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!

E2C06:

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

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

E6B01:

What is the most useful characteristic of a Zener diode?

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

E6D14:

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

Ceramic
Brass
Ferrite
Powdered-iron

E4B17:

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

50 ohms, 75 ohms, and 90 ohms
Short circuit, open circuit, and 50 ohms
Short circuit, open circuit, and resonant circuit
50 ohms through 1/8 wavelength, 1/4 wavelength, and 1/2 wavelength of coaxial cable

E6E08:

How is voltage from a power supply normally furnished to the most common type of monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC)?

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

E7H06:

Which of the following oscillator circuits are commonly used in VFOs?

Pierce and Zener
Colpitts and Hartley
Armstrong and deForest
Negative feedback and balanced feedback

E1D05:

What class of licensee is authorized to be the control operator of a space station?

All except Technician Class
Only General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class
Any class with appropriate operator privileges
Only Amateur Extra Class

E3A16:

Which of the following best describes electromagnetic waves traveling in free space?

Electric and magnetic fields become aligned as they travel
The energy propagates through a medium with a high refractive index
The waves are reflected by the ionosphere and return to their source
Changing electric and magnetic fields propagate the energy

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?

14 degrees with the voltage lagging the current
14 degrees with the voltage leading the current
76 degrees with the voltage lagging the current
76 degrees with the voltage leading the current

E6F13:

What is a liquid crystal display (LCD)?

A modern replacement for a quartz crystal oscillator which displays its fundamental frequency
A display utilizing a crystalline liquid and polarizing filters which becomes opaque when voltage is applied
A frequency-determining unit for a transmitter or receiver
A display that uses a glowing liquid to remain brightly lit in dim light

E3C15:

What might a sudden rise in radio background noise indicate?

A meteor ping
A solar flare has occurred
Increased transequatorial propagation likely
Long-path propagation is occurring

E8C02:

What is the definition of symbol rate in a digital transmission?

The number of control characters in a message packet
The duration of each bit in a message sent over the air
The rate at which the waveform of a transmitted signal changes to convey information
The number of characters carried per second by the station-to-station link

E7B01:

For what portion of a signal cycle does a Class AB amplifier operate?

More than 180 degrees but less than 360 degrees
Exactly 180 degrees
The entire cycle
Less than 180 degrees

E4E09:

What undesirable effect can occur when using an IF noise blanker?

Received audio in the speech range might have an echo effect
The audio frequency bandwidth of the received signal might be compressed
Nearby signals may appear to be excessively wide even if they meet emission standards
FM signals can no longer be demodulated

E9D08:

What happens as the Q of an antenna increases?

SWR bandwidth increases
SWR bandwidth decreases
Gain is reduced
More common-mode current is present on the feed line

E8B05:

What is the deviation ratio of an FM-phone signal having a maximum frequency swing of plus-or-minus 5 kHz when the maximum modulation frequency is 3 kHz?

60
0.167
0.6
1.67

E1F02:

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

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

E2E11:

What is the difference between direct FSK and audio FSK?

Direct FSK applies the data signal to the transmitter VFO
Audio FSK has a superior frequency response
Direct FSK uses a DC-coupled data connection
Audio FSK can be performed anywhere in the transmit chain

E4D03:

How can intermodulation interference between two repeaters occur?

When the repeaters are in close proximity and the signals cause feedback in the final amplifier of one or both transmitters
When the repeaters are in close proximity and the signals mix in the final amplifier of one or both transmitters
When the signals from the transmitters are reflected out of phase from airplanes passing overhead
When the signals from the transmitters are reflected in phase from airplanes passing overhead

E2D13:

What type of modulation is used for JT65 contacts?

Multi-tone AFSK
PSK
RTTY
IEEE 802.11

E9E06:

What is the equivalent lumped-constant network for a hairpin matching system of a 3-element Yagi?

Pi-network
Pi-L-network
A shunt inductor
A series capacitor

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

E1C05:

When may an automatically controlled station originate third party communications?

Never
Only when transmitting RTTY or data emissions
When agreed upon by the sending or receiving station
When approved by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration

E7D06:

What is the purpose of Q1 in the circuit shown in Figure E7-3?

It provides negative feedback to improve regulation
It provides a constant load for the voltage source
It increases the current-handling capability of the regulator
It provides D1 with current

E4C09:

Which of the following choices is a good reason for selecting a high frequency for the design of the IF in a conventional HF or VHF communications receiver?

Fewer components in the receiver
Reduced drift
Easier for front-end circuitry to eliminate image responses
Improved receiver noise figure

E7A06:

What is a characteristic of a monostable multivibrator?

It switches momentarily to the opposite binary state and then returns to its original state after a set time
It produces a continuous square wave oscillating between 1 and 0
It stores one bit of data in either a 0 or 1 state
It maintains a constant output voltage, regardless of variations in the input voltage

E5D02:

Why is it important to keep lead lengths short for components used in circuits for VHF and above?

