve good performance at the desired frequency?

Select	Answer
A	It should be configured as a four-sided loop
B	It must be mounted more than 1 wavelength above ground
C	It should be one or more wavelengths long
D	Its overall length must not exceed 1/4 wavelength

Figure E9-1