so i finally did it after like two years of saying i was gonna get my license i actually sat down and studied for a few weeks and passed the technician exam last tuesday. got my callsign in the ULS like four days later which i heard used to take forever so that was nice.

anyway i borrowed my neighbors HT, a baofeng uv-5r thing, and he helped me program in the local repeater. yesterday i just keyed up and said my callsign and this older guy came back to me and we talked for maybe 10 minutes about nothing really, just signal reports and weather and what radio i was using. felt kind of silly but also really cool? hard to explain. he was super patient with me fumbling through the exchange.

i dont really know what im doing next, maybe save up for something better than the baofeng eventually. just wanted to share i guess since ive been lurking here forever

congrats and welcome, first QSO is always a little awkward but you never forget it. dont worry too much about upgrading gear right away, honestly the baofeng is fine for getting started on local repeaters and figuring out if you even like FM vs other modes. plenty of time to fall down the equipment rabbit hole later, trust me on that one

yeah same thing happend to me last spring, stood there with the HT for like 20 minutes before i finally just keyed up. the guy who answered was so nice about it. welcome to the hobby, its a good one