Technician exam question T3A01
Subelement T3, RADIO WAVE PROPAGATION· Group T3A
Why do VHF signal strengths sometimes vary greatly when the antenna is moved only a few feet?
- A.The signal path encounters different concentrations of water vapor
- B.VHF ionospheric propagation is very sensitive to path length
- C.Multipath propagation cancels or reinforces signals (correct answer)
- D.The Doppler effect causes slight frequency shifts which result in changes in signal strength
WhyVHF signal strengths can vary greatly with only a few feet of antenna movement because multipath propagation cancels or reinforces signals at different points in space. At VHF and above, a signal often reaches a receiver by more than one path at once, direct plus one or more reflections off buildings, terrain, or vehicles, and those paths can arrive in or out of phase with each other. Moving the antenna even a few feet shifts how those paths combine, sometimes reinforcing the signal and sometimes canceling it, which is multipath propagation, answer C. VHF isn't propagated by the ionosphere in the way this question implies (B), water vapor concentration (A) doesn't vary meaningfully over a few feet, and Doppler shift (D) affects frequency, not signal strength, and requires relative motion, not a stationary antenna being repositioned.
Published 2026-08-28 · Last updated 2026-08-28 · Question text is verbatim from the 2026-2030 NCVEC Element 2 pool (public domain); the explanation above is original writing, see our methodology.
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