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

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1. - E0A03

Over what range of frequencies are the FCC human body RF exposure limits most restrictive?

Select	Answer
A	3 to 30 MHz
B	300 kHz to 3 MHz
C	30 to 300 MHz
D	300 to 3000 MHz

2. - E1A05

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

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

3. - E1B12

What must the control operator of a repeater operating in the 70 cm band do if a radiolocation system experiences interference from that repeater?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	Reduce the repeater antenna HAAT (Height Above Average Terrain)
C	Cease operation or make changes to the repeater to mitigate the interference
D	File an FAA NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) with the repeater system's ERP, call sign, and six-character grid locator

4. - E1C06

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 append "/CEPT" to your call sign
B	You must bring a copy of FCC Public Notice DA 16-1048
C	The U.S. embassy must approve of your operation
D	You must identify in the official language of the country in which you are operating

5. - E1D01

What is the definition of telemetry?

Select	Answer
A	Two-way transmissions of data
B	One-way transmission of measurements at a distance from the measuring instrument
C	Two-way transmissions in excess of 1000 feet
D	One-way transmission that initiates, modifies, or terminates the functions of a device at a distance

6. - E1E10

What must the administering VEs do after the administration of a successful examination for an amateur operator license?

Select	Answer
A	They must collect and send the documents to the NCVEC for grading
B	They must submit the application document to the coordinating VEC according to the coordinating VEC instructions
C	They must collect and send the documents to the FCC according to instructions
D	They must collect and submit the documents to the coordinating VEC for grading

7. - E1F07

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

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

8. - E2A13

Which of the following techniques is normally used by low Earth orbiting digital satellites to relay messages around the world?

Select	Answer
A	Multi-satellite relaying
B	Node hopping
C	Digipeating
D	Store-and-forward

9. - E2B12

What signals SSTV receiving software to begin a new picture line?

Select	Answer
A	Specific tone amplitudes
B	Specific tone frequencies
C	A two-tone signal
D	Elapsed time

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	At the top of each band, usually in a segment reserved for contests
C	In the middle of each band, usually on the national calling frequency
D	In the middle of the band, usually 25 kHz above the national calling frequency

11. - E2D07

What digital protocol is used by APRS?

Select	Answer
A	AX.25
B	PACTOR
C	802.11
D	AMTOR

12. - E2E03

How is the timing of FT4 contacts organized?

Select	Answer
A	By exchanging ACK/NAK packets
B	Alternating transmissions at 7.5 second intervals
C	It depends on the lunar phase
D	Stations take turns on alternate days

13. - E3A03

When scheduling EME contacts, which of these conditions will generally result in the least path loss?

Select	Answer
A	When the moon is full
B	When the MUF is above 30 MHz
C	When the moon is at perigee
D	When the moon is at apogee

14. - E3B03

What is the best time of day for transequatorial propagation?

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

15. - E3C12

How does the maximum range of ground-wave propagation change when the signal frequency is increased?

Select	Answer
A	It peaks at roughly 14 MHz
B	It stays the same
C	It decreases
D	It increases

16. - E4A10

Which of the following displays multiple digital signal states simultaneously?

Select	Answer
A	Logic analyzer
B	Network analyzer
C	Modulation monitor
D	Bit error rate tester

17. - E4B11

Which of the following can be measured with a vector network analyzer?

Select	Answer
A	Output impedance
B	Reflection coefficient
C	All these choices are correct
D	Input impedance

18. - E4C11

Why can an attenuator be used to reduce receiver overload on the lower frequency HF bands with little or no impact on signal-to-noise ratio?

Select	Answer
A	Signals are attenuated separately from the noise
B	The attenuator has a low-pass filter to increase the strength of lower frequency signals
C	The attenuator has a noise filter to suppress interference
D	Atmospheric noise is generally greater than internally generated noise even after attenuation

19. - E4D09

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

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

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	You are receiving skywave signals from a distant station
D	One or more of the broadcast stations is transmitting an over-modulated signal

21. - E5A04

What is the magnitude of the impedance of a parallel RLC circuit at resonance?

Select	Answer
A	Approximately equal to circuit resistance
B	Approximately equal to inductive reactance
C	Low compared to the circuit resistance
D	High compared to the circuit resistance

22. - E5B02

What letter is commonly used to represent susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	G
B	Y
C	B
D	X

23. - 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	Faraday grid
B	Elliptical coordinates
C	Polar coordinates
D	Maidenhead grid

24. - E5D03

What is microstrip?

Select	Answer
A	Lightweight transmission line made of common zip cord
B	Miniature coax used for low power applications
C	Short lengths of coax mounted on printed circuit boards to minimize time delay between microwave circuits
D	Precision printed circuit conductors above a ground plane that provide constant impedance interconnects at microwave frequencies

25. - E6A05

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	They are both low impedance
B	An FET has lower input impedance
C	They are both high impedance
D	An FET has higher input impedance

26. - 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	An internal capacitance that varies with the applied voltage
D	A constant voltage drop under conditions of varying current

27. - E6C09

What is a Programmable Logic Device (PLD)?

