okay so i just passed my technician exam like three weeks ago and ive been trying to figure out exactly what im allowed to do. i understand i have HF privileges on 10m and some other bands but every time i try to read the actual Part 97 rules my eyes glaze over. the FCC document is written in such a weird legal way that i cant tell if im reading it right.

specifically im confused about the phone privileges. i thought techs could do SSB on 10m but my buddy said something about only certain frequencies and i dont want to accidentally transmit somewhere i shouldnt. is there a plain english version of this somewhere or does someone just want to explain it to me like im five

yeah the actual Part 97 text is pretty rough to read if youre not used to it, dont feel bad. the short version for tech HF privileges is youre allowed CW on a bunch of bands but for phone (like SSB voice) on HF you basically only get 28.300 to 28.500 MHz on 10 meters. thats it for voice on HF as a tech. the ARRL has a band plan chart thats color coded by license class and honestly thats what most people actually use day to day instead of reading the raw FCC document. look up the ARRL frequency allocation chart and just keep a copy of it near your radio until it becomes second nature.

the main thing is just dont transmit outside your privileges, obviously, but also be aware that on 10m phone you still have to follow all the usual Part 97 stuff about ID'ing every 10 minutes and at the end of transmission, no music, no broadcasting to the general public, all that. most of it is common sense once you know the basics.

im in basically the same boat passed my tech back in the spring and was totally lost on this too. what helped me was the Gordon West study material, he breaks it down in a way that actually makes sense. also there was a guy at my local club who just sat down with me for like 20 minutes and went through the band privileges and it clicked way faster than reading the rules on my own. if you have a club nearby that might be worth doing