so i passed my technician exam on like tuesday and been lurking on the 147.225 repeater here in town for a few days just listening, finally worked up the nerve to key up yesterday afternoon and just said my callsign and that i was new and looking to make contact and this older guy came back to me immediately and we talked for like 20 minutes about antennas and where i lived and stuff

honestly way less scary than i thought it would be, i was expecting silence or something. hes an elmer type guy apparently and said i could call him anytime on the repeater if i had questions. pretty cool honestly. anyway just wanted to share cause i feel like i actually did something real finally after months of studying

that first contact feeling is something you never really forget, congrats. the repeater guys are usually pretty welcoming especially to new hams, you picked a good way to start. dont be shy about keying up more, the more you do it the more natural it gets. and if that elmer offered his time take him up on it, those guys know stuff you wont find in any book

nice one, my first qso was a disaster haha i forgot to say my callsign at the end and the guy had to ask me twice. youll get the hang of the rythem of it. whats your setup right now, HT or you got a mobile rig?