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!

E6D13:

What is the primary cause of inductor self-resonance?

Inter-turn capacitance
The skin effect
Inductive kickback
Non-linear core hysteresis

E6F08:

Why are optoisolators often used in conjunction with solid state circuits when switching 120VAC?

Optoisolators provide a low impedance link between a control circuit and a power circuit
Optoisolators provide impedance matching between the control circuit and power circuit
Optoisolators provide a very high degree of electrical isolation between a control circuit and the circuit being switched
Optoisolators eliminate the effects of reflected light in the control circuit

E9A16:

What is the effective radiated power relative to a dipole of a repeater station with 200 watts transmitter power output, 4 dB feed line loss, 3.2 dB duplexer loss, 0.8 dB circulator loss, and 10 dBd antenna gain?

317 watts
2000 watts
126 watts
300 watts

E5B04:

What is the time constant of a circuit having two 220 microfarad capacitors and two 1 megohm resistors, all in parallel?

55 seconds
110 seconds
440 seconds
220 seconds

E6B13:

What type of bias is required for an LED to emit light?

Reverse bias
Forward bias
Zero bias
Inductive bias

E4B01:

Which of the following factors most affects the accuracy of a frequency counter?

Input attenuator accuracy
Time base accuracy
Decade divider accuracy
Temperature coefficient of the logic

E4E05:

How can noise from an electric motor be suppressed?

By installing a high pass filter in series with the motor's power leads
By installing a brute-force AC-line filter in series with the motor leads
By installing a bypass capacitor in series with the motor leads
By using a ground-fault current interrupter in the circuit used to power the motor

E3B11:

At what time of day is Sporadic-E propagation most likely to occur?

Around sunset
Around sunrise
Early evening
Any time

E9E11:

What is an effective way of matching a feed line to a VHF or UHF antenna when the impedances of both the antenna and feed line are unknown?

Use a 50 ohm 1:1 balun between the antenna and feed line
Use the universal stub matching technique
Connect a series-resonant LC network across the antenna feed terminals
Connect a parallel-resonant LC network across the antenna feed terminals

E7E05:

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

A de-emphasis network
A heterodyne suppressor
An audio prescaler
A pre-emphasis network

E2A04:

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

The type of signals that can be relayed through the satellite
The satellite's uplink and downlink frequency bands
The satellite's orientation with respect to the Earth
Whether the satellite is in a polar or equatorial orbit

E6C12:

What is BiCMOS logic?

A logic device with two CMOS circuits per package
A FET logic family based on bimetallic semiconductors
A logic family based on bismuth CMOS devices
An integrated circuit logic family using both bipolar and CMOS transistors

E7B06:

Which of the following amplifier types reduces or eliminates even order harmonics?

Push-push
Push-pull
Class C
Class AB

E9D03:

Where should a high Q loading coil be placed to minimize losses in a shortened vertical antenna?

Near the center of the vertical radiator
As low as possible on the vertical radiator
As close to the transmitter as possible
At a voltage node

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

E3A06:

Which of the following is required for microwave propagation via rain scatter?

Rain droplets must be electrically charged
Rain droplets must be within the E layer
The rain must be within radio range of both stations
All of these choices are correct

E7G12:

What is an integrated circuit operational amplifier?

A high-gain, direct-coupled differential amplifier with very high input impedance and very low output impedance
A digital audio amplifier whose characteristics are determined by components external to the amplifier
An amplifier used to increase the average output of frequency modulated amateur signals to the legal limit
A RF amplifier used in the UHF and microwave regions

E8A06:

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

2.5 to 1
25 to 1
1 to 1
100 to 1

E2B08:

Which of the following is a common method of transmitting accompanying audio with amateur fast-scan television?

Frequency-modulated sub-carrier
A separate VHF or UHF audio link
Frequency modulation of the video carrier
All of these choices are correct

E1F01:

On what frequencies are spread spectrum transmissions permitted?

Only on amateur frequencies above 50 MHz
Only on amateur frequencies above 222 MHz
Only on amateur frequencies above 420 MHz
Only on amateur frequencies above 144 MHz

E2E07:

What is the typical bandwidth of a properly modulated MFSK16 signal?

31 Hz
316 Hz
550 Hz
2.16 kHz

E7F01:

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

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

E1B06:

Which of the following additional rules apply if you are installing an amateur station antenna at a site at or near a public use airport?

You may have to notify the Federal Aviation Administration and register it with the FCC as required by Part 17 of FCC rules
No special rules apply if your antenna structure will be less than 300 feet in height
You must file an Environmental Impact Statement with the EPA before construction begins
You must obtain a construction permit from the airport zoning authority

E5C03:

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

A positive real part
A negative real part
A positive phase angle
A negative phase angle

E7A08:

What logical operation does an OR gate perform?

