ok so i passed my technician exam like two months ago and ive been trying to figure out exactly what im allowed to do. i know i have HF privileges on 10m but beyond that im honestly lost. i keep reading Part 97 and it just doesnt click for me the way the question pool made it seem like it would.

my main confusion is around like... content? i know you cant broadcast music or use it for business but what counts as business exactly. like if i mention my job or something in a QSO is that a violation or is it more about like actually conducting transactions. also is there a rule about how often you have to ID because i thought it was every 10 minutes but someone at my club said something different and now im second guessing myself.

sorry if this is a dumb question, just dont want to accidentally step on someones toes or worse get in trouble with the FCC before ive even really gotten started

not a dumb question at all, this trips up a lot of new hams. the ID thing is every 10 minutes during a contact AND at the end of the contact — so your club person might have been trying to clarify that second part. if you have a short QSO thats only 3 minutes you still ID at the end. the 10 minute rule kicks in for longer conversations.

as for the business thing, mentioning your job in casual conversation is totally fine, basically everyone does that. what Part 97 is actually trying to prevent is using the radio to like conduct commerce — so calling your employee on 2m to tell them to clock in, or coordinating deliveries or whatever. theres some grey area but casual mention of where you work is nowhere near that line. the FCC isnt sitting there listening to your ragchews waiting for you to say the word "invoice."

honestly just read through 97.113 when you get a chance, its the prohibited transmissions section and its actually not that long. the language is a bit dry but once you read it a couple times it starts making sense. and welcome to the hobby, 10m can be a lot of fun when the band cooperates

yeah the ID rule is 10 minutes and at the end, you had it right. the thing that got me when i was new was figuring out that "at the end" means when you actually sign off not like mid conversation if you decide to pause for a bit

also just as a side note — if youre operating on a repeater a lot of them have their own kind of informal norms on top of the FCC rules so it can feel like theres even more to remember but those arent legally binding the way Part 97 is