To increase the thermal time constant
To avoid unwanted inductive reactance
To maintain component lifetime
All of these choices are correct

E1B03:

Within what distance must an amateur station protect an FCC monitoring facility from harmful interference?

1 mile
3 miles
10 miles
30 miles

E9F15:

What impedance does a 1/2 wavelength transmission line present to a generator when the line is open at the far end?

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

E2B05:

Which of the following is an advantage of using vestigial sideband for standard fast- scan TV transmissions?

The vestigial sideband carries the audio information
The vestigial sideband contains chroma information
Vestigial sideband reduces bandwidth while allowing for simple video detector circuitry
Vestigial sideband provides high frequency emphasis to sharpen the picture

E9B03:

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

12 dB
14 dB
18 dB
24 dB

E8A07:

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

The frequency of the modulating signal
The characteristics of the modulating signal
The degree of carrier suppression
The amplifier gain

E9G08:

What is the process of normalization with regard to a Smith chart?

Reassigning resistance values with regard to the reactance axis
Reassigning reactance values with regard to the resistance axis
Reassigning impedance values with regard to the prime center
Reassigning prime center with regard to the reactance axis

E9H05:

What is the main drawback of a wire-loop antenna for direction finding?

It has a bidirectional pattern
It is non-rotatable
It receives equally well in all directions
It is practical for use only on VHF bands

E6A06:

What is the beta of a bipolar junction transistor?

The frequency at which the current gain is reduced to 1
The change in collector current with respect to base current
The breakdown voltage of the base to collector junction
The switching speed of the transistor

E7E07:

What is meant by the term baseband in radio communications?

The lowest frequency band that the transmitter or receiver covers
The frequency components present in the modulating signal
The unmodulated bandwidth of the transmitted signal
The basic oscillator frequency in an FM transmitter that is multiplied to increase the deviation and carrier frequency

E7C05:

Which filter type is described as having ripple in the passband and a sharp cutoff?

A Butterworth filter
An active LC filter
A passive op-amp filter
A Chebyshev filter

E5C10:

When using rectangular coordinates to graph the impedance of a circuit, what does the vertical axis represent?

Resistive component
Reactive component
The sum of the reactive and resistive components
The difference between the resistive and reactive components

E3B05:

Which amateur bands typically support long-path propagation?

160 meters to 40 meters
30 meters to 10 meters
160 meters to 10 meters
6 meters to 2 meters

E7F09:

Why is an anti-aliasing digital filter required in a digital decimator?

It removes high-frequency signal components which would otherwise be reproduced as lower frequency components
It peaks the response of the decimator, improving bandwidth
It removes low frequency signal components to eliminate the need for DC restoration
It notches out the sampling frequency to avoid sampling errors

E8D05:

What is the most common method of reducing key clicks?

Increase keying waveform rise and fall times
Low-pass filters at the transmitter output
Reduce keying waveform rise and fall times
High-pass filters at the transmitter output

E1E04:

Which of the following best describes the Volunteer Examiner accreditation process?

Each General, Advanced and Amateur Extra Class operator is automatically accredited as a VE when the license is granted
The amateur operator applying must pass a VE examination administered by the FCC Enforcement Bureau
The prospective VE obtains accreditation from the FCC
The procedure by which a VEC confirms that the VE applicant meets FCC requirements to serve as an examiner

E5A01:

What can cause the voltage across reactances in series to be larger than the voltage applied to them?

Resonance
Capacitance
Conductance
Resistance

E4A13:

How is the compensation of an oscilloscope probe typically adjusted?

A square wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the horizontal portions of the displayed wave are as nearly flat as possible
A high frequency sine wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted for maximum amplitude
A frequency standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the deflection time is accurate
A DC voltage standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the displayed voltage is accurate

E2A06:

On what band would a satellite receive signals if it were operating in mode U/V?

435 MHz - 438 MHz
144 MHz - 146 MHz
50.0 MHz - 50.2 MHz
29.5 MHz - 29.7 MHz

E0A09:

Which insulating material commonly used as a thermal conductor for some types of electronic devices is extremely toxic if broken or crushed and the particles are accidentally inhaled?

Mica
Zinc oxide
Beryllium Oxide
Uranium Hexafluoride

E9A09:

How is antenna efficiency calculated?

(radiation resistance / transmission resistance) x 100 percent
(radiation resistance / total resistance) x 100 percent
(total resistance / radiation resistance) x 100 percent
(effective radiated power / transmitter output) x 100 percent

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

E9C08:

What is a folded dipole antenna?

A dipole one-quarter wavelength long
A type of ground-plane antenna
A dipole consisting of one wavelength of wire forming a very thin loop
A dipole configured to provide forward gain

E6C01:

What is the function of hysteresis in a comparator?

To prevent input noise from causing unstable output signals
To allow the comparator to be used with AC input signals
To cause the output to change states continually
To increase the sensitivity