so i finally did it after putting it off for like 6 months, passed the technician exam yesterday at the library VE session. got a baofeng uv-5r that my brother in law gave me like a year ago and ive been listening on it this whole time but never actually keyed up. honestly kind of terrified to say anything on the local repeater. i know its irrational but what if i mess up the phonetics or forget to give my callsign or something. anyway KD9 something, ill post the full call once the FCC database updates. anyone else feel this way starting out?

oh man yes absolutely felt the same way. sat with my hand on the PTT for probably 20 minutes the first time before i finally said anything. just jumped on a local net one evening, gave my callsign and said i was new and checking in, and honestly everyone was super welcoming. just do it, worst case you mess up a phonetic and someone gently corrects you, no big deal at all. the repeater people want new folks on there.

congrats on passing. dont stress the phonetics too much, i been licensed 3 years and still sometimes say November instead of November... wait that made no sense. you know what i mean. just key up and say your call, people will work with you.