so i just passed my technician exam last week and im trying to figure out what handheld to get. everyone keeps telling me different things. my elmer says get a baofeng to start and not worry about it, but then i see people online saying the baofeng is garbage and i should save up for a yaesu or kenwood. i dont really know what i need yet, i just want to be able to hit the local repeaters and maybe do some simplex stuff with my buddy who lives like 8 miles away.

i was looking at the Yaesu FT-65 and also the BF-F8HP which is the higher power baofeng i think. the price difference isnt huge but its not nothing either. is there actually a real difference in quality or is this one of those things where people just get tribal about brands? also does dual band matter for a beginner or is that just a nice to have

congrats on the ticket first of all. okay so here's my honest take — the baofeng will absolutely get you on the air and let you figure out what you actually want to do with the hobby. i started with a UV-5R like eight years ago and it worked fine for hitting repeaters. the menus are a bit annoying to navigate and the software to program it is a little quirky but once its set up you mostly just use it.

that said if you've got the extra $40-50 the FT-65 really is noticeably better built, the receiver is cleaner and you're less likely to have it start picking up all kinds of garbage on busy RF environments. dual band is worth having even as a beginner just because most active repeaters around here are on 2m but some areas are more 70cm heavy, you wont know until you scan around. either way dont overthink it too much, get something and start using it, thats the real lesson

i went through the same thing when i started lol. ended up getting a baofeng and honestly it was fine for the first year but the receiver does get kind of overwhelmed when theres a lot going on nearby. upgraded to a VX-6R eventually and it felt like going from a flip phone to a real smartphone. but thats probably overkill for right now

for 8 miles simplex on 2m with a decent HT you should be okay as long as theres not a ton of terrain in the way. maybe check if your buddy can hear you on 146.520 first before worrying too much about specs