so i finally passed my tech exam on the 14th after studying for about 6 weeks and honestly i was terrified to key up on the local repeater. like i knew the theory but actually talking felt different. anyway yesterday i just did it, caught a guy calling CQ on 146.520 and we had maybe a 10 minute ragchew about nothing really, he asked about my radio (baofeng uv-5r, i know i know) and where i was located and that was kinda it but man it felt like a huge deal. my hands were literally shaking when i picked up the mic. anyone else remember their first contact being weirdly nerve wracking even though its just talking on the radio?

oh man yes absolutely, i remember my first QSO on 2m and i fumbled my callsign twice. just completely blanked on it even though ive known my own callsign for like months at that point. you get used to it real fast though, after maybe 20 or 30 contacts it starts feeling normal. dont worry about the baofeng either, everyones got one when they start out, nothing wrong with it for hitting local repeaters and simplex. welcome to the hobby

same thing happened to me lol. got my general in march and still get a little nervous on HF when theres a pile up going. 10 minutes on simplex is a solid first QSO honestly, some people just get a quick signal report and thats it. congrats on the ticket