Amateur Extra Class Practice Test

Select the most correct answer for each question, then submit your practice test to check your score. This practice test randomly pulls one question from each topic in the Amateur Extra pool.

Good Luck!

E6C10:

In Figure E6-5, what is the schematic symbol for a NOR gate?

1
2
3
4

E9D06:

What happens to the bandwidth of an antenna as it is shortened through the use of loading coils?

It is increased
It is decreased
No change occurs
It becomes flat

E3B12:

What is the primary characteristic of chordal hop propagation?

Propagation away from the great circle bearing between stations
Successive ionospheric reflections without an intermediate reflection from the ground
Propagation across the geomagnetic equator
Signals reflected back toward the transmitting station

E2E10:

Which of these digital modes has the narrowest bandwidth?

MFSK16
170 Hz shift, 45 baud RTTY
PSK31
300-baud packet

E6E02:

Which of the following device packages is a through-hole type?

DIP
PLCC
Ball grid array
SOT

E8D09:

What is considered a good minimum IMD level for an idling PSK signal?

+10 dB
+15 dB
-20 dB
-30 dB

E7D15:

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

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

E7A04:

How many flip-flops are required to divide a signal frequency by 4?

1
2
4
8

E1C01:

What is a remotely controlled station?

A station operated away from its regular home location
A station controlled by someone other than the licensee
A station operating under automatic control
A station controlled indirectly through a control link

E1F09:

Which of the following conditions apply when transmitting spread spectrum emission?

A station transmitting SS emission must not cause harmful interference to other stations employing other authorized emissions
The transmitting station must be in an area regulated by the FCC or in a country that permits SS emissions
The transmission must not be used to obscure the meaning of any communication
All of these choices are correct

E3A13:

Which emission mode is best for aurora propagation?

CW
SSB
FM
RTTY

E2D09:

Which of these digital modes has the fastest data throughput under clear communication conditions?

AMTOR
170 Hz shift, 45 baud RTTY
PSK31
300 baud packet

E4E14:

What is one type of electrical interference that might be caused by the operation of a nearby personal computer?

A loud AC hum in the audio output of your station receiver
A clicking noise at intervals of a few seconds
The appearance of unstable modulated or unmodulated signals at specific frequencies
A whining type noise that continually pulses off and on

E7F17:

What do the letters I and Q in I/Q Modulation represent?

Inactive and Quiescent
Instantaneous and Quasi-stable
Instantaneous and Quenched
In-phase and Quadrature

E3C05:

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

Southward
Northward
Eastward
Westward

E9H09:

Which of the following describes the construction of a receiving loop antenna?

A large circularly polarized antenna
A small coil of wire tightly wound around a toroidal ferrite core
One or more turns of wire wound in the shape of a large open coil
A vertical antenna coupled to a feed line through an inductive loop of wire

E4B05:

If a frequency counter with a specified accuracy of +/- 10 ppm reads 146,520,000 Hz, what is the most the actual frequency being measured could differ from the reading?

146.52 Hz
10 Hz
146.52 kHz
1465.20 Hz

E6F10:

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

Selenium
Silicon
Cadmium Sulfide
Copper oxide

E1E05:

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

Minimum passing score of 70%
Minimum passing score of 74%
Minimum passing score of 80%
Minimum passing score of 77%

E8C05:

What is the necessary bandwidth of a 13-WPM international Morse code transmission?

Approximately 13 Hz
Approximately 26 Hz
Approximately 52 Hz
Approximately 104 Hz

E4A07:

Which of the following is an advantage of using an antenna analyzer compared to an SWR bridge to measure antenna SWR?

Antenna analyzers automatically tune your antenna for resonance
Antenna analyzers do not need an external RF source
Antenna analyzers display a time-varying representation of the modulation envelope
All of these choices are correct

E5B12:

What is admittance?

The inverse of impedance
The term for the gain of a field effect transistor
The turns ratio of a transformer
The unit used for Q factor

E6B07:

What is the failure mechanism when a junction diode fails due to excessive current?

Excessive inverse voltage
Excessive junction temperature
Insufficient forward voltage
Charge carrier depletion

E5A16:

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

23.5 MHz
23.5 kHz
7.12 kHz
7.12 MHz

E1B08:

What limitations may the FCC place on an amateur station if its signal causes interference to domestic broadcast reception, assuming that the receivers involved are of good engineering design?

The amateur station must cease operation
The amateur station must cease operation on all frequencies below 30 MHz
The amateur station must cease operation on all frequencies above 30 MHz
The amateur station must avoid transmitting during certain hours on frequencies that cause the interference

E7B11:

In Figure E7-1, what is the purpose of R3?

Fixed bias
Emitter bypass
Output load resistor
Self bias

E7C09:

What is a Jones filter as used as part of an HF receiver IF stage?

