Let's not excessively gatekeep things. Someone who is curious and wants to try a satellite once shouldn't need to buy new equipment. A dumb HT with a simple whip is enough; just keep your transmit duty cycle low and try hard to not step on people.

If I followed this advice a couple decades ago I'd never have gotten into operating sats. Yes, now that I'm equipped for FD I'd never operate without it, but..