Select	Answer
A	A type of transistor whose gain can be changed by digital logic circuits
B	A logic circuit that can be modified during use
C	A programmable collection of logic gates and circuits in a single integrated circuit
D	Programmable equipment used for testing digital logic integrated circuits

28. - E6D02

What is the equivalent circuit of a quartz crystal?

Select	Answer
A	Motional capacitance, motional inductance, loss resistance, and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance all in parallel
B	Motional capacitance, motional inductance, and loss resistance in series, all in parallel with a shunt capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance
C	Motional capacitance, motional inductance, loss resistance, and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance all in series
D	Motional inductance and loss resistance in series, paralleled with motional capacitance and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance

29. - E6E03

Which of the following materials is likely to provide the highest frequency of operation when used in MMICs?

Select	Answer
A	Silicon nitride
B	Gallium nitride
C	Silicon
D	Silicon dioxide

30. - E6F02

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

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

31. - E7A10

What is a truth table?

Select	Answer
A	A list of inputs and corresponding outputs for a digital device
B	A table of logic symbols that indicate the high logic states of an op-amp
C	A table of logic symbols that indicate the logic states of an op-amp
D	A diagram showing logic states when the digital device output is true

32. - E7B06

Which of the following amplifier types reduces even-order harmonics?

Select	Answer
A	Class AB
B	Class C
C	Push-push
D	Push-pull

33. - E7C12

What is one advantage of a Pi-matching network over an L-matching network consisting of a single inductor and a single capacitor?

Select	Answer
A	L-networks cannot perform impedance transformation
B	The Q of Pi-networks can be controlled
C	Pi-networks provide balanced input and output
D	Pi-networks are more stable

34. - E7D05

Which of the following types of linear voltage regulator places a constant load on the unregulated voltage source?

Select	Answer
A	A shunt regulator
B	A series regulator
C	A shunt current source
D	A constant current source

35. - E7E03

What is a frequency discriminator stage in a FM receiver?

Select	Answer
A	A circuit for filtering two closely adjacent signals
B	An FM generator circuit
C	An automatic band-switching circuit
D	A circuit for detecting FM signals

36. - E7F11

What sets the minimum detectable signal level for a direct-sampling SDR receiver in the absence of atmospheric or thermal noise?

Select	Answer
A	Reference voltage level and sample width in bits
B	Data storage transfer rate
C	Missing codes and jitter
D	Sample clock phase noise

37. - E7G04

What is meant by the "op-amp input offset voltage"?

Select	Answer
A	The differential input voltage needed to bring the open loop output voltage to zero
B	The output voltage of the op-amp minus its input voltage
C	The potential between the amplifier input terminals of the op-amp in an open loop condition
D	The difference between the output voltage of the op-amp and the input voltage required in the immediately following stage

38. - E7H11

What are the major spectral impurity components of direct digital synthesizers?

Select	Answer
A	Nyquist limit noise
B	Spurious signals at discrete frequencies
C	Digital conversion noise
D	Broadband noise

39. - E8A01

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

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

40. - E8B04

What is the modulation index of an FM-phone signal having a maximum carrier deviation of plus or minus 6 kHz when modulated with a 2 kHz modulating frequency?

Select	Answer
A	1/3
B	2000
C	6000
D	3

41. - E8C04

What technique minimizes the bandwidth of a PSK31 signal?

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

42. - E8D03

How does the spread spectrum technique of frequency hopping work?

Select	Answer
A	If interference is detected by the receiver it will signal the transmitter to wait until the frequency is clear
B	A binary bit stream is used to shift the phase of an RF carrier very rapidly in a pseudorandom sequence
C	If interference is detected by the receiver it will signal the transmitter to change frequencies
D	The frequency of the transmitted signal is changed very rapidly according to a pseudorandom sequence also used by the receiving station

43. - E9A03

What is the radiation resistance of an antenna?

Select	Answer
A	The value of a resistance that would dissipate the same amount of power as that radiated from an antenna
B	The resistance in the atmosphere that an antenna must overcome to be able to radiate a signal
C	The specific impedance of the antenna
D	The combined losses of the antenna elements and feed line

44. - E9B09

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

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

45. - E9C11

How is the far-field elevation pattern of a vertically polarized antenna affected by being mounted over seawater versus soil?

Select	Answer
A	Fewer vertical angle lobes will be present
B	The low-angle radiation decreases
C	Additional higher vertical angle lobes will appear
D	The low-angle radiation increases

46. - E9D10

What happens to feed-point impedance at the base of a fixed length HF mobile antenna when operated below its resonant frequency?

Select	Answer
A	The radiation resistance decreases and the capacitive reactance increases
B	The radiation resistance increases and the capacitive reactance decreases
C	The radiation resistance increases and the capacitive reactance increases
D	The radiation resistance decreases and the capacitive reactance decreases

47. - E9E11

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

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

48. - E9F12

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

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

49. - E9G05

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

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

50. - E9H11

What feature of a cardioid pattern antenna makes it useful for direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	A very sharp peak
B	A very sharp single null
C	High radiation angle
D	Broadband response