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!

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

E6E12:

Why are high-power RF amplifier ICs and transistors sometimes mounted in ceramic packages?

High-voltage insulating ability
Better dissipation of heat
Enhanced sensitivity to light
To provide a low-pass frequency response

E2A09:

What do the terms L band and S band specify with regard to satellite communications?

The 23 centimeter and 13 centimeter bands
The 2 meter and 70 centimeter bands
FM and Digital Store-and-Forward systems
Which sideband to use

E9F16:

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

Foam dielectric has lower safe operating voltage limits
Foam dielectric has lower loss per unit of length
Foam dielectric has higher velocity factor
All of these choices are correct

E5C16:

Which point on Figure E5-2 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 300 ohm resistor and a 19 picofarad capacitor at 21.200 MHz?

Point 1
Point 3
Point 7
Point 8

E3A02:

What characterizes libration fading of an EME signal?

A slow change in the pitch of the CW signal
A fluttery irregular fading
A gradual loss of signal as the Sun rises
The returning echo is several Hertz lower in frequency than the transmitted signal

E1C08:

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

30 seconds
3 minutes
5 minutes
10 minutes

E7D13:

What is the equation for calculating power dissipation by a series connected linear voltage regulator?

Input voltage multiplied by input current
Input voltage divided by output current
Voltage difference from input to output multiplied by output current
Output voltage multiplied by output current

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

E4B10:

Which of the following describes a method to measure intermodulation distortion in an SSB transmitter?

Modulate the transmitter with two non-harmonically related radio frequencies and observe the RF output with a spectrum analyzer
Modulate the transmitter with two non-harmonically related audio frequencies and observe the RF output with a spectrum analyzer
Modulate the transmitter with two harmonically related audio frequencies and observe the RF output with a peak reading wattmeter
Modulate the transmitter with two harmonically related audio frequencies and observe the RF output with a logic analyzer

E5B06:

What is susceptance?

The magnetic impedance of a circuit
The ratio of magnetic field to electric field
The inverse of reactance
A measure of the efficiency of a transformer

E9C15:

How does the radiation pattern of a horizontally polarized 3-element beam antenna vary with its height above ground?

The main lobe takeoff angle increases with increasing height
The main lobe takeoff angle decreases with increasing height
The horizontal beam width increases with height
The horizontal beam width decreases with height

E6B12:

What is one common use for PIN diodes?

As a constant current source
As a constant voltage source
As an RF switch
As a high voltage rectifier

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

E2D02:

Which of the following is a good technique for making meteor scatter contacts?

15 second timed transmission sequences with stations alternating based on location
Use of high speed CW or digital modes
Short transmission with rapidly repeated call signs and signal reports
All of these choices are correct

E7B07:

Which of the following is a likely result when a Class C amplifier is used to amplify a single-sideband phone signal?

Reduced intermodulation products
Increased overall intelligibility
Signal inversion
Signal distortion and excessive bandwidth

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

E2C10:

Why might a DX station state that they are listening on another frequency?

Because the DX station may be transmitting on a frequency that is prohibited to some responding stations
To separate the calling stations from the DX station
To improve operating efficiency by reducing interference
All of these choices are correct

E2E12:

Which type of control is used by stations using the Automatic Link Enable (ALE) protocol?

Local
Remote
Automatic
ALE can use any type of control

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

E6D02:

What is the equivalent circuit of a quartz crystal?

Motional capacitance, motional inductance, and loss resistance in series, all in parallel with a shunt capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance
Motional capacitance, motional inductance, loss resistance, and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance all in parallel
Motional capacitance, motional inductance, loss resistance, and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance all in series
Motional inductance and loss resistance in series, paralleled with motional capacitance and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance

E9H04:

What is an advantage of using a shielded loop antenna for direction finding?

It automatically cancels ignition noise in mobile installations
It is electro statically balanced against ground, giving better nulls
It eliminates tracking errors caused by strong out-of-band signals
It allows stations to communicate without giving away their position

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

E7C11:

Which of the following is the common name for a filter network which is equivalent to two L-networks connected back-to-back with the two inductors in series and the capacitors in shunt at the input and output?

Pi-L
Cascode
Omega
Pi

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

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

E5A02:

What is resonance in an electrical circuit?

The highest frequency that will pass current
The lowest frequency that will pass current
The frequency at which the capacitive reactance equals the inductive reactance
The frequency at which the reactive impedance equals the resistive impedance

E8A02:

What type of wave has a rise time significantly faster than its fall time (or vice versa)?

A cosine wave
A square wave
A sawtooth wave
A sine wave

E6C04:

What is the primary advantage of tri-state logic?

Low power consumption
Ability to connect many device outputs to a common bus
High speed operation
More efficient arithmetic operations

E7G06:

Which of the following is the most appropriate use of an op-amp active filter?

