ok so i just upgraded to general last month and im trying to figure out where i can actually transmit on 40 meters. i know there are band edges but i keep reading conflicting stuff online. like some sites say phone starts at 7.175 and others say 7.200 and i dont know if thats a US thing or a different region thing or what.

also whats the deal with operating near the band edge, ive heard people say you should stay like 3 or 5 khz away from the edge but i dont understand why exactly. is it a legal thing or just kind of an unwritten rule? my radio shows my dial frequency but someone told me thats not the same as where i'm actually transmitting when using SSB which now has me paranoid im doing something wrong

sorry if this is a dumb question just trying to make sure im not causing problems for anyone

not a dumb question at all, this trips up a lot of new generals. so yeah the 7.175 vs 7.200 thing is a region issue — in ITU region 2 which is the americas, us general class phone starts at 7.175 MHz. the 7.200 figure you might be seeing is probably from older references or non-US band plans.

the band edge thing is important and your friend was right to mention it. when you're on USB, your actual transmitted signal extends upward from your dial frequency, roughly 3 khz or so depending on your audio passband. so if you tune to 7.300 which is the top of the 40m allocation for us hams, your signal is actually sticking out above the band edge and thats an FCC violation not just bad manners. most people stay at least 3 khz down from the edge to be safe, some go more. same deal at the bottom, on LSB your signal goes downward from the dial so you have to think about that too.

the ARRL band plan is worth bookmarking, it shows both the legal limits and the gentlemans agreement stuff like where cw guys hang out vs phone etc.

yeah what he said. also just to add — i made this exact mistake when i first got my general and actually had someone call me on it during a QSO. was mortifying but honestly its how you learn. i had my dial sitting right on 7.300 wondering why i wasnt getting many responses and someone finally told me my upper sideband was walking all over the edge lol. moved down to 7.295 and things got better real quick.