ok so i passed my general back in march and ive been mostly just listening on 40 meters but im nervous about actually transmitting because i honestly dont fully understand where im allowed to be. like i know there are portions of the bands that are tech only or extra only or whatever but when i look at the band charts online they all look slightly different from each other and some mention the ARRL band plan and some mention the actual FCC allocations and im not sure which one is the actual rule vs just a suggestion.

also i keep hearing people say dont operate too close to the band edge and i get why in theory but how close is too close? like is 7.125 fine or is that considered cutting it too close on the lower end for phone. im just trying to figure out where i can actually call CQ without stepping on someone or getting yelled at

so the short version is the FCC allocation is the actual legal limit, the ARRL band plan is more like a gentlemens agreement about who operates where within that. you wont get your license revoked for ignoring the ARRL plan but people will definitely get annoyed at you.

for 40m general phone you can operate from 7.175 up to 7.300, that lower chunk below 7.175 is extra class only for phone. the band edge thing is real though, you want your signal fully contained within the allocation so if youre running SSB you gotta think about the sideband width. on upper sideband your carrier is the lower frequency so if your dial reads 7.300 your signal is actually going above that which is out of your allocation. most people just stay a few khz below the edge to be safe, so like 7.295 or so on the high end. on the low end for generals 7.175 is your floor for phone so id stay at 7.178 or higher just to leave room

yeah the band edge thing tripped me up too when i was a general. someone on the air actually told me to move up after i called CQ on like 7.174 because i was right in the extra segment. wasnt trying to cause trouble just genuinely didnt realize. nobody was super rude about it but it was embarassing. just bookmark the ARRL frequency chart and keep it open when youre getting started, after a while you just kind of know where you are