oK so I received my Call sign.
I have a UV-82hp
Whip antenna

HELP me!

All the Baofeng info you'll ever need.

What is it that you want to do?

Things to get you started that are low cost or free:

Set up an account on repeaterbook.  Look up repeaters within 20 or so miles of you.  Program these repeaters into your radio.  Perhaps also repeaters along your commute route, etc.  Learn to use the scan function.

Understand that it's very possible you'll be able to hear these repeaters but unable to talk to them given the relative low power of your handheld.

Get a magnetic mount antenna for your vehicle and connect it to your radio.

Beyond that, the sky is the limit.  You'll definitely want a mobile (vehicle) radio at some point.  If you want a radio at your house, the best thing you can do for yourself is mount an antenna as high as possible.


Get your general license so you have more HF privs.  This is where the real fun is, IMO.

Whatcha need help with man

I have a UV82hp, gotten alot of use out of it.

I highly recommend the N9TAX roll-up slim jim antenna for extended range.

And a hand mic, if you're gonna use it out and about, in a pouch.
J
As said, get some repeaters programmed and get out there!  Lots of helpful folks on the air.

What exactly you need help with?

ETA: what part of TX are you in?

Here's 99+ episodes of new stuff that awaits you....

Beyond that, you need to install CHIRP on your computer, it's a free programming software for your radio. Lotsa tutorials on YT if necessary.

Anything else, ask away-we've been there and are happy to help

Program in your local repeaters. Scan for activity and throw your call sign out when you find it.

Go drop another bill on a hot spot and a dmr radio and you can talk around the world.

Hi OP! Congratulations on getting your ticket. Program local repeaters into your handheld and see what machines
you can get into.
 Now, and this is important, don't get discouraged. With a handheld it can be hard to get into machines that are not
pretty close. The small antenna on the radio down low is not the optimum way to get into repeaters. VHF/UHF is line of sight
propagation mostly so the higher you are the better you will get out. Experiment with using the top of a parking deck or roof
of a tall building...or a mountain. You will be amazed how much better it works! If you can put an antenna high in the air at your
home this will work great too. Use a good feedline like LMR-400 and enjoy the results. I can work a few repeaters very well
with one half a watt with my roof mounted antenna. I use mobile radios for base use and really like my Icom 2730A. It is epic
on 440 and 2 meters. I also have an Icom 2300H which puts out 65 watts...but I prefer the 2730A. Most of the time I use 15 watts
as the 2730A does 50, 15, and 5 watts output power.

I had no money when I got my ticket and sold an old radio I had to pay for my first rig...A Icom 2200H. I built a 1/4 wave vertical out
of #4 copper wire and put it in the air with a PVC pipe on the roof! My station was upstairs so the coax run was short and I used old radio shack
RG-8 cable. Not optimal but I got into repeaters in TN,NC,SC,KY and GA. Not bad for cheap! I could only use 25 watts max as I could not
afford a big enough power supply and used an old radio shack one.

Find a local club and see if anyone can help you program your radio too. Local clubs can be fun...or not so fun YMMV.

Good luck op!

Another thing about using a handheld - just moving 6 or 7 feet in one direction or another can make the difference between clearly getting into a repeater or just barely or maybe even not at all when you are at the fringes of contact.  UHF is very line of sight, literally.  VHF has minor ground skimming/bending just beyond visual horizon. From a nice elevated position, I can regularly get into a repeater over 20 miles away providing I stand at the exact right spot.  3 feet ahead or back and I am out of phase with the signal.  Also don't forget that the transmitting and receiving antennas must be in the same verticle plane.  Holding the HT over at 45 degrees sends your signal into the ground and out into space at that angle, not to the repeater or other station.

Also you can sign up for Echolink and use your phone. A lot of purists look down on it, but digital or digitalish stuff is pretty damn popular. It's also helpful for Techs when analog stuff is dead locally. We have a Echolink linked repeater locally if you ever want to rag chew. I and some others usually monitor it or just send me an IM and I'll jump on.

Thank you guys for the starting info!
Very helpful. I have a chirp cable coming and will do some programming--YIKES
Also good info on the antenna angle stuff.
My abrea antenna has 3 sections that fold up on my UV-82hp so when I try talk to a friend with the same setup we could only talk about a 3/4 a mile apart while the antenna was folded up. Does it work better if it is unfolded? I get the VHF/UHF and trying to get higher up for better "line of Sight" One friend is about 9 miles as the crow flies the other 12.
I will look into the suggested handheld antenna.
I am looking up repeater book now.

Thanks so much for the start!

East TEXAS also.

Okay, anywhere near Bastrop? How far from Austin?

I ask because the WIN system is a linked repeater system, they have 4 in TX.  I talk with folks all over through it, other states, and UK and Australia. Kinda cool, with nothing but a uv82.

The abree antenna you have, I've heard mixed results about.  I've got 2 uv82s, and I've been surprised at how effective the stock antennas are.  I'm in a valley, and am still easily talking on repeaters  15-20 miles away.  

I do use a Nagoya whip, it helps when out in the field and the radio's in a pouch.  Nagoya and Comet antennas are known good.

The N9TAX roll up (up a tree or a 15ft. pole) has me talking on one 45 miles away, so far, and hitting one 60 miles away, no contact yet, just found it.

I don't use chirp.  All programming by hand.  It's a pain to do a new radio, when you have alot of channels you want to program at once,  but do yourself a favor and master programming it by hand.  You can always use chirp to do multiple radios easily and quickly, but it's advantageous to be able to do it on the fly.

They are not impossible to program, you just have to study the manual, and the menu, and patiently work with it.

Note that just because you can hear a repeater, doesn't necessarily mean you can be heard on it.  You'll see what I mean through use.  Definitely get out there, just give your call and ask for a signal check.

You need an antenna to make that kind of distance unless you have a mountain top handy. If you have reasonably flat terrain those distances are no problem with a reasonable base station antenna like a Tran 1480 on a pole or short tower. Could likely make that distance with mobile radios and vehicle mounted antennas also.