ok so I passed my general a few weeks ago and im still kind of lost on the frequency thing. like I know technicians have limited HF but generals get more, but when I look at the band charts online they all look slightly different from each other and I dont know which one to actually trust

specifically on 40 meters I keep seeing different numbers for where phone starts. someone at the club told me 7.175 but then I saw another chart that said 7.225 and the arrl one seems different again? and then theres something about the band edge being dangerous to operate near but I dont really get why

also is there like one official document I should just be looking at or what

the FCC part 97 rules are the actual law, everything else is just a band plan which is basically a gentlemens agreement. so for your license privileges the FCC table is what matters legally. for generals on 40m phone you can operate from 7.175 up to 7.300 MHz, thats the actual rule

the band edge thing is real though and worth paying attention to. your radio isnt perfect and when youre transmitting your signal has sidebands that extend a bit beyond where your dial says. so if youre on USB and your dial reads 7.299 your actual transmitted audio might be pushing past 7.300 into the extra portion. most people just stay a few kHz inside the edge to be safe, like dont park yourself right on 7.175 either because same issue going the other direction into the tech/extra portion

the ARRL band plan pdf on their website is usually what I point new folks to, just make sure youre looking at the US one because band allocations are different in other ITU regions and some of those charts floating around online are for europe or wherever

yeah I was confused by this too when I upgraded. the thing that finally clicked for me was understanding that the FCC rules and the band plan are two different things. one is law and one is just like... courtesy guidelines that everyone more or less follows so we dont all step on each other

also dont worry too much about the band edge stuff at first just give yourself some breathing room and youll be fine. I think when I first got on 40m I just stayed around 7.200 area and listened a lot before transmitting anywhere, you learn pretty quick where the activity actually is