so i passed my technician exam last tuesday and just got my callsign showing up in the FCC database a few days ago. spent most of the weekend just listening on the local repeater trying to figure out how people actually talk on these things because honestly the practice nets sound nothing like what i expected from youtube videos.

anyway yesterday afternoon i just keyed up during a quiet moment and said my callsign and this older guy came back to me immediately and we talked for like 15 minutes about nothing really, just signal reports and weather and what radio i was using. i have a baofeng uv-5r which i know everyone has opinions about but it worked fine for a first contact. the whole thing felt kind of surreal honestly, like i built up so much anxiety about it and then it was just... normal. two people talking on the radio.

anyone else remember their first qso? did it feel weird to you too or was that just me

yeah mine was pretty much the same, i sat there with my finger hovering over the PTT button for probably 20 minutes before i actually did it lol. ended up being totally anticlimactic which i mean that in a good way. the guy i talked to had been licensed since the 70s and gave me a nice signal report and told me welcome to the hobby and that was it. i think i called CQ on HF for the first time like a month later and that was way more nerve wracking because you dont know if anyone is even out there

congrats on the license, the baofeng is fine for getting started dont let anyone tell you otherwise

welcome to the hobby. first qso jitters are real, ive elmered a few new hams over the years and almost all of them say the same thing you did, that they were way more nervous than they expected to be. something about keying up for the first time just does that to people i think.

once you get comfortable on the repeater start looking into your local club if you havent already, a lot of them have nets specifically for new folks and its a good way to get comfortable with the whole procedure side of things. also when you're ready to upgrade to general the HF bands open up a whole different world, working stations in other countries on your first try is a pretty good feeling. anyway good luck and enjoy it