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

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1. - E0A01

What is the primary function of an external earth connection or ground rod?

Select	Answer
A	Lightning protection
B	Reduce received noise
C	Reduce RFI to telephones and home entertainment systems
D	Reduce RF current flow between pieces of equipment

2. - E1A10

If an amateur station is installed aboard a ship or aircraft, what condition must be met before the station is operated?

Select	Answer
A	The amateur station operator must agree not to transmit when the main radio of the ship or aircraft is in use
B	Its operation must be approved by the master of the ship or the pilot in command of the aircraft
C	The amateur operator must have an FCC Marine or Aircraft endorsement on his or her amateur license
D	The amateur station must have a power supply that is completely independent of the main ship or aircraft power supply

3. - E1B06

Which of the following additional rules apply if you are installing an amateur station antenna at a site at or near a public use airport?

Select	Answer
A	You may have to notify the Federal Aviation Administration and register it with the FCC as required by Part 17 of the FCC rules
B	You must file an Environmental Impact Statement with the EPA before construction begins
C	You must obtain a construction permit from the airport zoning authority
D	You must submit engineering drawings to the FAA

4. - E1C09

What is the highest modulation index permitted at the highest modulation frequency for angle modulation below 29.0 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	2.0
B	3.0
C	0.5
D	1.0

5. - E1D06

What is the maximum permitted transmitter output power when operating a model craft by telecommand?

Select	Answer
A	1 watt
B	100 watts
C	2 watts
D	5 watts

6. - E1E11

What must the VE team do if an examinee scores a passing grade on all examination elements needed for an upgrade or new license?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	Three VEs must certify that the examinee is qualified for the license grant and that they have complied with the administering VE requirements
C	Issue the examinee the new or upgrade license
D	Photocopy all examination documents and forward them to the FCC for processing

7. - E1F06

Under what circumstances might the FCC issue a Special Temporary Authority (STA) to an amateur station?

Select	Answer
A	To provide temporary operation while awaiting normal licensing
B	To provide for experimental amateur communications
C	To provide additional spectrum for personal use
D	To allow regular operation on Land Mobile channels

8. - E2A01

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

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

9. - E2B09

What hardware, other than a receiver with SSB capability and a suitable computer, is needed to decode SSTV using Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM)?

Select	Answer
A	A special IF converter
B	No other hardware is needed
C	A special front end limiter
D	A special notch filter to remove synchronization pulses

10. - E2C02

Which of the following best describes the term self-spotting? in connection with HF contest operating?

Select	Answer
A	An automatic method for rapidly zero beating or tuning to a station's frequency before calling that station
B	The often-prohibited practice of posting one's own call sign and frequency on a spotting network
C	A manual technique for rapidly zero beating or tuning to a station's frequency before calling that station
D	The acceptable practice of manually posting the call signs of stations on a spotting network

11. - E2D05

What is one advantage of the JT65 mode?

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

12. - E2E02

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

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

13. - E3A01

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

Select	Answer
A	5000 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	500 miles, if the moon is at perigee

14. - E3B01

What is transequatorial propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Propagation between points at the same latitude
B	Propagation between two mid-latitude points at approximately the same distance north and south of the magnetic equator
C	Propagation between a point on the equator and its antipodal point
D	Propagation between points located on the magnetic equator

15. - E3C09

How does the intensity of an X3 flare compare to that of an X2 flare?

Select	Answer
A	10 percent greater
B	50 percent greater
C	Four times as great
D	Twice as great

16. - E4A03

Which of the following test instruments is used to display spurious signals and/or intermodulation distortion products generated by an SSB transmitter?

Select	Answer
A	A logic analyzer
B	A spectrum analyzer
C	A time-domain reflectometer
D	A wattmeter

17. - E4B08

Which of the following can be used to measure the Q of a series-tuned circuit?

Select	Answer
A	The frequency shift
B	The bandwidth of the circuit's frequency response
C	The inductance to capacitance ratio
D	The resonant frequency of the circuit

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

19. - E4D12

What is the term for the reduction in receiver sensitivity caused by a strong signal near the received frequency?

Select	Answer
A	Cross-modulation interference
B	Squelch gain rollback
C	Desensitization
D	Quieting

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

21. - E5A12

What is the half-power bandwidth of a resonant circuit that has a resonant frequency of 3.7 MHz and a Q of 118?

Select	Answer
A	436.6 kHz
B	15.7 kHz
C	31.4 kHz
D	218.3 kHz

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	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. - E5C02

How are impedances described in polar coordinates?

Select	Answer
A	By phase angle and magnitude
B	By Y and G values
C	By X and R values
D	By real and imaginary parts

24. - E5D06

In what direction is the magnetic field oriented about a conductor in relation to the direction of electron flow?

