so i finally did it after putting it off for like two years lol. passed the tech exam yesterday at the library session and my callsign just showed up in the FCC database this morning, way faster than i expected. anyway i grabbed my baofeng (yeah yeah i know) and managed to hit the local 2m repeater tonight and actually had a real qso with some guy named Larry who was super patient with me fumbling through my first exchange. i was so nervous i forgot my grid square when he asked and had to look it up on my phone while keying up which was pretty embarrassing. but it counted right? that was a real contact. im still kind of in shock that it actually worked and people could hear me. what do you guys remember about your very first qso, was it as nerve wracking for yall?

congrats man, and yes totally counts. everybody fumbles the first few times, Larry sounds like a good egg. my first qso was on a handheld too and i literally read my callsign off a sticky note i put on the radio because i was scared id blank on it. took me maybe a week before i could just say it naturally without thinking. the baofeng is fine to start on, get out there and talk to people thats the whole point. once you get comfortable on the repeater you'll probably want to try some simplex or maybe HF down the road but no rush, just have fun with it for now.

first qso nerves are real haha. mine was during a net and i keyed up at the wrong time and doubled with someone and just panicked and didn't say anything for like 10 seconds which felt like forever. net control was cool about it though. you'll get used to the rhythm pretty quick. also dont stress about the baofeng stuff people give grief about it online but on a local repeater it does the job fine when youre just starting out