ok so i just got my general license like two weeks ago and im trying to figure out the 40 meter band but honestly the more i read about it the more confused i get. like theres the FCC allocation and then theres the ARRL band plan and they dont seem to be the same thing? and then someone on a net told me to stay away from the band edges but didnt really explain why

i guess my main question is, if the FCC says i can operate somewhere does that mean i should? or is there like an unwritten thing where certain parts of the band are for certain modes and people will get mad if you set up a phone contact in the wrong spot. also what does it mean when people say dont transmit right on the band edge, is that a legal thing or just a courtesy thing

sorry if this is a dumb question, just dont want to step on anyone or do something wrong when im still learning

not a dumb question at all, this trips up a lot of new generals. so basically the FCC part 97 rules give you the legal limits — those are the actual frequencies you're licensed to use for a given mode and license class. the ARRL band plan is more like a gentlemen's agreement, nobody's going to arrest you for running phone in the CW portion but you'll get an earful from some old timer for sure

on 40m specifically, general class phone starts at 7.225 MHz so that's the lower edge of your phone privileges. the band edge thing is a real concern though — your rig's frequency display shows your carrier or dial frequency but your actual signal has sidebands that extend above and below that. on LSB which is what you'd use on 40m, your signal actually extends about 3 kHz below your displayed frequency. so if you tune to 7.125 which is right at the tech/general boundary, your voice is actually going down to like 7.122 or so and you'd be operating outside your privileges. most people just stay a few kHz inside the edge to give themselves a buffer and avoid any accidental out-of-band operation

honestly just download the ARRL band plan pdf and keep it handy for the first few months, it starts to make sense once you're spending time on the air

yeah what he said about the sideband thing is the big one people miss. i was operating 20m for like a month before someone explained to me that USB means your signal goes UP from your dial frequency so on the upper band edges you gotta be even more careful. burned me once during a contest when i was tuning around fast and got a note from the club advisor lol

the unwritten mode stuff is pretty real too, like good luck calling CQ phone down around 7.040 area, you'll have CW ops pretty annoyed with you even if technically some of that is in the general phone allocation depending on how you read it. just kind of learn where the action is on each band and stick to those spots until you get a feel for it