ok so i passed my General exam about three weeks ago and ive been trying to figure out exactly what frequencies i have access to now vs what i had as a Tech. i know there's a chart somewhere but honestly every time i look at it i get more confused not less.

my actual question is about the phone segments specifically. like i understand CW is one thing but when it comes to SSB on 40 meters for example, where exactly does my General privileges start and is there a hard rule about whether i can just jump in on a frequency someone else is already using or do i have to ask? i know there's no frequency ownership thing but i also dont want to be that guy who just walks all over an existing QSO.

also separate question kind of - my buddy told me i have to ID every 10 minutes during a contact AND at the end, is that actually in Part 97 or is he just remembering it wrong? we had a bit of an argument about it

your buddy is right on the ID thing, that's straight out of Part 97.119 - you gotta give your callsign at the end of the contact and at least every ten minutes during it if the contact runs long. so if you're in a 25 minute ragchew you'd ID at roughly the 10 minute mark and then again when you sign off. pretty simple once you get used to it, just becomes habit.

on the 40 meter phone thing, as a General you have 7.175 to 7.300 MHz for phone, everything below that down to 7.025 is CW/data only for you. Extra class guys get a bit more room starting at 7.150 but dont worry about that for now.

and yeah there's no frequency ownership, that's correct. the polite thing to do is just listen for a bit, maybe ask if the frequency is in use, and if nobody comes back after a reasonable time you're good. most people understand. the key is you're not supposed to cause malicious interference which IS a Part 97 thing, but accidentally landing near someone while you're still learning is just part of it.

yeah the 10 minute ID rule tripped me up too when i first got my General. i kept forgetting mid-contact and then panicking lol. the way i think about it now is just ID more often than you think you need to, nobody's ever complained that i IDed too much but i've definitely heard people get called out for not doing it.

also one thing that kinda surprised me when i actually read Part 97 - the rule about not using the radio when you're drunk is literally in there. like it's an actual regulation. i dunno why that stuck with me but it did