so i just passed my tech exam last week (still waiting on the callsign to show up in the database lol) and i've been trying to figure out what handheld to get. everyone seems to have a different opinion and im going in circles reading reviews.

my main thing is i want to hit the local repeaters and maybe do some APRS stuff eventually. budget is probably around $150 give or take. i keep seeing the Baofeng UV-5R mentioned everywhere and it's like $25 which seems almost too good to be true? but then people talk trash on it and say get a yaesu or kenwood instead. i just dont know if spending $150 on a radio as a complete beginner makes sense when i dont even know if this hobby is gonna stick for me.

also does dual band even matter at the tech level or is 2m basically where everything happens locally? my club mostly seems to be on 2m from what i can tell at the meetings. anyway any advice would be appreciated, sorry if this is a dumb question

Not a dumb question at all, this is exactly the kind of thing we're here for. Okay so the Baofeng thing -- it's complicated. The radio itself works fine for hitting repeaters, plenty of people use them for years without issues. The problem is the menu system is genuinely confusing for new operators, and the build quality is a step down from the Japanese radios. But honestly for your use case of getting on the local repeaters and learning the ropes? It would do the job.

That said if you can stretch to something like the Yaesu FT-65 or even a used FT-60, you're gonna have a much easier time. The UI makes more sense, audio is clearer, and the build feels solid. I gave my old FT-60 to my nephew when he got licensed and that thing has been dropped, rained on, the whole deal -- still works. For APRS down the road you'd want to look at something like the FT3DR or the VX-8DR but those are more in the $300+ range so maybe cross that bridge later. Start simple, get on the repeaters, talk to people in your club -- they might even have a spare radio sitting in a drawer they'd sell you cheap.

i was in your exact spot like 8 months ago and ended up going with the UV-5R just to get started. honestly for hitting repeaters its totally fine, i program mine with CHIRP which makes the whole thing way less painful than trying to do it manually. only thing i'd say is get the nagoya antenna, the stock one is pretty mediocre. total cost was maybe $35 and i've had zero real problems with it.

but yeah if the budget isn't a concern the yaesu stuff does feel nicer. my buddy has a FT-70DR and im a little jealous of how clean it is. congrats on passing the exam btw