Both radios you mentioned are CB radios and nice radios at that if they havent been hacked up by someone that doesnt know what they are doing.....
doing any mods to them such as adding channels are a nono in the eyes of the FCC,even without a ham ticket just that alone can get you a nice little fine from them if you are caught talking on the added channels...and the fine will climb quickly if you have your ham ticket....
If it were me just getting my ham radio license I would go for the general class license ...believe me,it is well worth the time to do so
If you decide to stick with the tech ticket the VHF bands are also alot of fun.6 meter is starting to open up a bit and you can make some nice contacts to well over 1000 miles when the band is open. You will even get a sliver of the 10 meter band...28.300 to 28.500 and when that band is open the world is at your fingertips....back earlier this year I hit Africa early in the morning with a simple dipole and 100 watts ...not to mention contacts all over the states are very common when the band is open
2 meters and higher can be a challange to work DX (skip) but it can be done when all teh stars are lined up properly. I worked the space station a few years ago on 2 meter with a basic j-pole antenna and 50 watts and also worked the station out of my mobile not long after that,so fairly long range contacts can be done even on 2 meter
Research your radio options a bit more ,if you have no idea really what radio or radios you are wanting to look at,I am sure there are folks here that will give you a good idea where to start and a general price range.....
I wish all the best and hope to hear you on the ham bands soon !!
