What is a symptom of RF feedback in a transmitter or transceiver?

RF feedback occurs when radio frequency energy from your antenna or feedline finds its way back into the audio circuits of your transmitter. Because microphone and audio processing circuits are designed to amplify very small signals, they will also amplify this rogue RF energy, mixing it with your voice. The result of this unintended mixing is a severely distorted, garbled, or unintelligible voice transmission. Other operators will likely inform you that your audio sounds "fuzzy," "scratchy," or completely unreadable. Distractors like excessive SWR or blown fuses are related to power transmission or electrical faults, not the typical audio symptoms characteristic of stray RF entering the microphone circuit.