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

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1. - E0A04

When evaluating a site with multiple transmitters operating at the same time, the operators and licensees of which transmitters are responsible for mitigating over-exposure situations?

Select	Answer
A	Each transmitter operating with a duty cycle greater than 50 percent
B	Only the most powerful transmitter
C	Only commercial transmitters
D	Each transmitter that produces 5 percent or more of its MPE limit in areas where the total MPE limit is exceeded.

2. - E1A06

Where must the carrier frequency of a CW signal be set to comply with FCC rules for 60 meter operation?

Select	Answer
A	At the highest frequency of the channel
B	At the center frequency of the channel
C	On any frequency where the signal's sidebands are within the channel
D	At the lowest frequency of the channel

3. - E1B05

What is the National Radio Quiet Zone?

Select	Answer
A	An area surrounding the National Radio Astronomy Observatory
B	An area in Puerto Rico surrounding the Arecibo Radio Telescope
C	An area in Florida surrounding Cape Canaveral
D	An area in New Mexico surrounding the White Sands Test Area

4. - E1C08

What is the maximum permissible duration of a remotely controlled station's transmissions if its control link malfunctions?

Select	Answer
A	5 minutes
B	3 minutes
C	30 seconds
D	10 minutes

5. - E1D02

Which of the following may transmit special codes intended to obscure the meaning of messages?

Select	Answer
A	Auxiliary relay links carrying repeater audio
B	Telecommand signals from a space telecommand station
C	Binary control characters
D	Data containing personal information

6. - E1E01

For which types of out-of-pocket expenses do the Part 97 rules state that VEs and VECs may be reimbursed?

Select	Answer
A	Providing amateur operator license examination preparation training materials
B	Preparing, processing, administering, and coordinating an examination for an amateur radio operator license
C	No expenses are authorized for reimbursement
D	Teaching an amateur operator license examination preparation course

7. - E1F08

Which of the following types of amateur station communications are prohibited?

Select	Answer
A	Communications that have religious content
B	Communications transmitted for hire or material compensation, except as otherwise provided in the rules
C	Communications that have political content, except as allowed by the Fairness Doctrine
D	Communications in a language other than English

8. - E2A01

What is the direction of an ascending pass for an amateur satellite?

Select	Answer
A	From east to west
B	From north to south
C	From west to east
D	From south to north

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

10. - E2C08

Which of the following contacts may be confirmed through the U.S. QSL bureau system?

Select	Answer
A	Repeater contacts between U.S. club members
B	Contacts using tactical call signs
C	Contacts between a U.S. station and a non-U.S. station
D	Special event contacts between stations in the U.S.

11. - E2D11

Which of the following data are used by the APRS network to communicate station location?

Select	Answer
A	Radio direction finding spectrum analysis
B	Polar coordinates
C	Time and frequency
D	Latitude and longitude

12. - E2E06

What is the most common data rate used for HF packet?

Select	Answer
A	1200 baud
B	48 baud
C	110 baud
D	300 baud

13. - E3A09

Which of the following frequency ranges is most suited for meteor scatter communications?

Select	Answer
A	10 MHz - 14 MHz
B	1.8 MHz - 1.9 MHz
C	28 MHz - 148 MHz
D	220 MHz - 450 MHz

14. - E3B04

What is meant by the terms "extraordinary" and "ordinary" waves?

Select	Answer
A	Extraordinary waves describe rare long-skip propagation compared to ordinary waves, which travel shorter distances
B	Refracted rays and reflected waves
C	Independent waves created in the ionosphere that are elliptically polarized
D	Long-path and short-path waves

15. - E3C06

By how much does the VHF/UHF radio horizon distance exceed the geometric horizon?

Select	Answer
A	By approximately 15 percent of the distance
B	By approximately twice the distance
C	By approximately 50 percent of the distance
D	By approximately four times the distance

16. - E4A09

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

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

17. - E4B03

Which S parameter is equivalent to forward gain?

Select	Answer
A	S11
B	S12
C	S21
D	S22

18. - E4C07

What does the MDS of a receiver represent?

Select	Answer
A	The maximum detectable spectrum
B	The meter display sensitivity
C	The multiplex distortion stability
D	The minimum discernible signal

19. - E4D11

Why are odd-order intermodulation products, created within a receiver, of particular interest compared to other products?

Select	Answer
A	Odd-order intermodulation produces three products for every input signal within the band of interest
B	Odd-order products overload the IF filters
C	Odd-order products of two signals in the band of interest are also likely to be within the band
D	Odd-order products are an indication of poor image rejection

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

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	Resistance
C	Resonance
D	Conductance

22. - E5B11

What is the phase angle between the voltage across and the current through a series RLC circuit if XC is 25 ohms, R is 100 ohms, and XL is 50 ohms?

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

23. - E5C04

What coordinate system is often used to display the resistive, inductive, and/or capacitive reactance components of impedance?

Select	Answer
A	Rectangular coordinates
B	Elliptical coordinates
C	Faraday grid
D	Maidenhead grid

24. - E5D15

What is the power factor of an RL circuit having a 45-degree phase angle between the voltage and the current?

Select	Answer
A	0.866
B	0.707
C	1.0
D	0.5

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	Excess holes in P-type material combine with the electrons in N-type material, converting the entire diode into an insulator
C	Only N-type semiconductor material can conduct current
D	Holes in P-type material and electrons in the N-type material are separated by the applied voltage, widening the depletion region

26. - E6B09

What is a common use for point-contact diodes?

