ok so I passed my general exam about 3 weeks ago and ive been trying to figure out exactly what frequencies im allowed to operate on. I read through part 97 but honestly it reads like legal mumbo jumbo and I keep getting lost trying to cross reference all the different tables and exceptions. Like I think I can operate SSB on 40 meters but then theres a whole section about phone vs data vs image and I dont know if that changes things depending on the band or time of day or what.

also someone in my club mentioned something about a 200 watt limit in certain parts of 40m and I had no idea that was even a thing. Is that in part 97 somewhere or is that more of a gentlemans agreement type situation? I feel like there are rules layered on top of rules and nobody just explains it in plain english. Is there like a simplified version of all this somewhere that isnt just a blog post trying to sell me something?

Yeah part 97 is rough to read if you're not used to legal writing. The ARRL publishes a kind of plain-english breakdown of the rules and it's way more readable, might be worth grabbing that or just reading through the operating manual they put out. For general class on 40m you're looking at 7.175 to 7.300 for phone which includes SSB, and yeah there is a 200 watt PEP limit on some segments of 40 and 75/80 meters depending on where you are — that one's actually in the rules, not just convention. I forget the exact section off the top of my head but it has to do with interference concerns with stations in other parts of the world using those same frequencies. The band plan on the ARRL website lays it out pretty clearly and matches up with what part 97 actually says, so using both together helps a lot when youre trying to figure out what goes where.

im in the same boat honestly, just got my general a couple months ago. what helped me was finding an old copy of the technician and general study guide and just re-reading the regulatory sections even though i'd already passed, because the exam questions kind of force the rules into a context that makes them easier to remember. also qrz has a frequency allocations page that someone put together that breaks it down visually and i found that way more useful than staring at the tables in the actual CFR. still confusing sometimes but at least its a start