ok so i passed my general exam about 3 months ago and ive been mostly just listening on HF but i want to start transmitting more. my problem is i keep reading part 97 and it just... doesn't click for me. like i understand the basic band plan stuff but when it gets into the privileges for general vs extra i get lost. specifically i'm trying to figure out if i can use 40m phone and what portion exactly. i looked at the arrl chart and it shows a segment but then i read somewhere that general class cant use the whole thing and i just want to make sure im not gonna key up somewhere i shouldn't be. also is there anything else i should know about like rules that are easy to accidentally break that nobody really warns you about? station identification is one i've been careful about but i feel like there's stuff i'm missing

the 40m phone situation for general is actually not too bad once you see it laid out. you get 7.175 to 7.300 MHz for phone, extras get a bit more on the lower end starting at 7.125. so as long as you're operating above 7.175 you're fine for SSB. the ARRL band plan graphic is decent but honestly the actual part 97 appendix is clearer once you just sit down with it.

as for stuff that trips people up -- the ID rules are probably the most common. you gotta ID at the end of every contact and every 10 minutes during a contact, and it has to be in english even if you're working a foreign station (or CW obviously). a lot of new generals also don't realize that running too close to the edge of their privileges can still get you in trouble even if you think you're in bounds, because if your signal is wide enough it might splatter into a portion you don't have phone privileges on. not saying you're doing that just worth knowing.

yeah what he said about the 40m segment is right. i was in the same boat when i upgraded, spent like an hour convinced i was reading the band chart wrong lol. one thing i'll add -- dont stress too much about accidentally violating stuff as long as you're actually trying to follow the rules. the FCC isn't out there monitoring every QSO waiting to bust a newly licensed general. just keep your ID habits solid and stay in your segment and you'll be fine. the third party traffic rules tripped me up once too if you ever get into that, basically just be careful relaying messages for non-hams to foreign countries because some countries have restrictions on that