okay so i just passed my general and im trying to figure out where i can actually transmit on 40 meters. i've been reading the band plan stuff but honestly its kind of confusing because theres the FCC allocation and then theres like the ARRL suggested band plan and they dont seem to be exactly the same thing? like one says i can go down to 7.125 for phone but then i see people talking about 7.175 or whatever and i dont know if thats a rule or just a suggestion

also i keep hearing about band edges and how you shouldnt operate right on them but nobody has really explained why. is it a rule that you stay off the band edge or is it more of a courtesy thing. i dont want to accidentally transmit out of band and get in trouble but i also dont want to be overly paranoid about it

sorry if this is a dumb question, just trying to get this straight before i start making contacts

not a dumb question at all, this trips up a lot of new generals. so the short version is the FCC part 97 is what's actually legally binding, the ARRL band plan is just a gentlemens agreement basically. on 40m phone as a general you can operate 7.175 to 7.300 MHz, that's your legal limit. the 7.125 you might have seen is the extra class lower edge for phone.

the band edge thing is about your signal not just your carrier. if youre running SSB your signal has width to it, maybe 2-3 kHz depending on your rig and how wide it's set. so if you park your dial right on 7.300 your upper sideband is actually going outside the allocation. thats why people say leave some room, usually 3 kHz or so from the edge is the rule of thumb i use. its not a hard FCC rule about the buffer itself but transmitting outside your allocation definitely is a rule so you do the math

yeah what he said. i made this mistake early on, had my vfo sitting at 7.299 and didnt realize my sideband was spilling over. nobody said anything but i noticed it later when i was looking at my signal on a panadapter. also worth knowing that 40m gets weird because the ITU region 1 guys (europe etc) have a different allocation so if youre working dx late at night you might hear stations operating below 7.175 which is fine for them but you still cant go there as a US general. just something to keep in mind when the band opens up