An automatic notch filter
A variable bandwidth crystal lattice filter
A special filter that emphasizes image responses
A filter that removes impulse noise

E2B13:

How many lines are commonly used in each frame of an amateur slow-scan color television picture?

30 or 60
60 or 100
128 or 256
180 or 360

E1D03:

What is a telecommand station in the amateur satellite service?

An amateur station located on the Earth's surface for communication with other Earth stations by means of Earth satellites
An amateur station that transmits communications to initiate, modify or terminate functions of a space station
An amateur station located more than 50 km above the Earth's surface
An amateur station that transmits telemetry consisting of measurements of the upper atmosphere

E5C06:

What does the impedance 50-j25 represent?

50 ohms resistance in series with 25 ohms inductive reactance
50 ohms resistance in series with 25 ohms capacitive reactance
25 ohms resistance in series with 50 ohms inductive reactance
25 ohms resistance in series with 50 ohms capacitive reactance

E0A10:

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

Polychlorinated Biphenyls
Polyethylene
Polytetrafluroethylene
Polymorphic silicon

E8B10:

What describes frequency division multiplexing?

The transmitted signal jumps from band to band at a predetermined rate
Two or more information streams are merged into a baseband, which then modulates the transmitter
The transmitted signal is divided into packets of information
Two or more information streams are merged into a digital combiner, which then pulse position modulates the transmitter

E9C14:

How does the performance of a horizontally polarized antenna mounted on the side of a hill compare with the same antenna mounted on flat ground?

The main lobe takeoff angle increases in the downhill direction
The main lobe takeoff angle decreases in the downhill direction
The horizontal beam width decreases in the downhill direction
The horizontal beam width increases in the uphill direction

E7G10:

What absolute voltage gain can be expected from the circuit in Figure E7-4 when R1 is 1800 ohms and RF is 68 kilohms?

1
0.03
38
76

E9A11:

Which of the following factors determines ground losses for a ground-mounted vertical antenna operating in the 3 MHz to 30 MHz range?

The standing wave ratio
Distance from the transmitter
Soil conductivity
Take-off angle

E8A10:

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

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

E7H10:

What information is contained in the lookup table of a direct digital frequency synthesizer?

The phase relationship between a reference oscillator and the output waveform
The amplitude values that represent a sine-wave output
The phase relationship between a voltage-controlled oscillator and the output waveform
The synthesizer frequency limits and frequency values stored in the radio memories

E6A10:

In Figure E6-2, what is the schematic symbol for an N-channel dual-gate MOSFET?

2
4
5
6

E6D06:

What core material property determines the inductance of a toroidal inductor?

Thermal impedance
Resistance
Reactivity
Permeability

E9F08:

What is the term for the ratio of the actual speed at which a signal travels through a transmission line to the speed of light in a vacuum?

Velocity factor
Characteristic impedance
Surge impedance
Standing wave ratio

E2A14:

What technology is used to track, in real time, balloons carrying amateur radio transmitters?

Radar
Bandwidth compressed LORAN
APRS
Doppler shift of beacon signals

E9B05:

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

Elevation
Azimuth
Radiation resistance
Polarization

E5D08:

What type of energy is stored in an electromagnetic or electrostatic field?

Electromechanical energy
Potential energy
Thermodynamic energy
Kinetic energy

E9G03:

Which of the following is often determined using a Smith chart?

Beam headings and radiation patterns
Satellite azimuth and elevation bearings
Impedance and SWR values in transmission lines
Trigonometric functions

E9E08:

Which of the following measurements is characteristic of a mismatched transmission line?

An SWR less than 1:1
A reflection coefficient greater than 1
A dielectric constant greater than 1
An SWR greater than 1:1

E4D10:

What does a third-order intercept level of 40 dBm mean with respect to receiver performance?

Signals less than 40 dBm will not generate audible third-order intermodulation products
The receiver can tolerate signals up to 40 dB above the noise floor without producing third-order intermodulation products
A pair of 40 dBm signals will theoretically generate a third-order intermodulation product with the same level as the input signals
A pair of 1 mW input signals will produce a third-order intermodulation product which is 40 dB stronger than the input signal

E7E04:

What is one way a single-sideband phone signal can be generated?

By using a balanced modulator followed by a filter
By using a reactance modulator followed by a mixer
By using a loop modulator followed by a mixer
By driving a product detector with a DSB signal

E4C02:

Which of the following portions of a receiver can be effective in eliminating image signal interference?

A front-end filter or pre-selector
A narrow IF filter
A notch filter
A properly adjusted product detector

E1A06:

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

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

E2C02:

Which of the following best describes the term self-spotting in regards to HF contest operating?

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