As a high-pass filter used to block RFI at the input to receivers
As a low-pass filter used between a transmitter and a transmission line
For smoothing power supply output
As an audio filter in a receiver

E9G02:

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

Voltage circles and current arcs
Resistance circles and reactance arcs
Voltage lines and current chords
Resistance lines and reactance chords

E6A10:

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

2
4
5
6

E4D02:

Which of the following describes two problems caused by poor dynamic range in a communications receiver?

Cross-modulation of the desired signal and desensitization from strong adjacent signals
Oscillator instability requiring frequent retuning and loss of ability to recover the opposite sideband
Cross-modulation of the desired signal and insufficient audio power to operate the speaker
Oscillator instability and severe audio distortion of all but the strongest received signals

E1F03:

Under what circumstances may a dealer sell an external RF power amplifier capable of operation below 144 MHz if it has not been granted FCC certification?

It was purchased in used condition from an amateur operator and is sold to another amateur operator for use at that operator's station
The equipment dealer assembled it from a kit
It was imported from a manufacturer in a country that does not require certification of RF power amplifiers
It was imported from a manufacturer in another country and was certificated by that country's government

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"

E4E11:

Which is the most likely cause if you are hearing combinations of local AM broadcast signals within one or more of the MF or HF ham bands?

The broadcast station is transmitting an over-modulated signal
Nearby corroded metal joints are mixing and re-radiating the broadcast signals
You are receiving sky wave signals from a distant station
Your station receiver IF amplifier stage is defective

E3B10:

What is the cause of gray-line propagation?

At midday, the Sun super heats the ionosphere causing increased refraction of radio waves
At twilight and sunrise, D-layer absorption is low while E-layer and F-layer propagation remains high
In darkness, solar absorption drops greatly while atmospheric ionization remains steady
At mid-afternoon, the Sun heats the ionosphere decreasing radio wave refraction and the MUF

E9D12:

Which of the following would provide the best RF ground for your station?

A 50 ohm resistor connected to ground
An electrically short connection to a metal water pipe
An electrically short connection to 3 or 4 interconnected ground rods driven into the Earth
An electrically short connection to 3 or 4 interconnected ground rods via a series RF choke

E1D11:

Which amateur stations are eligible to operate as Earth stations?

Any amateur station whose licensee has filed a pre-space notification with the FCC's International Bureau
Only those of General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operators
Only those of Amateur Extra Class operators
Any amateur station, subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held by the control operator

E9B06:

What is the elevation angle of peak response in the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-2?

45 degrees
75 degrees
7.5 degrees
25 degrees

E6F07:

What is a solid state relay?

A relay using transistors to drive the relay coil
A device that uses semiconductors to implement the functions of an electromechanical relay
A mechanical relay that latches in the on or off state each time it is pulsed
A passive delay line

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

E1A08:

If a station in a message forwarding system inadvertently forwards a message that is in violation of FCC rules, who is primarily accountable for the rules violation?

The control operator of the packet bulletin board station
The control operator of the originating station
The control operators of all the stations in the system
The control operators of all the stations in the system not authenticating the source from which they accept communications

E0A03:

Which of the following would be a practical way to estimate whether the RF fields produced by an amateur radio station are within permissible MPE limits?

Use a calibrated antenna analyzer
Use a hand calculator plus Smith-chart equations to calculate the fields
Use an antenna modeling program to calculate field strength at accessible locations
All of the choices are correct

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

E1B04:

What must be done before placing an amateur station within an officially designated wilderness area or wildlife preserve, or an area listed in the National Register of Historical Places?

A proposal must be submitted to the National Park Service
A letter of intent must be filed with the National Audubon Society
An Environmental Assessment must be submitted to the FCC
A form FSD-15 must be submitted to the Department of the Interior

E8B08:

What describes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing?

A frequency modulation technique which uses non-harmonically related frequencies
A bandwidth compression technique using Fourier transforms
A digital mode for narrow band, slow speed transmissions
A digital modulation technique using subcarriers at frequencies chosen to avoid intersymbol interference

E7F10:

What aspect of receiver analog-to-digital conversion determines the maximum receive bandwidth of a Direct Digital Conversion SDR?

Sample rate
Sample width in bits
Sample clock phase noise
Processor latency

E3C10:

What does the 304A solar parameter measure?

The ratio of X-Ray flux to radio flux, correlated to sunspot number
UV emissions at 304 angstroms, correlated to solar flux index
The solar wind velocity at 304 degrees from the solar equator, correlated to solar activity
The solar emission at 304 GHz, correlated to X-Ray flare levels

E4A14:

What is the purpose of the prescaler function on a frequency counter?

It amplifies low level signals for more accurate counting
It multiplies a higher frequency signal so a low-frequency counter can display the operating frequency
It prevents oscillation in a low-frequency counter circuit
It divides a higher frequency signal so a low-frequency counter can display the input frequency