I've got the Baofeng uv5r plus and I love it. I just got my tech license a couple months ago, and it is my first and only radio so far. For the price, you can't beat it. It won't give you a range of a huge base station, but it can be pretty effectively used as a mobile rig if you have an antenna. It takes a little getting used to, and I had to ask this list for help a couple times. It's not difficult to use once you learn it though.
When you buy the radio itself, you'll want to buy a small aftermarket antenna to replace the stock rubber duck. I got a Nagoya na701 off of amazon for 7 dollars.
Good luck and welcome.
73, Zach, kk4ruz


Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 1, 2013, at 10:57 AM, RJ Sandefur <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> My name is RJ Sandefur, and I live in Florida. I'm studying for my tech =
> license with Gorden West. A friend gave me some of his stuff, and I find =
> it helpfull. My question is, What type of radio should I get as a =
> totally blind person? Is the bowfang or the kinwood any good? RJ