so i finally did it after putting it off for like two years lol. passed my technician exam at the club testing session yesterday and my callsign just showed up in the ULS this morning which was exciting to see. i picked up a baofeng uv-5r a few weeks ago to get familiar with the controls before i even had a license (just listened, didnt transmit) and honestly the local repeater has been really welcoming so far.

made my first real QSO this morning on the 147.xxx repeater in my area, just a quick check-in with the morning net. the net control guy was super patient when i fumbled through my callsign phonetics. anyway just wanted to introduce myself, been lurking here for months reading old threads and finally feel like i belong a little bit

welcome to the hobby, congrats on the ticket. dont sweat the phonetics thing, honestly even guys who've been licensed for 20 years still stumble sometimes when they're nervous. the morning net guys are usually real good about new hams checking in, they love it actually. once you get comfortable on the repeater you might want to look at getting your general so you can get on HF, thats where things really open up. but take your time and enjoy where you are for now

hey same thing happened to me like 3 months ago, first check-in on a net i totally forgot to say my callsign at the end and the net control just waited and i had this moment of panic haha. gets easier fast though. what area are you in if you dont mind me asking