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

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1. - E0A05

What is one of the potential hazards of operating in the amateur radio microwave bands?

Select	Answer
A	Microwaves are ionizing radiation
B	Microwaves often travel long distances by ionospheric reflection
C	The high gain antennas commonly used can result in high exposure levels
D	The extremely high frequency energy can damage the joints of antenna structures

2. - E1A11

Which of the following describes authorization or licensing required when operating an amateur station aboard a U.S.-registered vessel in international waters?

Select	Answer
A	Any FCC-issued amateur license
B	Any amateur license with an FCC Marine or Aircraft endorsement
C	An unrestricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit
D	Only General Class or higher amateur licenses

3. - E1B07

To what type of regulations does PRB-1 apply?

Select	Answer
A	Homeowners associations
B	Use of wireless devices in vehicles
C	FAA tower height limits
D	State and local zoning

4. - E1C12

On what portion of the 630 meter band are phone emissions permitted?

Select	Answer
A	Only the top 3 kHz
B	None
C	The entire band
D	Only the bottom 3 kHz

5. - E1D03

What is a space telecommand station?

Select	Answer
A	An amateur station located in a satellite or a balloon more than 50 kilometers above the surface of the Earth
B	An amateur station located on the surface of the Earth for communication with other Earth stations by means of Earth satellites
C	An amateur station that transmits communications to initiate, modify or terminate functions of a space station
D	An amateur station that receives telemetry from a satellite or balloon more than 50 kilometers above the surface of the Earth

6. - E1E08

To which of the following examinees may a VE not administer an examination?

Select	Answer
A	Relatives of the VE as listed in the FCC rules
B	Friends of the VE
C	All these choices are correct
D	Employees of the VE

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 420 MHz
D	Only on amateur frequencies above 144 MHz

8. - E2A11

What type of antenna can be used to minimize the effects of spin modulation and Faraday rotation?

Select	Answer
A	A log-periodic dipole array
B	A circularly polarized antenna
C	A linearly polarized antenna
D	An isotropic antenna

9. - E2B08

What technique allows commercial analog TV receivers to be used for fast-scan TV operations on the 70 cm band?

Select	Answer
A	Using converted satellite TV dishes
B	Transmitting on the abandoned TV channel 2
C	Transmitting on channels shared with cable TV
D	Using USB and demodulating the signal with a computer sound card

10. - E2C12

What technique do individual nodes use to form a mesh network?

Select	Answer
A	Discovery and link establishment protocols
B	Forward error correction and Viterbi codes
C	Custom code plugs for the local trunking systems
D	Acting as store-and-forward digipeaters

11. - E2D10

How can an APRS station be used to help support a public service communications activity?

Select	Answer
A	An APRS station with a Global Positioning System unit can automatically transmit information to show a mobile station's position during the event
B	An APRS station with an emergency medical technician can automatically transmit medical data to the nearest hospital
C	APRS stations with General Personnel Scanners can automatically relay the participant numbers and time as they pass the check points
D	All these choices are correct

12. - E2E01

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

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

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

14. - E3B10

Why is chordal hop propagation desirable?

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

15. - E3C15

What might be indicated by a sudden rise in radio background noise across a large portion of the HF spectrum?

Select	Answer
A	Long-path propagation is likely
B	A solar flare has occurred
C	Increased transequatorial propagation is likely
D	A temperature inversion has occurred

16. - E4A11

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

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

17. - E4B11

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

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

18. - E4C06

A CW receiver with the AGC off has an equivalent input noise power density of -174 dBm/Hz. What would be the level of an unmodulated carrier input to this receiver that would yield an audio output SNR of 0 dB in a 400 Hz noise bandwidth?

Select	Answer
A	-164 dBm
B	-155 dBm
C	-148 dBm
D	-174 dBm

19. - E4D03

How can intermodulation interference between two repeaters occur?

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

20. - E4E10

What might be the cause of a loud roaring or buzzing AC line interference that comes and goes at intervals?

Select	Answer
A	A malfunctioning illuminated advertising display
B	A defective doorbell or doorbell transformer inside a nearby residence
C	Arcing contacts in a thermostatically controlled device
D	All these choices are correct

21. - E5A05

What is the result of increasing the Q of an impedance-matching circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Matching bandwidth is decreased
B	Matching bandwidth is increased
C	It has no effect on impedance matching
D	Matching range is increased

22. - E5B04

What is the time constant of a circuit having two 220-microfarad capacitors and two 1-megohm resistors, all in parallel?

Select	Answer
A	110 seconds
B	440 seconds
C	220 seconds
D	55 seconds

23. - E5C10

Which point on Figure E5-1 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 400-ohm resistor and a 38-picofarad capacitor at 14 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	Point 6
B	Point 4
C	Point 5
D	Point 2

24. - E5D01

What is the result of skin effect?

