ok so i passed my technician exam about three weeks ago and im still trying to figure out exactly what im allowed to operate on. i know i have HF privileges on 10 meters but my buddy told me theres also something on 15 meters for techs? and i looked at part 97 but honestly that document is not exactly easy to read if you know what i mean. like i found the frequency allocation tables but then theres all these footnotes and sub-sections and i got lost pretty quick.

also im a little confused about the whole control operator thing. if a general class guy is at the club station and he lets me sit down and operate, can i transmit on his privileges or do i still have to stick to mine? i feel like i heard both answers and dont want to get myself in trouble with the FCC before ive even really gotten started.

yeah the part 97 tables are rough the first time you look at them, no question. so for tech privileges on HF — you get phone on 10 meters (28.300 to 28.500 MHz) and thats basically it for voice on HF. the 15 meter thing your buddy mentioned, i think hes maybe thinking of CW? techs do have some CW privileges on a few HF bands but its pretty limited, like a small slice at the bottom of 15 and a couple others. worth looking at the ARRL band plan because they lay it out way cleaner than the actual part 97 text.

on the control operator question — this is the one people get mixed up on all the time. the control operator's license determines what the station can do, not necessarily who's physically at the mic. so if a general is the control operator and hands you the mic, technically the station can operate on general privileges. but here's the thing, the control operator has to actually be in control, meaning present and supervising. its not like he can just walk away and leave you running. theres been some debate in club settings about exactly how this works in practice but that's the general idea from 97.105 if i remember right.

i was in the same boat like a year ago and honestly just use the ARRL website, they have a chart that breaks down all the privileges by license class and its a million times easier than staring at part 97 subsections. the official rules are the rules obviously but for just figuring out where you can operate day to day the chart does the job fine