diff --git a/config.yaml.example b/config.yaml.example
index 79b8333..e2cde6c 100644
--- a/config.yaml.example
+++ b/config.yaml.example
@@ -483,10 +483,12 @@ sx1262:
   is_waveshare: false
 
 delays:
-  # TX delay factor for flood mode (multiplier)
+  # Flood TX delay: airtime multiplier, NOT seconds. The actual pre-transmit
+  # delay is a random value in [0, 5 * packet_airtime * factor] seconds.
   tx_delay_factor: 1.0
 
-  # TX delay factor for direct mode (faster)
+  # Direct TX delay: same random 0-5*airtime*factor window, usually lower so
+  # directed traffic clears faster.
   direct_tx_delay_factor: 0.5
 
 duty_cycle:
diff --git a/repeater/engine.py b/repeater/engine.py
index eebfd3e..74195f9 100644
--- a/repeater/engine.py
+++ b/repeater/engine.py
@@ -77,6 +77,14 @@ class RepeaterHandler(BaseHandler):
         self.max_duplicates_per_packet = 20
         self.tx_delay_factor = config.get("delays", {}).get("tx_delay_factor", 1.0)
         self.direct_tx_delay_factor = config.get("delays", {}).get("direct_tx_delay_factor", 0.5)
+        # These are airtime multipliers, not seconds: TX delay is a random value in
+        # [0, 5 * airtime * factor] (matching MeshCore getRetransmitDelay). Flood and
+        # direct share the formula and differ only in the factor.
+        logger.info(
+            "TX delay factors (airtime multipliers, not seconds): "
+            f"flood random 0-5*airtime*F (F={self.tx_delay_factor}), "
+            f"direct random 0-5*airtime*F (F={self.direct_tx_delay_factor})"
+        )
         self.use_score_for_tx = config.get("repeater", {}).get("use_score_for_tx", False)
         self.score_threshold = config.get("repeater", {}).get("score_threshold", 0.3)
         self.max_flood_hops = config.get("repeater", {}).get("max_flood_hops", 64)
diff --git a/repeater/web/api_endpoints.py b/repeater/web/api_endpoints.py
index 5663c9d..77b2673 100644
--- a/repeater/web/api_endpoints.py
+++ b/repeater/web/api_endpoints.py
@@ -3868,8 +3868,8 @@ class APIEndpoints:
             "bandwidth": 62500,          # Bandwidth in Hz (valid: 7.8, 10.4, 15.6, 20.8, 31.25, 41.7, 62.5, 125, 250, 500 kHz)
             "spreading_factor": 8,       # Spreading factor (5-12)
             "coding_rate": 8,            # Coding rate (5-8 for 4/5 to 4/8)
-            "tx_delay_factor": 1.0,      # TX delay factor (0.0-5.0)
-            "direct_tx_delay_factor": 0.5,  # Direct TX delay (0.0-5.0)
+            "tx_delay_factor": 1.0,      # Flood TX delay airtime multiplier (0.0-5.0)
+            "direct_tx_delay_factor": 0.5,  # Direct TX delay airtime multiplier (0.0-5.0)
             "rx_delay_base": 0.0,        # RX delay base (>= 0)
             "node_name": "MyNode",       # Node name
             "owner_info": "Owner text",   # Owner info text
diff --git a/tests/test_engine.py b/tests/test_engine.py
index 84f0ac0..b38fee4 100644
--- a/tests/test_engine.py
+++ b/tests/test_engine.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ airtime duty-cycle, TX mode (forward/monitor/no_tx), and config reloading.
 
 import asyncio
 import base64
+import logging
 import time
 from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, MagicMock, patch
 
@@ -849,6 +850,14 @@ class TestTxDelay:
         delay = handler._calculate_tx_delay(pkt, snr=0.0)
         assert delay == 0.0
 
+    def test_startup_log_states_delay_factor_semantics(self, caplog):
+        with caplog.at_level(logging.INFO, logger="RepeaterHandler"):
+            _make_handler_with_hash(bytes([LOCAL_HASH]))
+        assert any(
+            "TX delay factors" in record.message and "airtime multipliers" in record.message
+            for record in caplog.records
+        )
+
     def test_transport_direct_uses_random_window(self, handler):
         handler.direct_tx_delay_factor = 0.77
         pkt = _make_transport_direct_packet()