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	300 to 3000 MHz
B	3 to 30 MHz
C	300 kHz to 3 MHz
D	30 to 300 MHz

2. - E1A04

With your transceiver displaying the carrier frequency of phone signals, you hear a DX station calling CQ on 3.601 MHz LSB. Is it legal to return the call using lower sideband on the same frequency?

Select	Answer
A	Yes, because the DX station initiated the contact
B	No, U.S. stations are not permitted to use phone emissions below 3.610 MHz
C	Yes, because the displayed frequency is within the 75 meter phone band segment
D	No, the sideband will extend beyond the edge of the phone band segment

3. - E1B01

Which of the following constitutes a spurious emission?

Select	Answer
A	A signal transmitted to prevent its detection by any station other than the intended recipient
B	An amateur station transmission made without the proper call sign identification
C	Any transmitted signal that unintentionally interferes with another licensed radio station
D	An emission outside the signal's necessary bandwidth that can be reduced or eliminated without affecting the information transmitted

4. - E1C13

What notifications must be given before transmitting on the 630 meter or 2200 meter bands?

Select	Answer
A	A special endorsement must be requested from the FCC
B	Operators must inform the Utilities Technology Council (UTC) of their call sign and coordinates of the station
C	An environmental impact statement must be filed with the Department of the Interior
D	Operators must inform the FAA of their intent to operate, giving their call sign and distance to the nearest runway

5. - E1D08

Which VHF amateur bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?

Select	Answer
A	6 meters, 2 meters, and 1.25 meters
B	2 meters
C	2 meters and 1.25 meters
D	6 meters and 2 meters

6. - E1E09

What may be the penalty for a VE who fraudulently administers or certifies an examination?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	A sentence of up to one year in prison
C	A fine of up to $1000 per occurrence
D	Revocation of the VE's amateur station license grant and the suspension of the VE's amateur operator license grant

7. - E1F05

Amateur stations may not transmit in which of the following frequency segments if they are located in the contiguous 48 states and north of Line A?

Select	Answer
A	53 MHz - 54 MHz
B	222 MHz - 223 MHz
C	440 MHz - 450 MHz
D	420 MHz - 430 MHz

8. - E2A12

What is the purpose of digital store-and-forward functions on an amateur radio satellite?

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

9. - E2B06

What is vestigial sideband modulation?

Select	Answer
A	Spread spectrum modulation achieved by applying FM modulation following single sideband amplitude modulation
B	Amplitude modulation in which one complete sideband and a portion of the other are transmitted
C	Narrow-band FM modulation achieved by filtering one sideband from the audio before frequency modulating the carrier
D	A type of modulation in which one sideband is inverted

10. - E2C04

Which of the following frequencies are sometimes used for amateur radio mesh networks?

Select	Answer
A	The 60 meter band channel centered on 5373 kHz
B	Cable TV channels 41 through 43
C	Frequencies shared with various unlicensed wireless data services
D	HF frequencies where digital communications are permitted

11. - E2D03

Which of the following digital modes is especially useful for EME communications?

Select	Answer
A	PACTOR III
B	Olivia
C	JT65
D	MSK144

12. - E2E02

What do the letters FEC mean as they relate to digital operation?

Select	Answer
A	Fatal Error Correction
B	Forward Error Correction
C	Final Error Correction
D	First Error Correction

13. - E3A10

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

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

14. - E3B06

Which of the following amateur bands most frequently provides long-path propagation?

Select	Answer
A	20 meters
B	6 meters
C	80 meters
D	10 meters

15. - E3C08

What does the space weather term G5 mean?

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

16. - E4A10

Which of the following displays multiple digital signal states simultaneously?

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

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. - E4C05

What does a receiver noise floor of -174 dBm represent?

Select	Answer
A	The galactic noise contribution to minimum detectable signal
B	The noise figure of a 1 Hz bandwidth receiver
C	The minimum detectable signal as a function of receive frequency
D	The theoretical noise in a 1 Hz bandwidth at the input of a perfect receiver at room temperature

19. - E4D06

What is the term for spurious signals generated by the combination of two or more signals in a non-linear device or circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Intermodulation
B	Neutralization
C	Adjacent channel interference
D	Amplifier desensitization

20. - E4E05

How can radio frequency interference from an AC motor be suppressed?

Select	Answer
A	By installing a brute-force AC-line filter in series with the motor leads
B	By installing a bypass capacitor in series with the motor leads
C	By using a ground-fault current interrupter in the circuit used to power the motor
D	By installing a high-pass filter in series with the motor's power leads

21. - E5A16

What is the resonant frequency of an RLC circuit if R is 33 ohms, L is 50 microhenries and C is 10 picofarads?

Select	Answer
A	23.5 kHz
B	7.12 kHz
C	7.12 MHz
D	23.5 MHz

22. - E5B01

What is the term for the time required for the capacitor in an RC circuit to be charged to 63.2% of the applied voltage or to discharge to 36.8% of its initial voltage?

Select	Answer
A	One exponential period
B	An exponential rate of one
C	A time factor of one
D	One time constant

23. - E5C12

Which point on Figure E5-1 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 300-ohm resistor and a 19-picofarad capacitor at 21.200 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	Point 7
B	Point 8
C	Point 3
D	Point 1

24. - E5D07

How many watts are consumed in a circuit having a power factor of 0.71 if the apparent power is 500VA?

