so i just passed my tech exam last week and im trying to figure out what handheld to get. ive been reading way too many threads and reviews and now im more confused than when i started lol. basically everyone says something different and half the threads are from like 2017 so i dont know whats still relevant.

my main use case is probably just local repeaters to start, maybe some simplex stuff, and i want to eventually get into APRS but thats not a must right away. budget is somewhere around $50-150 depending on if theres actually a good reason to spend more. i looked at the baofeng UV-5R because its cheap but people either love it or really hate it and i cant tell if the hate is justified or just snobs. also seen the yaesu FT-60 mentioned a lot but thats at the top of my budget. is there like a middle ground thats actually worth it

congrats on passing the exam. okay so the baofeng hate is a mix of both honestly — some of it is snobbery but some of it is legit. the RF filtering on the cheap ones can be pretty poor which means they can sometimes transmit on frequencies they shouldn't, and the build quality is just not the same as a yaesu or kenwood. that said plenty of people start with one and its totally fine for learning and basic repeater use.

if you can stretch to the FT-60 i would just do it. its a tank, the receiver is much better, and youll probably still be using it ten years from now. i have one thats been dropped, rained on, and generally abused for like 8 years and it just keeps going. the menu system is a bit clunky to program but nothing you cant figure out with an afternoon and chirp.

the other option in the middle range thats worth a look is the Radioddity GA-510 or the BF-F8HP if you're set on the baofeng ecosystem, a bit more power and slightly better build, but honestly for the price difference just go yaesu.

i was in the exact same spot about 8 months ago and ended up getting the UV-5R just to have something while i figured things out. works fine for hitting the local repeater, programmed it with chirp which took maybe an hour to get the hang of. no complaints for what i paid. but yeah i kind of wish id just saved up and gotten something nicer from the start because now i want to upgrade anyway so it ends up costing more in the long run probably