Thanks to all for your advise. I just make my first contact using a repeater on South Mountain. This repeater is 2.5 miles from my home with a clear line of sight. When I was sitting down outside, the signal was poor. Just by standing up, it was good. My contact was in a town south of me about 30 miles away. I did remember to say my call sign every 10 minutes (or sooner) and at the end. Great fun and I learned a few things!
