so i finally got my callsign in the ULS last night and i was so excited i basically ran to my radio and just started listening to the local repeater for a while. eventually i keyed up and said my callsign and somebody came back to me right away which was awesome but then i completely blanked on what to say next. like i had my signal report and everything but i just kind of fumbled through the whole exchange and forgot to say my callsign at the end like you're supposed to. the guy was super nice about it though and gave me a 59 which i think was probably being generous given how bad my audio probably sounded through that cheap HT i picked up. anyway just wanted to introduce myself i guess, been lurking here for months while i was studying and glad to finally be licensed. KD9 something something, you'll see me on here more i'm sure.

haha everyone blanks on their first qso dont even worry about it. i forgot to give my callsign like three times in my first week and the elmer who was monitoring the repeater just kind of gently reminded me every time. you'll get the rhythm of it real fast. welcome to the hobby, it only gets more addicting from here

congrats on passing. honestly the first few QSOs are always awkward no matter what anyone tells you. i remember mine was on 2m simplex and i was so nervous i called CQ on the wrong frequency and didnt realize it for like 10 minutes. took me a while to figure out why nobody was answering. the cheap HT thing is fine for getting started but once you catch the bug you'll want to look at a proper mobile rig or even a base station eventually, the difference in audio quality is pretty noticeable especially on some of the busier repeaters where people can get a little picky about that stuff. anyway welcome aboard and dont stress the early mistakes thats just part of it