so i just passed my technician a few weeks ago and ive been lurking here trying to figure out what HT to get as my first radio. everyone seems to have a different opinion and i keep going back and forth between a few options.

i know the baofeng UV-5R gets recommended a ton and its cheap which is appealing on a student budget but ive also seen people say its a headache to program and the receive audio isnt great. then theres the yaesu FT-65 which looks solid but costs more. a friend at my local club mentioned the wouxun KG-UV9D which i hadnt even heard of before.

mostly i want something for hitting the local repeaters and maybe some simplex if anyone around here does that. dont really have plans to do anything fancy. should i just bite the bullet on the baofeng and learn on that or save up for something better? what did you guys start with

honestly the baofeng hate is a little overblown in my opinion. yeah the menus are confusing at first but once you download chirp and just program it from your computer its totally manageable. i started with a UV-5R and used it for almost two years before i upgraded. it gets the job done for local repeaters no question.

that said if you can stretch your budget even a little the yaesu FT-65 or even the FT-4XR is a noticeable step up in build quality and the audio really is better. the buttons feel more solid and it just feels like a real radio if that makes sense. but dont let anyone tell you the baofeng is unusable because its not, tons of people start there and its fine.

I got the Wouxun my first year and never had any complaints but finding accessories for it was kind of a pain, the speaker mics and stuff arent as easy to find as yaesu or kenwood compatible stuff. just something to keep in mind if you think youll want to expand later. either way congrats on the ticket