so i've been studying for about two months and passed my technician exam last thursday, got my callsign showing up in the FCC database like four days later which i was told could take longer so that was a nice surprise. anyway today i finally keyed up on the local 2 meter repeater and actually talked to someone. i was so nervous i forgot to give my callsign at the end of the transmission which i felt bad about but the guy on the other end was super patient with me and we had like a 10 minute QSO about nothing in particular really, mostly just him asking me questions about how long ive been into radio and what got me into it. my hands were literally shaking the whole time. i know its just a repeater contact and not some crazy DX or anything but man it felt like a big deal. anyone else remember their first contact being weirdly emotional or is that just me

ha yeah i totally remember that feeling, my first QSO i said my callsign wrong like three times in a row because i kept second guessing myself on the phonetics. the guy on the other end just laughed and said welcome to the hobby. that was like 12 years ago and i still think about it. dont worry about the callsign at the end thing, everyone does stuff like that at first, the guys on most local repeaters have seen it all and theyre usually pretty forgiving. just keep getting on the air, the nerves go away pretty quick once you do it a few more times

congrats man. what radio are you running if you dont mind me asking, i just passed my tech too and im still trying to decide between a few handhelds before i make my first transmission