ok so i passed my general a few weeks ago and ive been trying to figure out where i can actually transmit on 40 meters. i looked up the band plan and the FCC allocations but honestly it kind of confused me more than it helped. like i see 7.125 to 7.300 is general phone but then someone in my club was talking about band edges and how you should stay away from them? i dont really understand why. also is the band plan like a law or just a suggestion because i saw something on the ARRL site that seemed like it was just recommended. anyway if someone could just explain in plain english where i should be parking for a casual SSB QSO without stepping on anyone or operating somewhere i shouldnt be that would be great

yeah the band edge thing trips up a lot of new generals. so the FCC allocation is the legal part — you genuinely cannot transmit outside those limits or you're violating part 97. the ARRL band plan on top of that is more of a gentlemans agreement, nobody is going to fine you for ignoring it but people will get annoyed if you set up a ragchew in the middle of the digital portion for example.

for 40m phone as a general you've got 7.175 to 7.300 MHz, at least thats where most people operate to avoid bumping into the extra class guys lower down. the reason people say avoid the band edge is that your signal has sidebands — on SSB you're running lower sideband on 40 so your actual transmitted signal extends a few kHz below your dial frequency. if you tune to exactly 7.125 and you're running LSB your signal is actually going below that and technically outside your allocation. so most people just stay a few kHz inside to be safe. honestly just stay above 7.180 or so for casual phone and you'll be fine for starters.

was in the same boat not that long ago lol. what finally made it click for me was someone explaining that the frequency on your dial isnt where your whole signal is, its where the carrier would be. so yeah on LSB your voice is actually below that number. took me way too long to get that honestly