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

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

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

4. - E1C09

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

Select	Answer
A	1.0
B	3.0
C	2.0
D	0.5

5. - E1D09

Which UHF amateur bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?

Select	Answer
A	70 cm and 13 cm
B	70 cm only
C	33 cm and 13 cm
D	70 cm and 33 cm

6. - E1E05

What is the minimum passing score on all amateur operator license examinations?

Select	Answer
A	Minimum passing score of 77%
B	Minimum passing score of 80%
C	Minimum passing score of 74%
D	Minimum passing score of 70%

7. - E1F02

What privileges are authorized in the U.S. to persons holding an amateur service license granted by the government of Canada?

Select	Answer
A	The operating terms and conditions of the Canadian amateur service license, not to exceed U.S. Amateur Extra Class license privileges
B	All privileges of the Amateur Extra Class license
C	Full privileges, up to and including those of the Amateur Extra Class license, on the 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meter bands
D	None, they must obtain a U.S. license

8. - E2A05

What do the letters in a satellite's mode designator specify?

Select	Answer
A	The uplink and downlink frequency ranges
B	The polarization of uplink and downlink signals
C	Power limits for uplink and downlink transmissions
D	The location of the ground control station

9. - E2B06

What is vestigial sideband modulation?

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

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 between a U.S. station and a non-U.S. station
C	Special event contacts between stations in the U.S.
D	Contacts using tactical call signs

11. - E2D06

Which of the following describes a method of establishing EME contacts?

Select	Answer
A	Judging optimum transmission times by monitoring beacons reflected from the moon
B	Time synchronous transmissions alternately from each station
C	Storing and forwarding digital messages
D	High-speed CW identification to avoid fading

12. - E2E03

How is the timing of FT4 contacts organized?

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

13. - E3A10

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

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

14. - E3B02

What is the approximate maximum range for signals using transequatorial propagation?

Select	Answer
A	5000 miles
B	7500 miles
C	2500 miles
D	1000 miles

15. - E3C14

Why does the radio-path horizon distance exceed the geometric horizon?

Select	Answer
A	D-region skip
B	Downward bending due to density variations in the atmosphere
C	E-region skip
D	Due to the Doppler effect

16. - E4A01

Which of the following limits the highest frequency signal that can be accurately displayed on a digital oscilloscope?

Select	Answer
A	Q of the circuit
B	All these choices are correct
C	Sampling rate of the analog-to-digital converter
D	Amount of memory

17. - E4B03

Which S parameter is equivalent to forward gain?

Select	Answer
A	S22
B	S11
C	S12
D	S21

18. - E4C07

What does the MDS of a receiver represent?

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

19. - E4D12

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

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

20. - E4E07

Which of the following can cause shielded cables to radiate or receive interference?

Select	Answer
A	Tying all ground connections to a common point resulting in differential-mode currents in the shield
B	Low inductance ground connections at both ends of the shield
C	Use of braided shielding material
D	Common-mode currents on the shield and conductors

21. - E5A09

How is the Q of an RLC parallel resonant circuit calculated?

Select	Answer
A	Reactance of either the inductance or capacitance divided by the resistance
B	Reactance of either the inductance or capacitance multiplied by the resistance
C	Reactance of the inductance multiplied by the reactance of the capacitance
D	Resistance divided by the reactance of either the inductance or capacitance

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

23. - E5C01

Which of the following represents capacitive reactance in rectangular notation?

Select	Answer
A	Omega
B	-jX
C	+jX
D	Delta

24. - E5D11

What is the power factor of an RL circuit having a 60-degree phase angle between the voltage and the current?

Select	Answer
A	1.414
B	1.73
C	0.5
D	0.866

25. - E6A09

What is a depletion-mode FET?

Select	Answer
A	An FET that exhibits a current flow between source and drain when no gate voltage is applied
B	Any FET without a channel
C	Any FET for which holes are the majority carriers
D	An FET that has no current flow between source and drain when no gate voltage is applied

26. - E6B08

Which of the following is a Schottky barrier diode?

Select	Answer
A	Metal-semiconductor junction
B	PIN junction
C	Electrolytic rectifier
D	Thermionic emission diode

27. - E6C11

In Figure E6-3, what is the schematic symbol for the NOT operation (inverter)?

Select	Answer
A	2
B	6
C	4
D	5

28. - E6D01

Why should core saturation of an impedance matching transformer be avoided?

