so i've been studying for like two months and finally passed my technician exam last thursday, got my callsign in the system a few days later and today i actually made my first QSO on the local 2m repeater. guy named Earl came back to me and we chatted for maybe 10 minutes about nothing really, just the weather and what radio i was using. i was so nervous i forgot to say my callsign half the time lol. been using a baofeng uv-5r that my brother in law let me borrow just to get started. anyway just wanted to post somewhere because nobody in my house cares even a little bit about this stuff and i feel like i need to tell someone who gets it

congrats man, that first contact feeling is something else. i remember mine, i was shaking a little honestly and my voice cracked when i gave my callsign. Earl sounds like a good first contact, the old timers on repeaters are usually real patient with new guys. dont stress about the callsign thing, you'll have it down in no time. the baofeng will get you going just fine for local stuff, just make sure the frequency offset and CTCSS tone are set right for that repeater or you might key up and not get in. welcome to the hobby

yeah same thing happend to me when i started, couldnt remember anything i was supposed to say. honestly the repeater guys have heard it all before so dont sweat it. i upgradd to general about 6 months after getting my tech and thats where things really got fun, you can actually talk to people farther out on HF. anyway welcome aboard