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

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1. - E0A10

What toxic material may be present in some electronic components such as high voltage capacitors and transformers?

Select	Answer
A	Polyethylene
B	Polytetrafluoroethylene
C	Polychlorinated biphenyls
D	Polymorphic silicon

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

3. - E1B02

Which of the following is an acceptable bandwidth for Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) based voice or SSTV digital transmissions made on the HF amateur bands?

Select	Answer
A	15 kHz
B	20 kHz
C	10 kHz
D	3 kHz

4. - E1C05

When may an automatically controlled station originate third party communications?

Select	Answer
A	When agreed upon by the sending or receiving station
B	Only when transmitting RTTY or data emissions
C	Never
D	When approved by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration

5. - E1D04

Which of the following is required in the identification transmissions from a balloon-borne telemetry station?

Select	Answer
A	The output power of the balloon transmitter
B	The station's six-character Maidenhead grid locator
C	All these choices are correct
D	Call sign

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 70%
C	Minimum passing score of 80%
D	Minimum passing score of 74%

7. - E1F01

On what frequencies are spread spectrum transmissions permitted?

Select	Answer
A	Only on amateur frequencies above 144 MHz
B	Only on amateur frequencies above 420 MHz
C	Only on amateur frequencies above 222 MHz
D	Only on amateur frequencies above 50 MHz

8. - E2A04

What is meant by the term mode? as applied to an amateur radio satellite?

Select	Answer
A	Whether the satellite is in a polar or equatorial orbit
B	Whether the satellite is in a low earth or geostationary orbit
C	The satellite's uplink and downlink frequency bands
D	The satellite's orientation with respect to the Earth

9. - E2B04

How is color information sent in analog SSTV?

Select	Answer
A	Color is amplitude modulated on the frequency modulated intensity signal
B	Color lines are sent sequentially
C	Color information is sent on a 2.8 kHz subcarrier
D	Color is sent in a color burst at the end of each line

10. - E2C06

During a VHF/UHF contest, in which band segment would you expect to find the highest level of SSB or CW activity?

Select	Answer
A	In the middle of the band, usually 25 kHz above the national calling frequency
B	In the weak signal segment of the band, with most of the activity near the calling frequency
C	At the top of each band, usually in a segment reserved for contests
D	In the middle of each band, usually on the national calling frequency

11. - E2D06

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

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

12. - E2E03

How is the timing of FT4 contacts organized?

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

13. - E3A07

Atmospheric ducts capable of propagating microwave signals often form over what geographic feature?

Select	Answer
A	Mountain ranges
B	Forests
C	Urban areas
D	Bodies of water

14. - E3B11

At what time of day can sporadic E propagation occur?

Select	Answer
A	Any time
B	Only in hours of darkness
C	Only around sunset
D	Only around sunset and sunrise

15. - E3C04

What does the value of Bz (B sub Z) represent?

Select	Answer
A	Duration of long-delayed echoes
B	Direction and strength of the interplanetary magnetic field
C	Geomagnetic field stability
D	Critical frequency for vertical transmissions

16. - E4A11

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

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

17. - E4B05

What three test loads are used to calibrate an RF vector network analyzer?

Select	Answer
A	50 ohms through 1/8 wavelength, 1/4 wavelength, and 1/2 wavelength of coaxial cable
B	Short circuit, open circuit, and 50 ohms
C	50 ohms, 75 ohms, and 90 ohms
D	Short circuit, open circuit, and resonant 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	Signals are attenuated separately from the noise
D	The attenuator has a low-pass filter to increase the strength of lower frequency signals

19. - E4D04

Which of the following may reduce or eliminate intermodulation interference in a repeater caused by another transmitter operating in close proximity?

Select	Answer
A	Utilizing a Class C final amplifier
B	A band-pass filter in the feed line between the transmitter and receiver
C	Utilizing a Class D final amplifier
D	A properly terminated circulator at the output of the repeater's transmitter

20. - E4E07

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

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

21. - E5A10

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

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

22. - E5B03

How is impedance in polar form converted to an equivalent admittance?

Select	Answer
A	Square the magnitude and subtract 90 degrees from the angle
B	Take the square root of the magnitude and add 180 degrees to the angle
C	Take the reciprocal of the angle and change the sign of the magnitude
D	Take the reciprocal of the magnitude and change the sign of the angle

23. - E5C03

Which of the following represents an inductive reactance in polar coordinates?

Select	Answer
A	A negative magnitude
B	A positive magnitude
C	A negative phase angle
D	A positive phase angle

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	1.42 mW
B	355 W
C	252 W
D	704 W

25. - E6A12

Why do many MOSFET devices have internally connected Zener diodes on the gates?