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

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

26. - E6B03

What type of bias is required for an LED to emit light?

Select	Answer
A	Reverse bias
B	Zero bias
C	Inductive bias
D	Forward bias

27. - E6C08

In Figure E6-3, what is the schematic symbol for a NAND gate?

Select	Answer
A	1
B	2
C	3
D	4

28. - E6D08

What is one reason for using powdered-iron cores rather than ferrite cores in an inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Powdered-iron cores generally have greater initial permeability
B	Powdered-iron cores use smaller diameter wire for the same inductance
C	Powdered-iron cores generally require fewer turns to produce a given inductance
D	Powdered-iron cores generally maintain their characteristics at higher currents

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. - E6F03

What is the most common configuration of an optoisolator or optocoupler?

Select	Answer
A	An amplitude modulated helium-neon laser
B	An LED and a phototransistor
C	A lens and a photomultiplier
D	A frequency modulated helium-neon laser

31. - E7A10

What is a truth table?

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

32. - E7B05

What can be done to prevent unwanted oscillations in an RF power amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	Use a phase inverter in the output filter
B	Install parasitic suppressors and/or neutralize the stage
C	Tune both the input and output for maximum power
D	Tune the stage for maximum SWR

33. - E7C06

What are the distinguishing features of an elliptical filter?

Select	Answer
A	Gradual passband rolloff with extreme stop band ripple
B	Extremely flat response over its pass band with gradually rounded stop band corners
C	Gradual passband rolloff with minimal stop band ripple
D	Extremely sharp cutoff with one or more notches in the stop band

34. - E7D06

What is the purpose of Q1 in the circuit shown in Figure E7-2?

Select	Answer
A	It provides negative feedback to improve regulation
B	It provides D1 with current
C	It controls the current supplied to the load
D	It provides a constant load for the voltage source

35. - E7E04

What is one way a single-sideband phone signal can be generated?

Select	Answer
A	By using a reactance modulator followed by a mixer
B	By using a loop modulator followed by a mixer
C	By using a balanced modulator followed by a filter
D	By driving a product detector with a DSB signal

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. - E7G10

What absolute voltage gain can be expected from the circuit in Figure E7-3 when R1 is 1800 ohms and RF is 68 kilohms?

Select	Answer
A	0.03
B	1
C	76
D	38

38. - E7H02

What is a microphonic?

Select	Answer
A	An IC used for amplifying microphone signals
B	Distortion caused by RF pickup on the microphone cable
C	Excess loading of the microphone by an oscillator
D	Changes in oscillator frequency due to mechanical vibration

39. - E8A05

What of the following instruments would be the most accurate for measuring the RMS voltage of a complex waveform?

Select	Answer
A	An absorption wave meter
B	A D'Arsonval meter
C	A grid dip meter
D	A true-RMS calculating meter

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	3
B	1/3
C	6000
D	2000

41. - E8C06

What is the bandwidth of a 170-hertz shift, 300-baud ASCII transmission?

Select	Answer
A	0.1 Hz
B	0.3 kHz
C	1.0 kHz
D	0.5 kHz

42. - E8D04

What is the primary effect of extremely short rise or fall time on a CW signal?

Select	Answer
A	Limits data speed
B	The generation of RF harmonics
C	More difficult to copy
D	The generation of key clicks

43. - E9A09

What is antenna efficiency?

Select	Answer
A	Total resistance divided by radiation resistance
B	Radiation resistance divided by transmission resistance
C	Radiation resistance divided by total resistance
D	Effective radiated power divided by transmitter output

44. - E9B04

What is the front-to-back ratio of the radiation pattern shown in Figure E92?

Select	Answer
A	15 dB
B	3 dB
C	38 dB
D	28 dB

45. - E9C07

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

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

46. - E9D08

What happens as the Q of an antenna increases?

Select	Answer
A	SWR bandwidth decreases
B	Gain is reduced
C	SWR bandwidth increases
D	More common-mode current is present on the feed line

47. - E9E04

What is the purpose of the series capacitor in a gamma-type antenna matching network?

Select	Answer
A	To transform the antenna impedance to a higher value
B	To provide DC isolation between the feed line and the antenna
C	To provide a rejection notch that prevents the radiation of harmonics
D	To cancel the inductive reactance of the matching network

48. - E9F04

What impedance does a 1/2-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 line
C	Very high impedance
D	The same as the output impedance of the generator

49. - E9G11

How are the wavelength scales on a Smith chart calibrated?

Select	Answer
A	In fractions of antenna electrical wavelength
B	In fractions of transmission line electrical frequency
C	In fractions of transmission line electrical wavelength
D	In fractions of antenna electrical frequency

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 should be one or more wavelengths long
C	Its overall length must not exceed 1/4 wavelength
D	It must be mounted more than 1 wavelength above ground

Figure E5-1

Figure E6-3

Figure E7-2

Figure E7-3