okay so i just upgraded from tech to general last month and im trying to figure out where i can actually operate on 40 meters. i looked up the FCC allocations and i see generals get 7.225 to 7.300 for phone but then i keep hearing people say you should stay away from the band edges and i dont really understand why. like is 7.225 off limits or just frowned upon or what

also i saw something about a gentlemens agreement about SSB starting higher up but i cant find a clear answer on where that actually is. my elmer told me to just stay around 7.250 but that seems really crowded and id like to spread out a bit if i can. sorry if this is a dumb question

not a dumb question at all, this confuses a lot of new generals. so the FCC allocation is your legal limit — 7.225 is technically where your phone privileges start, you CAN transmit there. the reason people say avoid band edges is mostly practical. your signal has sidebands that extend a few kHz on either side depending on your audio, so if you're sitting right on 7.225 your lower sideband could technically be going into a part of the band you dont have privileges for. on 40m we use LSB so the sideband goes DOWN from your dial frequency, which means at 7.225 you could be splashing into the CW/digital portion below it.

as a rule of thumb most people say give yourself at least 3 kHz of breathing room from any edge, so something like 7.228 or higher gives you a little margin. the band plan stuff like where SSB "should" start is just convention, not law, but most experienced ops follow it to keep things organized. 7.250 is crowded yeah, try up around 7.260 or 7.270 on a weekday afternoon, usually a bit more room.

yeah what he said, also worth mentioning that 40m gets real busy at night because of skywave and you get stations from all over piling in. i made the mistake early on of parking on a frequency thinking it was clear and then an hour later the band had shifted and i was basically on top of someone in South America who had been there the whole time, just wasnt making it to me yet. so even when you find a clear spot keep an ear out and ask if the frequency is in use before you start calling CQ. QRM happens but no reason to add to it