okay so ive had my general for about 8 months now and i thought i understood the band plan but my buddy told me i was transmitting somewhere i wasnt supposed to be the other night. we were on 40 meters just ragchewing and he said something about the phone segments being different for general vs extra and i honestly didnt fully read through part 97 when i studied, i just kind of memorized enough to pass the test.

so my question is basically where can i actually operate on HF as a general? like is there a simple breakdown somewhere or do i need to read the whole FCC document. also does it matter what mode im using, like does CW count differently for the band limits? i feel like ive been just guessing and that seems bad

yeah the band allocations can definitely trip people up, the ARRL has a band plan chart that shows exactly what general class gets access to, its literally a colored chart you can print out and stick near the radio. the short version for 40 meters is generals can use phone from 7.175 to 7.300 MHz, the stuff below 7.175 down to 7.025 is CW and data, and the very bottom chunk below 7.025 is extra only. so if you were doing voice below 7.175 that would be the problem your buddy caught.

and yes mode matters quite a bit under Part 97. CW has its own subbands and some of those are shared with general, some arent. the rule is technically about the carrier frequency and what emissions youre allowed at that point in the band. worth actually reading 97.301 and 97.305, theyre not that long and it clicks a lot faster when you see the actual table instead of someone explaining it secondhand like im doing right now

same thing happened to me when i first got my general, i just assumed i could go anywhere on the band and someone had to correct me on 20 meters. honestly just download the ARRL band chart, thats what everybody does. the FCC part 97 document itself is kind of a pain to read through if youre not used to that kind of legal language