Select	Answer
A	252 W
B	355 W
C	1.42 mW
D	704 W

25. - E6A01

In what application is gallium arsenide used as a semiconductor material?

Select	Answer
A	In high-power audio circuits
B	In high-current rectifier circuits
C	In microwave circuits
D	In very low-frequency RF circuits

26. - E6B07

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

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

27. - E6C07

What best describes a pull-up or pull-down resistor?

Select	Answer
A	A resistor in a keying circuit used to reduce key clicks
B	A resistor connected to an op-amp output that prevents signals from exceeding the power supply voltage
C	A resistor connected to the positive or negative supply line used to establish a voltage when an input or output is an open circuit
D	A resistor that ensures that an oscillator frequency does not drift

28. - E6D07

What is current in the primary winding of a transformer called if no load is attached to the secondary?

Select	Answer
A	Stabilizing current
B	Excitation current
C	Magnetizing current
D	Direct current

29. - E6E02

Which of the following device packages is a through-hole type?

Select	Answer
A	DIP
B	PLCC
C	SOT
D	Ball grid array

30. - E6F04

What is the photovoltaic effect?

Select	Answer
A	The conversion of light to electrical energy
B	The conversion of voltage to current when exposed to light
C	The conversion of electrical energy to mechanical energy
D	The tendency of a battery to discharge when exposed to light

31. - E7A08

What logical operation does an OR gate perform?

Select	Answer
A	It produces logic 0 at its output if all inputs are logic 1
B	It produces logic 1 at its output if all inputs are logic 0
C	It only produces logic 0 at its output when all inputs are logic 1
D	It produces logic 1 at its output if any or all inputs are logic 1

32. - E7B06

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

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

33. - E7C05

Which filter type is described as having ripple in the passband and a sharp cutoff?

Select	Answer
A	A passive op-amp filter
B	An active LC filter
C	A Chebyshev filter
D	A Butterworth filter

34. - E7D01

How does a linear electronic voltage regulator work?

Select	Answer
A	The control element duty cycle is proportional to the line or load conditions
B	It eliminates the need for a pass transistor
C	The conduction of a control element is varied to maintain a constant output voltage
D	It has a ramp voltage as its output

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 higher efficiency
D	For compatibility with transmitters using phase modulation

36. - E7F07

What function is performed by a Fast Fourier Transform?

Select	Answer
A	Converting digital signals from the time domain to the frequency domain
B	Converting digital signals to analog form
C	Converting 8-bit data to 16-bit data
D	Converting analog signals to digital form

37. - E7G05

How can unwanted ringing and audio instability be prevented in an op-amp RC audio filter circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Restrict gain but increase Q
B	Restrict both gain and Q
C	Increase both gain and Q
D	Restrict Q but increase gain

38. - E7H11

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

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

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	8
C	256 divided by the gain of the input amplifier
D	8 multiplied by the gain of the input amplifier

40. - E8B10

What is frequency division multiplexing?

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

41. - E8C04

What technique minimizes the bandwidth of a PSK31 signal?

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

42. - E8D07

What is a common cause of overmodulation of AFSK signals?

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

43. - E9A06

What is the effective radiated power relative to a dipole of a repeater station with 200 watts transmitter power output, 4 dB feed line loss, 3.2 dB duplexer loss, 0.8 dB circulator loss, and 10 dBd antenna gain?

Select	Answer
A	126 watts
B	2000 watts
C	300 watts
D	317 watts

44. - E9B02

In the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-1, what is the front-to-back ratio?

Select	Answer
A	36 dB
B	18 dB
C	24 dB
D	14 dB

45. - E9C10

Which of the following describes a Zepp antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A dipole constructed from zip cord
B	An omni-directional antenna commonly used for satellite communications
C	An end-fed dipole antenna
D	A vertical array capable of quickly changing the direction of maximum radiation by changing phasing lines

46. - E9D11

Which of the following conductors would be best for minimizing losses in a station's RF ground system?

Select	Answer
A	Stranded wire
B	Solid wire
C	Wide flat copper strap
D	Resistive wire, such as spark plug wire

47. - E9E05

How must an antenna's driven element be tuned to use a hairpin matching system?

Select	Answer
A	The driven element resonance must be lower than the operating frequency
B	The driven element reactance must be capacitive
C	The driven element reactance must be inductive
D	The driven element radiation resistance must be higher than the characteristic impedance of the transmission line

48. - E9F02

Which of the following has the biggest effect on the velocity factor of a transmission line?

Select	Answer
A	The termination impedance
B	The center conductor resistivity
C	The line length
D	Dielectric materials used in the line

49. - E9G07

On the Smith chart shown in Figure E9-3, what is the only straight line shown?

Select	Answer
A	The resistance axis
B	The current axis
C	The voltage axis
D	The reactance axis

50. - E9H03

What is Receiving Directivity Factor (RDF)?

Select	Answer
A	Relative directivity compared to isotropic
B	Relative directivity compared to a dipole
C	Forward gain compared to average gain over the entire hemisphere
D	Forward gain compared to the gain in the reverse direction

Figure E5-1

Figure E9-1

Figure E9-3