so i passed my technician exam last tuesday and today i finally worked up the nerve to key up on the 147.255 repeater in my area. my heart was literally pounding when i said my callsign for the first time. nobody answered for like 10 minutes and i thought maybe i was doing something wrong with the offset or tone, but then this older guy came back to me and we talked for probably 20 minutes about antennas and he gave me a bunch of tips. honestly wasnt expecting anyone to be that friendly. anyway just wanted to share because im still kind of buzzing from it. now trying to figure out if i should get a HF rig next or just stick with vhf for a while

haha that first QSO feeling is real man, i remember mine, hands shaking and forgot half the phonetics i had memorized. welcome to the hobby. and yeah the HF vs staying on VHF thing, honestly just depends what you want to do. if talking to people across the country or the world sounds cool then save up for a used HF rig, you can get something decent for not a ton of money. but theres also nothing wrong with just working the local repeaters for a while and getting comfotable with the basics first. no rush

welcome welcome. that 20 minute ragchew on your first day is honestly better than what i got lol, i keyed up and someone just said 73 and dropped off. took me another week before i had a real conversation. stick with it