ok so i just passed my technician exam like two weeks ago and im still trying to figure out what frequencies i actually have access to on HF. i keep reading part 97 and it just feels like im going in circles. like i understand i have some HF privileges but its not totally clear to me which bands and what modes. somebody at my local club told me techs can operate on 10 meters with phone but then i read something that said only certain parts of 10 meters and now im more confused than when i started.

also theres something in there about power limits and i honestly dont know if that applies differently depending on the band or if its just a blanket rule. i dont want to accidentally do something wrong, especially since ive only had my callsign for a couple weeks. any help appreciated, trying to get this straight before i actually key up for the first time.

yeah the tech privileges on HF are kind of a weird patchwork, totally get the confusion. basically as a tech you get CW privileges on 80, 40, 15, and 10 meters, but the phone stuff is only on 10 meters and only in a specific segment — i think its 28.300 to 28.500 MHz for SSB. you also have some RTTY and data access on certain bands too but honestly for a new tech the main thing people care about is that 10 meter phone allocation.

power limits — general rule under part 97 is 1500 watts PEP output for most amateur bands but there are exceptions depending on band and location and mode. as a new tech with whatever HT or entry level rig you probably have, you wont be anywhere near that anyway so dont stress too much about it. the ARRL has a really good privileges chart on their website that lays it out way cleaner than the actual FCC document does, i'd start there honestly.

same boat as you a while back lol. one thing that helped me was just downloading the actual part 97 PDF and ctrl+F searching for "Technician" — cuts through a lot of the noise. also the ARRL band plan chart is way more readable. dont overthink the power limits for now, just focus on knowing where you're allowed to be frequency wise first.