so i passed my technician exam about three weeks ago and ive been trying to figure out exactly what bands i have access to and what modes i can use but honestly the way part 97 is written is kind of hard to follow for someone just starting out. like i get that i have full privileges on VHF and up but then i see people talking about HF and 10 meters and i thought techs couldnt do HF at all? someone at my club mentioned something about a small portion of 10m and maybe some 15m or 40m but only for certain modes and i got confused. also i was wondering if there are rules about power limits that are different depending on the band or mode because i dont want to accidentally be out of compliance and get in trouble. i know the FCC takes this stuff seriously but im not sure how seriously they actually monitor it for someone just getting started on a handheld or a cheap base station. anyway if anyone can point me to where i can find a plain english version of all this that would be great

yeah the privileges table for technicians is honestly one of the more confusing things to parse when you first look at it. the short version is that techs do get some HF access — on 10 meters you can do phone (voice) from 28.300 to 28.500 MHz and you also get some CW privileges a bit lower down on that band. and then there's a tiny sliver on 40m and 15m but only for CW, no phone there. so your club contact was right about that. the ARRL website has a privileges chart thats way easier to read than the actual part 97 text, just search for technician privileges and you'll find it pretty quick. as for power limits, the general limit is 1500 watts PEP but as a tech on those HF segments i believe you're limited to 200 watts on 10m phone, and honestly at your stage that probably doesn't even matter since most radios you'd be starting with run way less than that anyway. the FCC doesn't have enforcement agents sitting around monitoring every frequency all day but the ham community does self-police to some extent, and getting caught operating outside your privileges is a real thing that can happen especially if someone files a complaint

i was in the same boat not long ago, the part 97 document itself is like reading legal code which i guess it basically is. one thing that helped me was just downloading the actual ARRL band plan poster, theres a version you can print out. also dont stress too much about the FCC monitoring thing, they really are more focused on interference complaints and repeater drama than someone new accidentally calling CQ on the wrong part of a band. that said its still worth getting it right, just looked dumb once when i transmited outside my privileges because i misread the chart and someone on the frequency pointed it out. not fun. just take the time to look it up properly before you get on HF and you'll be fine