so i just passed my technician exam last week and now im trying to figure out what handheld to get. everyone in my local club keeps recommending different things and i honestly dont know where to start. one guy told me to just get a baofeng uv-5r to learn on, another guy basically acted like i'd be committing a crime if i touched one, and then someone else was going on about yaesu ft-60 for like 20 minutes straight.

my main thing is i want to hit the local repeaters and maybe eventually do some simplex stuff. i don't have a huge budget - probably under $150 if possible. i live in a suburb so i'm not like deep in the mountains or anything. does the brand really matter that much at this stage or am i overthinking it?

honestly the baofeng hate is a little overblown in my opinion, especially for someone just starting out. yeah the build quality isn't exactly yaesu or kenwood level and the menus are kind of a mess to program without chirp, but for hitting repeaters and getting a feel for things it works fine. i started on one and had zero problems for the first couple years.

that said if you can stretch a tiny bit the yaesu ft-65r goes for right around $80-90 and is a noticeable step up in terms of receiver quality. spurious emissions are also less of a concern which matters more when you're around other operators who have nicer gear. the ft-60 the guy recommended is great too but that's more like $150-160 new so might be pushing your budget a bit.

main thing is just get something and get on the air, you'll figure out real quick what you actually need once you start using it.

i was in the exact same spot about 8 months ago lol. ended up going with the uv-5r just because it was $25 and i wasnt sure if id even stick with the hobby. it got me on my local repeater no problem and i made my first contact within like 2 days of getting it. programming it was kind of a pain but once i found chirp it was fine.

now that i know i actually like this i just ordered a wouxun kg-uv9d plus which has better audio and a nicer feel. so maybe that's one way to think about it - start cheap, see if you're into it, upgrade when you know what you actually want from a radio.