It produces logic "1" at its output if any or all inputs are logic "1"
It produces logic "0" at its output if all inputs are logic "1"
It only produces logic "0" at its output when all inputs are logic "1"
It produces logic "1" at its output if all inputs are logic "0"

E1A07:

Which amateur band requires transmission on specific channels rather than on a range of frequencies?

12 meter band
17 meter band
30 meter band
60 meter band

E1C10:

What types of amateur stations may automatically retransmit the radio signals of other amateur stations?

Only beacon, repeater or space stations
Only auxiliary, repeater or space stations
Only earth stations, repeater stations or model craft
Only auxiliary, beacon or space stations

E9C07:

What is the approximate feed point impedance at the center of a two-wire folded dipole antenna?

300 ohms
72 ohms
50 ohms
450 ohms

E9B02:

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

36 dB
18 dB
24 dB
14 dB

E2D08:

What type of packet frame is used to transmit APRS beacon data?

Unnumbered Information
Disconnect
Acknowledgement
Connect

E5D13:

How much power is consumed in a circuit consisting of a 100 ohm resistor in series with a 100 ohm inductive reactance drawing 1 ampere?

70.7 Watts
100 Watts
141.4 Watts
200 Watts

E4D09:

What is the purpose of the preselector in a communications receiver?

To store often-used frequencies
To provide a range of AGC time constants
To increase rejection of unwanted signals
To allow selection of the optimum RF amplifier device

E6A16:

What are the majority charge carriers in N-type semiconductor material?

Holes
Free electrons
Free protons
Free neutrons

E5A11:

What is the half-power bandwidth of a parallel resonant circuit that has a resonant frequency of 7.1 MHz and a Q of 150?

157.8 Hz
315.6 Hz
47.3 kHz
23.67 kHz

E9F06:

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

15 meters
20 meters
10 meters
71 meters

E9H02:

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

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

E1E09:

What may be the penalty for a VE who fraudulently administers or certifies an examination?

Revocation of the VE's amateur station license grant and the suspension of the VE's amateur operator license grant
A fine of up to $1000 per occurrence
A sentence of up to one year in prison
All of these choices are correct

E4A03:

Which of the following test instruments is used to display spurious signals and/or intermodulation distortion products in an SSB transmitter?

A wattmeter
A spectrum analyzer
A logic analyzer
A time-domain reflectometer

E1D07:

Which amateur service HF bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?

Only the 40 m, 20 m, 17 m, 15 m, 12 m and 10 m bands
Only the 40 m, 20 m, 17 m, 15 m and 10 m bands
Only the 40 m, 30 m, 20 m, 15 m, 12 m and 10 m bands
All HF bands

E3C06:

By how much does the VHF/UHF radio horizon distance exceed the geometric horizon?

By approximately 15 percent of the distance
By approximately twice the distance
By approximately 50 percent of the distance
By approximately four times the distance

E8D11:

What is one advantage of using ASCII code for data communications?

It includes built in error correction features
It contains fewer information bits per character than any other code
It is possible to transmit both upper and lower case text
It uses one character as a shift code to send numeric and special characters

E8C06:

What is the necessary bandwidth of a 170-hertz shift, 300-baud ASCII transmission?

0.1 Hz
0.3 kHz
0.5 kHz
1.0 kHz

E0A08:

What does SAR measure?

Synthetic Aperture Ratio of the human body
Signal Amplification Rating
The rate at which RF energy is absorbed by the body
The rate of RF energy reflected from stationary terrain

E4C10:

Which of the following is a desirable amount of selectivity for an amateur RTTY HF receiver?

100 Hz
300 Hz
6000 Hz
2400 Hz

E7H01:

What are three oscillator circuits used in Amateur Radio equipment?

Taft, Pierce and negative feedback
Pierce, Fenner and Beane
Taft, Hartley and Pierce
Colpitts, Hartley and Pierce

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

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

E2C09:

What type of equipment is commonly used to implement a ham radio mesh network?

A 2 meter VHF transceiver with a 1200 baud modem
An optical cable connection between the USB ports of 2 separate computers
A standard wireless router running custom software
A 440 MHz transceiver with a 9600 baud modem

E6E01:

Which of the following is true of a charge-coupled device (CCD)?

Its phase shift changes rapidly with frequency
It is a CMOS analog-to-digital converter
It samples an analog signal and passes it in stages from the input to the output
It is used in a battery charger circuit

E7C01:

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

Two inductors are in series between the input and output, and a capacitor is connected between the two inductors and ground
Two capacitors are in series between the input and output, and an inductor is connected between the two capacitors and ground
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
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