okay so ive been licensed for about 3 months now, tech class, and im still kind of fuzzy on the rules around what frequencies i can actually use. like i know i have HF privileges on 10m but only certain modes right? and then theres the question of what i can say on air, someone at my club meeting mentioned something about third party traffic and i nodded like i understood but honestly i had no idea what they were talking about.

also i was reading part 97 the other night and it kind of made my head spin. like is there a plain english version somewhere or do i have to just memorize the whole thing. i dont want to accidentally do something wrong and lose my license before ive even really gotten started

totally get the confusion, part 97 reads like it was written by lawyers for lawyers. the short version for tech HF is yeah you get phone on 10m from 28.300 to 28.500 MHz, and some CW privileges on a few other bands. ARRL has a band plan chart that lays it all out way better than the actual rules document, id just print that and keep it near the radio for now.

the third party traffic thing is basically about passing messages for people who arent licensed. its allowed domestically but theres a list of countries where you cant do it internationally, your friend was probably just bringing it up as one of those gotcha rules. honestly for day to day operating as a new tech youre unlikely to run into it. just dont use the radio for business purposes or obscene language and youll be fine for like 99% of what youre doing

i was in the same spot like a year ago lol. the thing that helped me was just listening a lot before transmitting, you kinda absorb what people actually do vs what the rulebook says. also the ARRL handbook has a section that breaks down part 97 in normal language if you have access to one