Technician exam question T9A04
Subelement T9, ANTENNAS AND FEED LINES· Group T9A
What is a disadvantage of a handheld radio transceiver’s short flexible antenna compared to a full-sized quarter- wave antenna?
- A.It has low efficiency (correct answer)
- B.It transmits only circularly polarized signals
- C.It is more susceptible to receiver desensitization
- D.It only works on analog signals, not digital ones
WhyA handheld radio's short flexible antenna has low efficiency compared to a full-sized quarter-wave antenna. A handheld's short, flexible antenna is physically much shorter than an efficient quarter-wave antenna for the band, and that electrically short length makes it a poor radiator, giving it noticeably lower efficiency, answer A. It doesn't force circular polarization (B), it isn't specifically more prone to desensitizing a receiver (C), and it works with any mode, analog or digital, that the radio itself supports (D).
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.