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

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1. - E0A02

When evaluating RF exposure levels from your station at a neighbor's home, what must you do?

Select	Answer
A	Ensure signals from your station are less than the uncontrolled Maximum Permitted Exposure (MPE) limits
B	Ensure signals from your station are less than the uncontrolled Maximum Permitted Emission (MPE) limits
C	Ensure signals from your station are less than the controlled Maximum Permitted Emission (MPE) limits
D	Ensure signals from your station are less than the controlled Maximum Permitted Exposure (MPE) limits

2. - E1A05

What is the maximum power output permitted on the 60 meter band?

Select	Answer
A	100 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to the gain of a half-wave dipole
B	50 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to a dipole
C	100 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to an isotropic radiator
D	50 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to an isotropic radiator

3. - E1B05

What is the National Radio Quiet Zone?

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

4. - E1C08

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

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

5. - E1D08

Which VHF amateur bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?

Select	Answer
A	6 meters, 2 meters, and 1.25 meters
B	6 meters and 2 meters
C	2 meters
D	2 meters and 1.25 meters

6. - E1E02

Who does Part 97 task with maintaining the pools of questions for all U.S. amateur license examinations?

Select	Answer
A	The FCC
B	The VECs
C	The VEs
D	The ARRL

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 50 MHz
C	Only on amateur frequencies above 420 MHz
D	Only on amateur frequencies above 222 MHz

8. - E2A13

Which of the following techniques is normally used by low Earth orbiting digital satellites to relay messages around the world?

Select	Answer
A	Node hopping
B	Store-and-forward
C	Digipeating
D	Multi-satellite relaying

9. - E2B11

What is the function of the Vertical Interval Signaling (VIS) code sent as part of an SSTV transmission?

Select	Answer
A	To provide vertical synchronization
B	To identify the call sign of the station transmitting
C	To lock the color burst oscillator in color SSTV images
D	To identify the SSTV mode being used

10. - E2C12

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

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

11. - E2D10

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

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

12. - E2E04

What is indicated when one of the ellipses in an FSK crossed-ellipse display suddenly disappears?

Select	Answer
A	The receiver has drifted 5 kHz from the desired receive frequency
B	One of the signal filters is saturated
C	Selective fading has occurred
D	The mark and space signal have been inverted

13. - E3A12

What is the cause of auroral activity?

Select	Answer
A	The interaction in the E layer of charged particles from the Sun with the Earth's magnetic field
B	Meteor showers concentrated in the extreme northern and southern latitudes
C	The interaction in the F2 layer between the solar wind and the Van Allen belt
D	An extreme low-pressure area in the polar regions

14. - E3B11

At what time of day can sporadic E propagation occur?

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

15. - E3C05

What orientation of Bz (B sub z) increases the likelihood that incoming particles from the sun will cause disturbed conditions?

Select	Answer
A	Southward
B	Westward
C	Northward
D	Eastward

16. - E4A02

Which of the following parameters does a spectrum analyzer display on the vertical and horizontal axes?

Select	Answer
A	RF amplitude and frequency
B	RF amplitude and time
C	SWR and frequency
D	SWR and time

17. - E4B11

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

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

18. - E4C13

How does a narrow-band roofing filter affect receiver performance?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	It improves sensitivity by reducing front end noise
C	It improves intelligibility by using low Q circuitry to reduce ringing
D	It improves dynamic range by attenuating strong signals near the receive frequency

19. - E4D08

What causes intermodulation in an electronic circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Too little gain
B	Lack of neutralization
C	Positive feedback
D	Nonlinear circuits or devices

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	A defective doorbell or doorbell transformer inside a nearby residence
C	Arcing contacts in a thermostatically controlled device
D	A malfunctioning illuminated advertising display

21. - E5A16

What is the resonant frequency of an RLC circuit if R is 33 ohms, L is 50 microhenries and C is 10 picofarads?

Select	Answer
A	7.12 MHz
B	23.5 MHz
C	23.5 kHz
D	7.12 kHz

22. - E5B10

What is the relationship between the AC current through an inductor and the voltage across an inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Voltage and current are in phase
B	Current leads voltage by 90 degrees
C	Voltage leads current by 90 degrees
D	Voltage and current are 180 degrees out of phase

23. - E5C04

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

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

24. - E5D13

How many watts are consumed in a circuit consisting of a 100-ohm resistor in series with a 100-ohm inductive reactance drawing 1 ampere?

Select	Answer
A	141.4 watts
B	200 watts
C	70.7 watts
D	100 watts

25. - E6A02

Which of the following semiconductor materials contains excess free electrons?

Select	Answer
A	P-type
B	Insulated gate
C	Bipolar
D	N-type

26. - E6B01

What is the most useful characteristic of a Zener diode?

Select	Answer
A	A constant current drop under conditions of varying voltage
B	A constant voltage drop under conditions of varying current
C	A negative resistance region
D	An internal capacitance that varies with the applied voltage

27. - E6C06

Why do CMOS digital integrated circuits have high immunity to noise on the input signal or power supply?