Select	Answer
A	As an RF detector
B	As a high-voltage rectifier
C	As a constant voltage source
D	As a constant current source

27. - E6C08

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

Select	Answer
A	1
B	3
C	2
D	4

28. - E6D11

Which type of core material decreases inductance when inserted into a coil?

Select	Answer
A	Powdered iron
B	Brass
C	Ferrite
D	Ceramic

29. - E6E03

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

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

30. - E6F05

Which describes an optical shaft encoder?

Select	Answer
A	A device for generating RTTY signals by means of a rotating light source
B	A device that detects rotation of a control by interrupting a light source with a patterned wheel
C	A device that measures the strength of a beam of light using analog to digital conversion
D	A digital encryption device often used to encrypt spacecraft control signals

31. - E7A07

What logical operation does a NAND gate perform?

Select	Answer
A	It produces logic 0 at its output only when all inputs are logic 0
B	It produces logic 0 at its output if some but not all inputs are logic 1
C	It produces logic 1 at its output only when all inputs are logic 1
D	It produces logic 0 at its output only when all inputs are logic 1

32. - E7B09

Which of the following describes how the loading and tuning capacitors are to be adjusted when tuning a vacuum tube RF power amplifier that employs a Pi-network output circuit?

Select	Answer
A	The tuning capacitor is adjusted for minimum plate current, and the loading capacitor is adjusted for maximum permissible plate current
B	The loading capacitor is set to maximum capacitance and the tuning capacitor is adjusted for minimum allowable plate current
C	The tuning capacitor is set to maximum capacitance and the loading capacitor is adjusted for minimum plate permissible current
D	The loading capacitor is adjusted to minimum plate current while alternately adjusting the tuning capacitor for maximum allowable plate current

33. - E7C07

Which describes a Pi-L-network used for matching a vacuum tube final amplifier to a 50-ohm unbalanced output?

Select	Answer
A	A Pi-network with an additional series inductor on the output
B	A network with only three discrete parts
C	A matching network in which all components are isolated from ground
D	A Phase Inverter Load network

34. - E7D02

What is a characteristic of a switching electronic voltage regulator?

Select	Answer
A	It gives a ramp voltage at its output
B	The resistance of a control element is varied in direct proportion to the line voltage or load current
C	The controlled device's duty cycle is changed to produce a constant average output voltage
D	It is generally less efficient than a linear regulator

35. - E7E06

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

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

36. - E7F01

What is meant by direct digital conversion as applied to software defined radios?

Select	Answer
A	Incoming RF is digitized by an analog-to-digital converter without being mixed with a local oscillator signal
B	Software is converted from source code to object code during operation of the receiver
C	A switching mixer is used to generate I and Q signals directly from the RF input
D	Incoming RF is converted to a control voltage for a voltage controlled oscillator

37. - E7G03

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

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

38. - E7H05

How is positive feedback supplied in a Pierce oscillator?

Select	Answer
A	Through link coupling
B	Through a neutralizing capacitor
C	Through a tapped coil
D	Through a quartz crystal

39. - E8A02

Which of the following is a type of analog-to-digital conversion?

Select	Answer
A	Successive approximation
B	Level shifting
C	Phase reversal
D	Harmonic regeneration

40. - E8B09

What is deviation ratio?

Select	Answer
A	The ratio of the audio modulating frequency to the center carrier frequency
B	The ratio of the carrier center frequency to the audio modulating frequency
C	The ratio of the highest audio modulating frequency to the average audio modulating frequency
D	The ratio of the maximum carrier frequency deviation to the highest audio modulating frequency

41. - E8C01

How is Forward Error Correction implemented?

Select	Answer
A	By transmitting extra data that may be used to detect and correct transmission errors
B	By the receiving station repeating each block of three data characters
C	By varying the frequency shift of the transmitted signal according to a predefined algorithm
D	By transmitting a special algorithm to the receiving station along with the data characters

42. - E8D07

What is a common cause of overmodulation of AFSK signals?

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

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	78.7 watts
B	1977 watts
C	420 watts
D	286 watts

44. - E9B04

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

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

45. - E9C12

Which of the following describes an Extended Double Zepp antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A wideband vertical antenna constructed from precisely tapered aluminum tubing
B	A portable antenna erected using two push support poles
C	An end-fed folded dipole antenna
D	A center-fed 1.25-wavelength antenna (two 5/8-wave elements in phase)

46. - E9D03

Where should a high Q loading coil be placed to minimize losses in a shortened vertical antenna?

Select	Answer
A	At a voltage node
B	Near the center of the vertical radiator
C	As close to the transmitter as possible
D	As low as possible on the vertical radiator

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 allows single-band antennas to operate on other bands
D	It ensures that each driven element operates in concert with the others to create the desired antenna pattern

48. - E9F03

Why is the physical length of a coaxial cable transmission line shorter than its electrical length?

Select	Answer
A	The characteristic impedance is higher in a parallel feed line
B	Electrical signals move more slowly in a coaxial cable than in air
C	The surge impedance is higher in a parallel feed line
D	Skin effect is less pronounced in the coaxial cable

49. - E9G05

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

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

50. - E9H05

What is the main drawback of a small wire-loop antenna for direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	It is practical for use only on VHF and higher bands
B	It has no clearly defined null
C	All these choices are correct
D	It has a bidirectional pattern

Figure E6-3