Select	Answer
A	Temporary changes of the core permeability could result
B	Harmonics and distortion could result
C	RF susceptance would increase
D	Magnetic flux would increase with frequency

29. - E6E06

What characteristics of the MMIC make it a popular choice for VHF through microwave circuits?

Select	Answer
A	Controlled gain, low noise figure, and constant input and output impedance over the specified frequency range
B	Plate current that is controlled by a control grid
C	Nearly infinite gain, very high input impedance, and very low output impedance
D	The ability to retrieve information from a single signal even in the presence of other strong signals

30. - E6F05

Which describes an optical shaft encoder?

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

31. - E7A01

Which circuit is bistable?

Select	Answer
A	A flip-flop
B	A bipolar amplifier
C	An AND gate
D	An OR gate

32. - E7B03

Which of the following components form the output of a class D amplifier circuit?

Select	Answer
A	A temperature compensating load resistor to improve linearity
B	A high-pass filter to compensate for low gain at low frequencies
C	A low-pass filter to remove switching signal components
D	A matched load resistor to prevent damage by switching transients

33. - E7C08

Which of the following factors has the greatest effect on the bandwidth and response shape of a crystal ladder filter?

Select	Answer
A	The DC voltage applied to the quartz crystal
B	The gain of the RF stage preceding the filter
C	The relative frequencies of the individual crystals
D	The amplitude of the signals passing through the filter

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 provides a constant load for the voltage source
D	It controls the current supplied to the load

35. - E7E01

Which of the following can be used to generate FM phone emissions?

Select	Answer
A	A reactance modulator on the final amplifier
B	A reactance modulator on the oscillator
C	A balanced modulator on the oscillator
D	A balanced modulator on the audio amplifier

36. - E7F01

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

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

37. - E7G02

What is ringing in a filter?

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

38. - E7H12

Which of the following must be done to ensure that a crystal oscillator provides the frequency specified by the crystal manufacturer?

Select	Answer
A	Bias the crystal at a specified current
B	Provide the crystal with a specified parallel capacitance
C	Provide the crystal with a specified parallel inductance
D	Bias the crystal at a specified voltage

39. - E8A09

How many different input levels can be encoded by an analog-to-digital converter with 8-bit resolution?

Select	Answer
A	8 multiplied by the gain of the input amplifier
B	256
C	256 divided by the gain of the input amplifier
D	8

40. - E8B02

How does the modulation index of a phase-modulated emission vary with RF carrier frequency?

Select	Answer
A	It varies with the square root of the RF carrier frequency
B	It does not depend on the RF carrier frequency
C	It increases as the RF carrier frequency increases
D	It decreases as the RF carrier frequency increases

41. - E8C03

Why should phase-shifting of a PSK signal be done at the zero crossing of the RF signal?

Select	Answer
A	To improve carrier suppression
B	All these choices are correct
C	To minimize bandwidth
D	To simplify modulation

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

43. - E9A10

Which of the following improves the efficiency of a ground-mounted quarter-wave vertical antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Isolating the coax shield from ground
B	Shortening the radiating element
C	All these choices are correct
D	Installing a radial system

44. - E9B05

What type of antenna pattern is shown in Figure E9-2?

Select	Answer
A	Polarization
B	Elevation
C	Azimuth
D	Radiation resistance

45. - E9C03

What is the radiation pattern of two 1/4-wavelength vertical antennas spaced 1/2-wavelength apart and fed in phase?

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

46. - E9D12

Which of the following would provide the best RF ground for your station?

Select	Answer
A	An electrically short connection to a metal water pipe
B	A 50-ohm resistor connected to ground
C	An electrically short connection to 3 or 4 interconnected ground rods via a series RF choke
D	An electrically short connection to 3 or 4 interconnected ground rods driven into the Earth

47. - E9E11

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

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

48. - E9F01

What is the velocity factor of a transmission line?

Select	Answer
A	The index of shielding for coaxial cable
B	The velocity of the wave in the transmission line multiplied by the velocity of light in a vacuum
C	The velocity of the wave in the transmission line divided by the velocity of light in a vacuum
D	The ratio of the characteristic impedance of the line to the terminating impedance

49. - E9G11

How are the wavelength scales on a Smith chart calibrated?

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

50. - E9H02

Which is generally true for low band (160 meter and 80 meter) receiving antennas?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	Atmospheric noise is so high that gain over a dipole is not important
C	Low loss coax transmission line is essential for good performance
D	They must be erected at least 1/2 wavelength above the ground to attain good directivity

Figure E6-3

Figure E7-2

Figure E9-2