so i passed my technician exam last thursday after studying for like 3 weeks straight and i finally keyed up on the 147.255 repeater in my area this morning. honestly my hands were shaking a little which is stupid because its just talking but whatever. someone came back to me right away, a guy named Dave, and we chatted for maybe 10 minutes about my radio (baofeng uv-5r, yeah i know, everyone starts there) and he gave me some tips about the local nets on wednesday nights. felt pretty good. anyway just wanted to post somewhere because my wife doesnt really get why im excited about this

haha yeah the first time keying up on a repeater is weirdly nerve wracking, i remember just sitting there with my thumb on the PTT for like 2 minutes before i finally did it. welcome to the hobby man, wednesday nets are great for getting comfortable, just show up and check in even if you dont have much to say

congrats on the ticket. dont let anyone give you too much grief about the baofeng, its fine to learn on. i used one for almost a year before i picked up a proper HT. once you get comfortable on 2m you should look into getting your general and getting on HF, thats where things get really interesting imo