so i just passed my technician exam last week and im trying to figure out what handheld to get. ive been reading forums for like 3 weeks now and i feel like i know less than when i started honestly. everyone seems to have really strong opinions and i cant tell whats actual advice vs brand loyalty stuff.

my main use case is just getting on the local repeaters and maybe doing some APRS stuff down the line. i dont have a huge budget, probably somewhere around 50-80 bucks to start. ive seen people talk about the Baofeng UV-5R constantly and then just as many people saying dont touch it with a ten foot pole. and then theres the Yaesu FT-65 and the FT-4XR which seem well regarded but theyre a bit more. just looking for some real talk from people who actually use these things day to day.

congrats on passing the tech exam, welcome to the hobby. ok so the baofeng vs yaesu thing is kind of a whole thing in the ham world. the short version is that baofengs work, they really do, i started on a UV-5R and made plenty of contacts on local repeaters with it. the audio isnt great and the software is a pain but at 25 bucks you cant really go wrong for learning the basics. that said if you can stretch to the FT-65 or even the Yaesu FT-70DR (which does C4FM digital too), youll appreciate the build quality and the menus actually make sense without having to google everything.

for APRS you might want to think about getting something like the VX-8DR down the road which has built in GPS and APRS, but that's way overkill for starting out. get on a repeater first, talk to people, figure out what you actually want to do. the gear rabbit hole can wait lol

i was in the exact same spot like 8 months ago and i went with the Yaesu FT-4XR and honestly no regrets. fits in my shirt pocket which i know sounds dumb but it matters when youre just throwing it in a bag. hits the repeaters around here just fine on 5 watts. the only thing i wish it had was a wider receive range but for 2m/70cm use its been solid.

also just gonna throw out there - check if your local club does loaner radios sometimes because that helped me figure out what i actually liked before spending money