ok so i just upgraded from tech to general last month and im trying to figure out the 40 meter band. i know generals have more privileges than techs but i keep reading different things online about where i can actually transmit. like some sites say 7.175 to 7.300 for phone and others mention something about a voluntary band plan that's different from the actual FCC allocation and i dont really understand the difference between those two things.

also someone at my club told me to stay away from the band edges but didnt really explain why. is it just a courtesy thing or is there an actual rule about it? i dont want to accidentally transmit somewhere im not supposed to and get in trouble. running a 100w icom into a dipole if that matters

the short version is the FCC allocation is the legal limit of where you're allowed to be, and the band plan is more of a gentlemen's agreement about what modes go where within that. so for 40m phone as a general you're legally allowed from 7.175 up to 7.300 MHz, anything below that down to 7.025 is your CW/data subband as a general.

the band edge thing is real practical advice though not a hard rule. the issue is your transmitter's carrier might be right on 7.300 but your signal has sidebands that extend a few kHz depending on your audio, so if youre doing SSB and you set the dial to 7.300 your actual transmitted signal is probably spilling above the band edge which would put you out of your allocation. most people just stay a few kHz inside to be safe. on LSB your signal extends below your dial frequency so 7.175 you'd want to be at like 7.178 minimum to keep your whole signal inside the band.

went through the same confusion when i upgraded lol. one thing that helped me was just downloading the ARRL band plan chart and keeping it next to the radio for a while. also yeah the band edge thing burned me once, i was on 7.299 thinking i was fine and someone told me i was technically splattering outside the band. felt pretty dumb but live and learn i guess