ok so ive been licensed for about 3 months now (tech class) and im still kinda fuzzy on the rules around what im actually allowed to do. like i understand i have HF privileges on 10 meters and some other small chunks but my elmer keeps mentioning Part 97 and i honestly dont really know where to look or what im even looking for in there.

my main question i guess is about transmitting music or like, recordings of stuff over the air. my buddy said you cant do that but then someone else at the club meeting said there are exceptions? also is there a simple version of part 97 somewhere because the actual FCC document is kind of a wall of text and hard to follow for a new person

yeah Part 97 can be a bit dense when you first dig into it, totally get that. the music thing your buddy mentioned is pretty much right — 97.113 is the section that lists prohibited transmissions and music is specifically called out there. there are some narrow exceptions like if its incidental to an authorized retransmission of a space shuttle communication or something like that, but for everyday use on the air you basically just dont play music, period.

the ARRL has a pretty readable breakdown of the rules on their website if the raw FCC text is killing you. its not perfect but its way more approachable. honestly the big things to internalize early on are the prohibited transmissions section, the ID requirements (97.119), and understanding your band privileges as a tech. once those click the rest starts to make more sense over time. your elmer sounds like a good resource too, dont be shy about asking them dumb questions, thats literally what theyre there for.

the ARRL Part 97 book is like $10 or something and honestly worth it just to have a physical copy you can flip through. also there's a free PDF floating around called "The FCC Rule Book" or something close to that, might be an older edition but the core stuff hasnt changed that dramatically.

and yeah no music, no obscene content, no broadcasting to the general public — thats the stuff that trips people up most. you're supposed to be communicating not performing lol