ok so i just upgraded from tech to general last month and im still trying to figure out where i can actually transmit on 40 meters. i keep reading about the band plan but then i also see stuff about the actual FCC allocations and they dont always seem to match up? like the band plan shows certain modes in certain spots but is that legally required or just like a gentlemans agreement thing

also whats the deal with operating near the band edges, my elmer told me to stay away from them but didnt really explain why. is it a legal thing or just courtesy or what. sorry if this is a dumb question im just trying to not step on anyone or do something wrong

not a dumb question at all, this trips up a lot of newly upgraded generals. so the short answer is the FCC part 97 rules are what's legally binding, the band plan is basically a voluntary gentleman's agreement put together by the ARRL that most people follow but nobody's going to fine you for ignoring it. that said you really should follow it because the community expects it and you'll get a lot of grief if you fire up SSB down in the CW portion even if you're technically within your allocation.

for 40m as a general you can do SSB from 7.175 to 7.300 MHz, and you have CW privileges from 7.025 up. the band edge thing is important -- your signal has sidebands, so if you're operating USB and you set your dial to 7.300 you're actually putting energy above 7.300 which is outside your allocation. most people stay at least 3 kHz inside the edge to be safe, some go even further. its not just courtesy, you can actually be out of band without realizing it if you dont account for the bandwidth of your signal

yeah what he said about the band edges is real, i learned that the hard way on 10m during a contest. had my dial right at the edge and someone pointed out my upper sideband was spilling over. felt like an idiot. now i just mentally add a few kHz buffer and dont think about it anymore