so i passed my technician exam on tuesday and been lurking on the local repeater all week just listening, finally worked up the nerve to key up last night and said my callsign and asked if anyone was around. guy named Harold came back to me right away and we talked for maybe 20 minutes about nothing really, his antenna setup and what radio i had and where i lived. felt kinda surreal honestly. been studying for months and that was just... it. my first QSO. pretty anticlimactic in the best way i guess

anyway just wanted to post somewhere because nobody in my real life cares lol. anyone else remember their first time keying up and being nervous about it?

haha yeah i remember mine, i think i fumbled my callsign twice and just said "uh, over" like an idiot. the guy on the other end was super patient about it. that nervousness goes away pretty fast once you realize everyone on the repeater was a new ham at some point. welcome to the hobby man, it only gets more addictive from here. before you know it youll be eyeing HF radios and wondering why your wallet keeps getting lighter

congrats on the ticket. Harold sounds like good people, the regulars on most local repeaters are usually pretty welcoming to new hams. dont stress too much about saying the right thing, just talk. you'll pick up the lingo naturally. whats your radio btw? im still on a baofeng myself and been licensed about 8 months now, keeps working so havent upgraded yet