ok so i just upgraded to general last month and im trying to figure out 40 meters but every time i look something up i get a different answer. like the FCC part 97 says one thing and then theres the ARRL band plan which seems different and then people on the air are operating in places that dont match either one

specifically i keep seeing SSB activity down around 7.150 and even lower sometimes and i thought generals couldnt go below 7.175 or something like that. and whats the deal with the band edges, someone told me to stay away from 7.000 and 7.300 but didnt really explain why. is that a rule or just a suggestion

also theres like a whole section of the band where i can barely hear any activity during the day, is that normal or am i doing something wrong on the receiver end

yeah this trips up a lot of new generals, dont feel bad. the short version is the FCC allocations are the actual legal limits and the ARRL band plan is more of a gentlemans agreement about where different modes tend to hang out. you absolutely cannot transmit below 7.175 as a general on phone, thats not a suggestion thats part 97. extra class gets down to 7.125.

the band edge thing is practical more than legal. if youre running SSB and your carrier is right at 7.300 your upper sideband is actually splashing above the allocation and thats a violation. most people say stay at least 3khz inside the edge to be safe, some say more depending on how wide your signal is. i usually just stay below 7.295 to be comfortable.

the dead zone you're hearing in the middle of the day is pretty normal on 40, the skip is too long for locals and too short for dx so theres this weird dead region. it fills back up in the evenings when the band changes character. youll get used to it.

just to add on the 7.150 thing you were noticing -- a lot of that activity you're hearing is probably dx stations from other regions where the band plan is different. ITU region 1 (europe, africa) has different phone allocations on 40 so they can be running phone down there legally on their end even though a US general cant respond from that part of the band. so you can hear them but cant really work them unless you're an extra. kind of frustrating honestly when there's a good eu opening and youre stuck watching from 7.175 up