ok so i passed my general exam like 3 weeks ago and ive been trying to figure out exactly what frequencies im allowed to operate on for HF. i keep looking at the part 97 charts online and they all look slightly different from each other and now im more confused than before i started looking.

like for 40 meters specifically, can i do phone anywhere in the general portion or is there stuff i still cant touch. and also what about digital modes, does that fall under different rules or is it just wherever phone is allowed. my elmer told me something about a 200 hz bandwidth rule but i cant remember exactly what he said and i dont want to bother him again this week.

also is there some official place i should be reading this stuff because the arrl page and the actual fcc website seem to say things slightly differently or maybe im just reading it wrong

yeah the charts can be a real headache, especially the ones that try to cram everything into one image. for 40 meters as a general you get phone privileges from 7.175 up to 7.300 MHz, the stuff below that is CW and data only for generals. digital modes like FT8 fall under the data/digital subcategory and you can operate those in the general segments too, just not in the extra-only portions obviously.

the 200 hz thing your elmer mentioned is probably about the occupied bandwidth rules for certain data emissions, that gets into the emission type designators which are honestly their own rabbit hole. for basic HF operating you dont really need to memorize all of that right away, just stay in your authorized segments and youre fine.

for the actual rules i'd go straight to the ecfr.gov site and find title 47 part 97, thats the real source. the arrl frequency chart is generally accurate but yeah there can be version differences depending on when it was last updated. the FCC's own privilege chart is what you want if you're ever unsure.

i was in the exact same spot a few months ago honestly, the band charts are weirdly confusing at first. one thing that helped me was just downloading the actual part 97 pdf and ctrl+F searching for whatever i needed. its not as scary as it looks once you realize most of it doesnt apply to you on a daily basis.

also fwiw i just stayed away from anything i wasnt 100% sure about for the first couple weeks and listened a lot before transmitting anywhere new, kind of helped me get a feel for where everything was happening anyway