ok so ive been going through the question pool and theres this question about repeater frequency pairs and im totally lost. it asks about which frequency is used for input vs output on 2 meters but i dont really understand how repeaters work in the first place. the study guide i got just gives the answer but doesnt explain WHY. anyone know a good way to remember this stuff or should i just memorize the frequencies?

repeaters listen on one frequency and transmit on another - thats the whole point so multiple people can talk through them. on 2m the input is usually lower than the output by 600khz. so if the repeater outputs on 146.52 it listens on 145.92. just remember "input is lower" and you'll get most of those questions right

Yeah I had the same problem when I was studying. What helped me was actually listening to repeaters on my scanner before taking the test. Once you hear how they work it makes way more sense than just reading about it in the book. The arrl study guide is pretty good but sometimes they assume you already know stuff