Select	Answer
A	The input switching threshold is about one-half the power supply voltage
B	Large bypass capacitance is inherent
C	The input switching threshold is about two times the power supply voltage
D	Bandwidth is very limited

28. - E6D11

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

Select	Answer
A	Ceramic
B	Ferrite
C	Powdered iron
D	Brass

29. - E6E08

How is power supplied to the most common type of MMIC?

Select	Answer
A	Directly to the bias voltage (VCC IN) lead
B	MMICs require no operating bias
C	Through a capacitor and RF choke connected to the amplifier input lead
D	Through a resistor and/or RF choke connected to the amplifier output lead

30. - E6F10

What is the most common type of photovoltaic cell used for electrical power generation?

Select	Answer
A	Silicon
B	Copper oxide
C	Selenium
D	Cadmium Sulfide

31. - E7A11

What type of logic defines "1" as a high voltage?

Select	Answer
A	Negative logic
B	Positive Logic
C	Reverse Logic
D	Assertive Logic

32. - E7B05

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

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

33. - E7C01

How are the capacitors and inductors of a low-pass filter Pi-network arranged between the network's input and output?

Select	Answer
A	An inductor is connected between the input and ground, another inductor is connected between the output and ground, and a capacitor is connected between the input and output
B	A capacitor is connected between the input and ground, another capacitor is connected between the output and ground, and an inductor is connected between input and output
C	Two capacitors are in series between the input and output, and an inductor is connected between the two capacitors and ground
D	Two inductors are in series between the input and output, and a capacitor is connected between the two inductors and ground

34. - E7D12

What is the dropout voltage of an analog voltage regulator?

Select	Answer
A	Minimum input voltage for rated power dissipation
B	Minimum input-to-output voltage required to maintain regulation
C	Maximum output voltage drops when the input voltage is varied over its specified range
D	Maximum that the output voltage may decrease at rated load

35. - E7E06

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

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

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	8 bits
B	10 bits
C	6 bits
D	4 bits

37. - E7G04

What is meant by the "op-amp input offset voltage"?

Select	Answer
A	The potential between the amplifier input terminals of the op-amp in an open loop condition
B	The output voltage of the op-amp minus its input voltage
C	The difference between the output voltage of the op-amp and the input voltage required in the immediately following stage
D	The differential input voltage needed to bring the open loop output voltage to zero

38. - E7H15

Which of these functions can be performed by a phase-locked loop?

Select	Answer
A	Comparison of two digital input signals, digital pulse counter
B	Wide-band AF and RF power amplification
C	Frequency synthesis, FM demodulation
D	Photovoltaic conversion, optical coupling

39. - E8A10

What is the purpose of a low-pass filter used in conjunction with a digital-to-analog converter?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	Lower the input bandwidth to increase the effective resolution
C	Improve accuracy by removing out-of-sequence codes from the input
D	Remove harmonics from the output caused by the discrete analog levels generated

40. - E8B07

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing is a technique used for which type of amateur communication?

Select	Answer
A	EME
B	OFDM signals are not allowed on amateur bands
C	High-speed digital modes
D	Extremely low-power contacts

41. - E8C08

How does ARQ accomplish error correction?

Select	Answer
A	If errors are detected, a retransmission is requested
B	Special polynomial codes provide automatic correction
C	If errors are detected, redundant data is substituted
D	Special binary codes provide automatic correction

42. - E8D01

Why are received spread spectrum signals resistant to interference?

Select	Answer
A	Signals not using the spread spectrum algorithm are suppressed in the receiver
B	The receiver is always equipped with a digital blanker
C	The high power used by a spread spectrum transmitter keeps its signal from being easily overpowered
D	If interference is detected by the receiver it will signal the transmitter to change frequencies

43. - E9A09

What is antenna efficiency?

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

44. - E9B01

In the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-1, what is the beamwidth?

Select	Answer
A	75 degrees
B	25 degrees
C	30 degrees
D	50 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	Cardioid
B	Omni-directional
C	A figure-8 end-fire along the axis of the array
D	A figure-8 broadside to the axis of the array

46. - E9D01

How much does the gain of an ideal parabolic dish antenna change when the operating frequency is doubled?

Select	Answer
A	4 dB
B	2 dB
C	6 dB
D	3 dB

47. - E9E08

What is a use for a Wilkinson divider?

Select	Answer
A	It is used to feed high-impedance antennas from a low-impedance source
B	It is used to divide power equally between two 50-ohm loads while maintaining 50-ohm input impedance
C	It divides the operating frequency of a transmitter signal so it can be used on a lower frequency band
D	It is used to feed low-impedance loads from a high-impedance source

48. - E9F06

What is the approximate physical length of an air-insulated, parallel conductor transmission line that is electrically 1/2 wavelength long at 14.10 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	7.0 meters
B	10.6 meters
C	13.3 meters
D	8.5 meters

49. - E9G09

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

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

50. - E9H04

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

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

Figure E9-1