ARRL Technician Practice Exam

What should you do if your 2 meter signals were strong but now are weak or distorted?

1. Change your frequency

2. Shut down the station

3. Move or adjust your antenna

4. Reboot your equipment

The correct answer is: Move or adjust your antenna

If your 2 meter signals were previously strong but have now become weak or distorted, adjusting or moving your antenna is a practical first step to address the issue. Antennas are highly sensitive to their physical orientation, location, and environmental factors that can affect performance. Antenna misalignment, obstructions from buildings or trees, or changes in the surrounding environment can cause signal degradation. By repositioning or adjusting the antenna, you can often restore signal strength and clarity, ensuring better communication. While other actions such as changing frequency or rebooting your equipment may sometimes help, they do not directly address the primary cause of signal loss that is often related to antenna positioning and condition. Shutting down the station would not resolve the issue and leads to unnecessary downtime. Therefore, moving or adjusting your antenna is usually the most effective initial action in such a scenario.