so i passed my technician exam back in march and just been listening mostly, finally got the courage to key up on the local 2m repeater yesterday and got a response from some guy about 30 miles away. we talked for maybe 10 minutes about nothing in particular, the weather, his antenna setup, whatever. honestly my hands were shaking a little which is embarrasing to admit but its true. the whole thing felt weird in a good way, like i was suddenly part of something. anyway just wanted to share because i dont really have anyone around me who gets why this is a big deal

ha i remember my first QSO like it was yesterday and mine was on HF so there was a lot more that could go wrong. i was so worried about proper procedure that i had my callsign written on a sticky note on the desk in case i blanked out. which i almost did. you never forget the first one though, welcome to the hobby man

shaky hands are completely normal lol. i still get a little weird when i try to work a new dx station on a pile up. congrats on the first contact, it gets way easier after a few times and then you wont be able to stop talking