ok so i passed my general exam about 3 weeks ago and ive been trying to figure out exactly what frequencies im allowed to use. i keep reading part 97 and honestly it just makes my head spin. like i understand theres phone and CW segments but when i try to look at the actual band plan i feel like im missing something.

my main question is about 40 meters i think. i was told by someone at my club that general class cant use the full 40m phone portion and there are some restrictions but then someone else said something different and now im just confused. also is there anything special i need to know about transmitting near the band edges? i feel like ive heard people talk about keeping your signal within the band but i dont fully understand what that means practically speaking for like a SSB signal

yeah the 40m thing trips up a lot of new generals. basically as a general you get 7.175 to 7.300 MHz for phone, and extra class gets the chunk below that down to 7.125. so there is a restriction there, your club guy was right. the ARRL band plan chart is honestly way easier to read than the actual part 97 text, i'd grab one of those and stick it near your radio.

the band edge thing is important though and you're smart to ask. with SSB your carrier frequency is what you tune to but the actual signal is spread out — on USB your signal goes UP from the dial frequency, so if you're tuned to say 7.299 and you're running USB, your voice is putting signal above that and technically outside the band. most people say stay at least 3 kHz inside the edge to be safe, some say more. the FCC doesnt care about a few Hz of slop but being obviously out of band is a different story. just develop a habit of not parking right at the edge.

i went through the same thing when i upgraded, part 97 reads like stereo instructions from 1987 honestly. one thing that helped me was just downloading the actual ARRL privileges chart as a PDF and comparing it side by side with what 97.301 says. they match up but the ARRL version is way less painful to parse.

also dont stress too much about accidentally stepping on an extra-class-only segment right away, people will generally just let you know if you're in the wrong spot, at least on 40m. just be aware and you'll be fine.