Select	Answer
A	In a direction opposite to the current
B	In a circle around the conductor
C	In all directions; omni-directional
D	In the same direction as the current

25. - E6A11

In Figure E6-1, what is the schematic symbol for a P-channel junction FET?

Select	Answer
A	2
B	3
C	1
D	6

26. - E6B10

In Figure E6-2, what is the schematic symbol for a light-emitting diode?

Select	Answer
A	7
B	6
C	5
D	1

27. - E6C04

Which of the following is an advantage of BiCMOS logic?

Select	Answer
A	It has the high input impedance of CMOS and the low output impedance of bipolar transistors
B	All these choices are correct
C	Its simplicity results in much less expensive devices than standard CMOS
D	It is immune to electrostatic damage

28. - E6D11

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

Select	Answer
A	Ferrite
B	Ceramic
C	Powdered iron
D	Brass

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	Nearly infinite gain, very high input impedance, and very low output impedance
C	Controlled gain, low noise figure, and constant input and output impedance over the specified frequency range
D	The ability to retrieve information from a single signal even in the presence of other strong signals

30. - E6F02

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

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

31. - E7A07

What logical operation does a NAND gate perform?

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

32. - E7B15

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

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

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	Pi-networks are more stable
C	Pi-networks provide balanced input and output
D	The Q of Pi-networks can be controlled

34. - E7D15

What is the purpose of a step-start circuit in a high-voltage power supply?

Select	Answer
A	To allow for remote control of the power supply
B	To allow the filter capacitors to charge gradually
C	To compensate for variations of the incoming line voltage
D	To provide a dual-voltage output for reduced power applications

35. - E7E10

How does a diode envelope detector function?

Select	Answer
A	By rectification and filtering of RF signals
B	By breakdown of the Zener voltage
C	By sensing the change of reactance in the diode with respect to frequency
D	By mixing signals with noise in the transition region of the diode

36. - E7F06

What is the minimum number of bits required for an analog-to-digital converter to sample a signal with a range of 1 volt at a resolution of 1 millivolt?

Select	Answer
A	4 bits
B	10 bits
C	8 bits
D	6 bits

37. - E7G02

What is ringing in a filter?

Select	Answer
A	Undesired oscillations added to the desired signal
B	Partial cancellation of the signal over a range of frequencies
C	A reduction in high frequency response
D	An echo caused by a long time delay

38. - E7H08

Which of the following components can be used to reduce thermal drift in crystal oscillators?

Select	Answer
A	Non-inductive resistors
B	Toroidal inductors
C	NP0 capacitors
D	Wirewound resistors

39. - E8A07

What determines the PEP-to-average power ratio of a single-sideband phone signal?

Select	Answer
A	The degree of carrier suppression
B	Amplifier gain
C	Speech characteristics
D	The frequency of the modulating signal

40. - E8B08

What describes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing?

Select	Answer
A	A digital modulation technique using subcarriers at frequencies chosen to avoid intersymbol interference
B	A frequency modulation technique that uses non-harmonically related frequencies
C	A digital mode for narrow-band, slow-speed transmissions
D	A bandwidth compression technique using Fourier transforms

41. - E8C05

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

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

42. - E8D04

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

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

43. - E9A01

What is an isotropic antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A grounded antenna used to measure Earth conductivity
B	A theoretical, omnidirectional antenna used as a reference for antenna gain
C	A horizontally polarized antenna used to compare Yagi antennas
D	A spacecraft antenna used to direct signals toward Earth

44. - E9B06

What is the elevation angle of peak response in the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-2?

Select	Answer
A	25 degrees
B	45 degrees
C	7.5 degrees
D	75 degrees

45. - E9C02

What is the radiation pattern of two 1/4-wavelength vertical antennas spaced 1/4 wavelength apart and fed 90 degrees out of phase?

Select	Answer
A	A figure-8 end-fire along the axis of the array
B	Omni-directional
C	A figure-8 broadside to the axis of the array
D	Cardioid

46. - E9D03

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

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

47. - E9E06

Which of these feed line impedances would be suitable for constructing a quarter-wave Q-section for matching a 100-ohm loop to 50-ohm feed line?

Select	Answer
A	75 ohms
B	50 ohms
C	450 ohms
D	62 ohms

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	The same as the characteristic impedance of the line
B	The same as the output impedance of the generator
C	Very high impedance
D	Very low impedance

49. - E9G09

What third family of circles is often added to a Smith chart during the process of solving problems?

Select	Answer
A	Antenna-length circles
B	Coaxial-length circles
C	Standing wave ratio circles
D	Radiation-pattern circles

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	Its overall length must not exceed 1/4 wavelength
D	It should be one or more wavelengths long

Figure E6-1

Figure E6-2

Figure E9-2