ok so i just upgraded from tech to general last month and im trying to figure out where i can actually transmit on 40 meters. i looked at the FCC part 97 chart and also the ARRL band plan and they dont quite match up and now im more confused than before. like the FCC says generals get phone starting at 7.175 but then i see people talking about staying away from the band edges and i dont really understand what that means practically. if the allocation goes to 7.300 does that mean i can transmit with my carrier right at 7.300 or does the signal have to be fully within the band or what. also is the ARRL band plan like a law or just a suggestion because some guys at my club act like its the bible and others say ignore it

congrats on the upgrade first of all. ok so the FCC allocation is the actual legal limit, the ARRL band plan is a gentlemans agreement basically. you wont get fined for ignoring the ARRL plan but you might annoy people. the band edge thing is really important though — your signal isnt just at one frequency, when you transmit SSB you're producing a sideband that's roughly 3 kHz wide. so if you tune your dial to 7.300 on USB your signal is actually going from like 7.300 up to 7.303 which is outside the US allocation and technically illegal. most people leave at least 3 kHz of cushion from the upper edge, so in practice that means dont go above about 7.297 on USB. lower sideband is the norm on 40 phone anyway so you're spreading downward, but same idea applies at 7.175 on the lower end for generals. you want your whole signal inside the band not just your suppressed carrier frequency

yeah what he said about SSB bandwidth is the key thing that tripped me up too when i first got my general. i was parking right on 7.300 thinking i was fine and somebody on the air politely told me i was splattered outside the band lol. also worth knowing that 7.125 to 7.175 is where you'll find a lot of DX phone activity even though US generals cant transmit there, so dont be surprised when you hear a pile up happening in a spot you cant use. kind of frustrating honestly but thats just how it is with the different ITU regions having different allocations