I recently got my license (General class) and figured I’d start with a “marginally better than a Baofeng” radio, the ~$30 TYT TH-UV88.

The few attempts I’ve had trying to trasmit have resulted in people reporting “you got the repeater to register, but no sound” or missing significant parts of the message. I suspect the headset/mic setup that came in the box was dodgy at best (the earpiece was cracked in two, and I was never 1000% sure if the little module with a button on it was a mic or just the PTT button that would activate the on-unit mic) so I’m using the onboard speaker/mic. But I’m sure there’s an art to “how do I hold the mic, how loud, and how far do I speak from it for optimal legibility”.

What’s the best way to develop an understanding of these techniques? I feel like it’s rude to be just constantly begging for sound-quality reports. I thought about turning on my recieve-only RTL-SDR to record the local repeater, then try different styles to play back, but I figure I don’t want to disrupt the regular users with my faulty efforts, and the feedback cycle of having to stop and replay the tape seems inefficient. What’s the equivalent of the little icon that throbs when it detects speaking on a Google Hangouts meeting? :D

Alternatively and semi-related-- is there a consensus for the easiest to use/most foolproof mic type? I see ones that look more like a '70s CB handheld mic, like https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806437867278.html, or ones that look more like a typical mobile phone headset/mic. There’s a hamfest nearby next month so I could look at different types of microphone first-hand, but again, we’re back to not knowing if it improved my audibility before I hand over the cash.