ok so ive had my tech license for about 3 months now and i thought i understood the band privileges but now im second guessing myself. i was reading something online about HF and it said techs can use some HF frequencies but then someone at my club meeting said techs are basically limited to VHF and above except for a small slice of 10 meters. so which is it? and also is there like a simple version of part 97 somewhere because i tried reading the actual FCC document and it made my head hurt. i just want to make sure im not accidentally transmitting somewhere i shouldnt be, i dont want to get in trouble or step on someones QSO without knowing

your club guy is basically right. as a tech you get voice privileges on 10m between 28.300 and 28.500 MHz, and theres also a small chunk of 40m and 15m for CW only i think, 7.025 to 7.125 and 21.025 to 21.200 or something close to that, dont quote me exactly on those numbers go look at the ARRL band plan. but yeah the meat of your operating is gonna be VHF/UHF. 2 meters and 70cm are your playground for now. as for a simpler version of part 97, honestly the ARRL website has a pretty readable breakdown of it, way better than staring at the CFR. just search ARRL technician privileges and youll find a chart that makes way more sense than the actual regulation text

same boat as you were a few months ago lol. what helped me was just downloading the ARRL band plan as a PDF and keeping it on my phone. also your radio will usually let you know if you punch in a frequency that doesnt make sense but dont rely on that obviously. the 10m thing is real and its actually pretty fun when the band opens up, ive worked a few states on SSB already which i wasnt expecting as a tech. just stick to VHF for now and you'll be fine, nobody's going to come after you for an honest mistake if you're clearly trying to learn