so i finally did it after putting it off for like two years. passed my technician exam at the library near me, scored a 32/35 which im pretty happy with. got my callsign this morning actually, KD9 something something i wont bore you with the details haha.

anyway i dont have a radio yet, been borrowing my neighbor's HT to listen around on 2m and it's been wild just hearing all the conversations on the local repeater. planning to pick up a used baofeng or maybe a yaesu ft-65 to start. not sure which way to go honestly. my neighbor says the yaesu is way better built but the baofeng is like $25 so.

just wanted to introduce myself i guess, been lurking on here for months reading through old threads trying to figure out what im doing. hoping to eventually get into HF someday but for now just trying to get my first real QSO.

welcome to the hobby, congrats on the ticket. the ft-65 is honestly worth the extra money if you can swing it, the audio is a lot clearer and the thing is built like a tank compared to the baofeng. that said i started with a baofeng uv-5r and made plenty of contacts with it so dont let anyone talk you out of it if budget is tight.

get on that local repeater and just say hi during a net or whatever, most hams are pretty friendly to new folks. your first qso will probably feel a little awkward but after like two or three of them it just clicks. good luck and 73.

hey same boat here i passed mine about three months ago. i went with the baofeng to start and its fine, does what it needs to do. my first qso was on a local 2m repeater and i literally had my script written out on a piece of paper lol. the other guy was super patient with me. you'll do great