so yeah i passed my technician exam last tuesday and been listening on the local repeater for a few days before i worked up the nerve to actually key up. finally did it yesterday morning and had a quick QSO with a guy named Jerry who was super patient with me when i fumbled through my callsign like three times lol. he gave me a 59 report which i guess is good? anyway just wanted to introduce myself here, been lurking for a while reading posts. im KD9 something, dont want to type the whole thing out right now. planning to study for general next so i can get on HF, thats really why i got into this whole thing in the first place

welcome welcome, congrats on passing. that first time keying up on a repeater is genuinely nerve wracking, i remember standing in my driveway for like 20 minutes before i finally said anything. Jerry sounds like good people, theres a lot of elmers on 2m who make it real easy for new hams. study for general sooner rather than later, the HF bands are where it really opens up. 40m is probably where id start if i were doing it again, lots of activity and signals carry well

dude same boat here, got my ticket about 3 months ago and just started getting on HF after i passed general. its a whole different world down there. good luck and dont stress the callsign thing everyone fumbles it at first