So I passed my tech exam last week (finally, been putting it off forever) and now im trying to figure out what HT to actually buy. I've been going down a rabbit hole on youtube and reading reviews and honestly it's made things more confusing not less. There's like a bajillion options at every price point and everyone has a strong opinion about all of them.

My main use case is going to be hitting the local repeaters, maybe some simplex with a friend who also just got licensed, and eventually I want to get into APRS but I'm not sure if I need that built in or if I can do it another way. I'm not made of money but I'm not trying to buy the cheapest thing that'll break in a month either. Budget is probably somewhere in the $100-200 range, maybe a little more if something is really worth it.

I keep seeing people mention the Baofeng UV-5R and I know it's like $25 but people seem kind of... mixed on it? And then there's Yaesu and Kenwood stuff that costs way more. Is the price difference actually worth it for someone just starting out or am I overthinking this?

Congrats on passing the exam. Okay so the UV-5R thing — it'll work, it gets the job done, but the receiver is pretty mediocre and the programming software is a bit of a headache. Not saying avoid it forever but as your main radio it might frustrate you more than it should when you're still learning.

Honestly for your budget I'd look hard at the Yaesu FT-65 or the BF-F8HP if you really want to stay Baofeng but want something slightly better than the base UV-5R. The FT-65 is usually around $60-70 and the build quality just feels more solid. But if you can stretch to like $150-170, the Yaesu FT-70DR is dual band and has the C4FM digital capability which you might not use right away but its nice to have as the local repeater scene shifts more toward digital.

For APRS you can actually use a cheap HT plus something like an APRSDroid setup on your phone with a cable — works surprisingly well and way cheaper than getting a radio with built-in APRS. The TH-D74 has APRS but that's like $500+ and probably overkill for where you're starting. Get on the air first, figure out what you actually use, then upgrade from a position of knowing what you want.

i was in basically your exact spot about 8 months ago and ended up with the Kenwood TH-K20A on a recommendation from someone at my local club. its only 2 meters which felt limiting at first but honestly most of the active repeaters near me are 2m anyway and the audio quality is noticeably better than my friends UV-5R. just something to consider if you dont need 70cm right away. the club thing is worth mentioning too — if theres a club near you, go to a meeting before you buy, someone will probably let you try a few different radios and that hands-on time is worth more than any review online