ok so I just upgraded to general last month and im trying to figure out where I can actually transmit on 40 meters. I know technicians are pretty limited but now that im a general I should have more privileges right? the problem is every chart I find online looks slightly different and im not sure which one is the actual official one vs just someones suggestion or whatever.

like I was tuning around 7.250 the other night and heard some guys having a roundtable, joined in, and someone came on later and said something about being close to the phone edge. I thought 7.250 was fine for general? and then theres the whole thing about ssb vs am vs digital and I have no idea where digital is supposed to go. do I just pick a frequency that sounds clear or is there like actual rules about this

yeah the confusion is pretty understandable, there are two different things people mix up — the FCC part 97 allocations which are actual law, and the band plans which are just gentlemens agreements that ARRL and others publish. you're not going to get your license pulled for operating outside the band plan but inside your allocation, but people might get grumpy at you.

for general on 40m you have phone privileges from 7.175 up to 7.300 MHz. so 7.250 is totally fine for you. the comment about being near the edge was probably someone being confused or maybe they were thinking about the old pre-2007 allocations before the FCC restructured things. used to be phone started higher up but that changed.

digital stuff like JS8, FT8, all that tends to cluster in the lower parts of the band below where general phone starts, so you wont really be bumping into that unless youre down around 7.040 or so which you cant transmit on anyway as a general on phone. just keep a copy of the arrl band plan handy, the one on their website matches part 97 and notes where the band plans suggest things go.

also worth knowing that 40m is kind of a wild west band especially at night when the dx starts coming in and everybody wants the same chunk of spectrum. dont be surprised if you pick what seems like a clear frequency and someone tells you its "in use" even if you heard nothing — skip zones and all that, someone on the other side of the country might be hearing a station you cant. just do a quick qrl? before you start calling and youll be fine for the most part