ok so i just upgraded from tech to general last month and im trying to figure out 40 meters but honestly the band plan stuff is really confusing me. like i know theres a chart somewhere but when i look at it theres the FCC allocation and then theres what the ARRL recommends and they dont always line up? or maybe i'm reading it wrong.

my question is basically -- as a general class can i operate anywhere on 40m or are there parts i cant touch. and also whats the deal with staying away from band edges, someone at my club mentioned it but didnt really explain why. i have a ft-891 if that matters

So for 40m as a General you get 7.025 to 7.300 MHz for phone (SSB), and then CW you can go down to 7.025 as well. The portion from 7.000 to 7.025 is Extra class only for CW. So basically don't go below 7.025 and you're fine for voice.

The band edge thing -- your rig's displayed frequency is usually the carrier or the suppressed carrier frequency, and with SSB the actual signal has bandwidth, so if you're on USB and you dial up to say 7.300.0 your signal is actually extending above that which is outside the allocation. Most people say stay at least 3 kHz inside the edge to be safe, so like 7.297 or so for the upper end. Some rigs will even warn you or limit you but not all of them do. The 891 should be fine just watch your dial.

yeah what he said basically. i got tripped up on the same thing when i upgraded. the ARRL band plan is just kind of a gentlemans agreement about like where CW ops hang out vs where phone is, its not actually law. the FCC part is the legal stuff you have to follow. took me a while to get that straight in my head too

honestly just go listen on 40m for a while before you transmit and youll get a feel for where things are happening. most of the SSB action is up around 7.150-7.250 during the day at least here in the midwest