Select	Answer
A	To keep the gate voltage within specifications and prevent the device from overheating
B	To provide a voltage reference for the correct amount of reverse-bias gate voltage
C	To protect the substrate from excessive voltages
D	To reduce the chance of static damage to the gate

26. - E6B08

Which of the following is a Schottky barrier diode?

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

27. - E6C10

In Figure E6-3, what is the schematic symbol for a NOR gate?

Select	Answer
A	2
B	1
C	3
D	4

28. - E6D01

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

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

29. - E6E03

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

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

30. - E6F04

What is the photovoltaic effect?

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

31. - E7A10

What is a truth table?

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

32. - E7B12

What type of amplifier circuit is shown in Figure E7-1?

Select	Answer
A	Common emitter
B	Emitter follower
C	Common collector
D	Common base

33. - E7C11

Which of the following describes a receiving filter's ability to reject signals occupying an adjacent channel?

Select	Answer
A	Phase response
B	Shape factor
C	Noise factor
D	Passband ripple

34. - E7D10

What is the primary reason that a high-frequency switching type high-voltage power supply can be both less expensive and lighter in weight than a conventional power supply?

Select	Answer
A	The inverter design does not require any output filtering
B	It uses a diode bridge rectifier for increased output
C	The high frequency inverter design uses much smaller transformers and filter components for an equivalent power output
D	It uses a large power factor compensation capacitor to recover power from the unused portion of the AC cycle

35. - E7E05

What circuit is added to an FM transmitter to boost the higher audio frequencies?

Select	Answer
A	A heterodyne suppressor
B	A pre-emphasis network
C	A heterodyne enhancer
D	A de-emphasis network

36. - E7F13

What is the function of taps in a digital signal processing filter?

Select	Answer
A	Provide access for debugging software
B	Provide incremental signal delays for filter algorithms
C	To reduce excess signal pressure levels
D	Select the point at which baseband signals are generated

37. - E7G03

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

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

38. - E7H05

How is positive feedback supplied in a Pierce oscillator?

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

39. - E8A06

What is the approximate ratio of PEP-to-average power in a typical single-sideband phone signal?

Select	Answer
A	100 to 1
B	2.5 to 1
C	25 to 1
D	1 to 1

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	2000
B	6000
C	1/3
D	3

41. - E8C09

Which digital code allows only one bit to change between sequential code values?

Select	Answer
A	Gray code
B	Excess 3 code
C	Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code
D	Binary Coded Decimal Code

42. - E8D10

What are some of the differences between the Baudot digital code and ASCII?

Select	Answer
A	Baudot uses 4 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot uses 1 character as a letters/figures shift code, ASCII has no letters/figures code
B	Baudot uses 5 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot uses 2 characters as letters/figures shift codes, ASCII has no letters/figures shift code
C	Baudot uses 6 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes
D	Baudot uses 7 data bits per character, ASCII uses 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes

43. - E9A05

What is included in the total resistance of an antenna system?

Select	Answer
A	Transmission-line resistance plus radiation resistance
B	Radiation resistance plus transmission resistance
C	Radiation resistance plus space impedance
D	Radiation resistance plus loss resistance

44. - E9B02

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

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

45. - E9C11

How is the far-field elevation pattern of a vertically polarized antenna affected by being mounted over seawater versus soil?

Select	Answer
A	Additional higher vertical angle lobes will appear
B	The low-angle radiation decreases
C	The low-angle radiation increases
D	Fewer vertical angle lobes will be present

46. - E9D05

What usually occurs if a Yagi antenna is designed solely for maximum forward gain?

Select	Answer
A	The front-to-back ratio decreases
B	The front-to-back ratio increases
C	The SWR is reduced
D	The frequency response is widened over the whole frequency band

47. - E9E02

What is the name of an antenna matching system that matches an unbalanced feed line to an antenna by feeding the driven element both at the center of the element and at a fraction of a wavelength to one side of center?

Select	Answer
A	The gamma match
B	The stub match
C	The epsilon match
D	The delta match

48. - E9F08

Which of the following is a significant difference between foam dielectric coaxial cable and solid dielectric cable, assuming all other parameters are the same?

Select	Answer
A	Foam dielectric has higher velocity factor
B	All these choices are correct
C	Foam dielectric has lower safe operating voltage limits
D	Foam dielectric has lower loss per unit of length

49. - E9G02

What type of coordinate system is used in a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Voltage lines and current chords
B	Resistance lines and reactance chords
C	Voltage circles and current arcs
D	Resistance circles and reactance arcs

50. - E9H04

What is an advantage of placing a grounded electrostatic shield around a small loop direction-finding antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It adds capacitive loading, increasing the bandwidth of the antenna
B	It eliminates tracking errors caused by strong out-of-band signals
C	It increases signal strength by providing a better match to the feed line
D	It eliminates unbalanced capacitive coupling to the surroundings, improving the nulls

Figure E6-3

Figure E7-1

Figure E9-1