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A strong geomagnetic storm on Monday and Tuesday -- April 5-6 -- was the biggest since 2006, at least in terms of high planetary A index. On those days, the mid-latitude A index was 28 and 22 and the planetary A index was 49 and 46. This was caused by a mighty solar wind stream. A search for similar numbers over the past few years yields nothing. In 2009, the highest planetary A index was 19 on August 30, and in 2008 it was 37 on October 11. This is indicative of how quiet space weather has become in the past few years. In 2007, the planetary A index reached 30 on April 1 -- we have to go back to 2006 to find any geomagnetic activity as strong, when the planetary A index reached 63 and 104 on December 14-15.

This week, Surfin' explores the world of etymology and the misappropriation of the word "hacker."

Once touted as "the most successful BPL deployment in the nation," the City of Manassas, Virginia has decided to get out of the BPL business, once and for all. At a Special Meeting on Monday, April 5, the Manassas City Council -- acting on a recommendation from the Manassas Utilities Commission -- unanimously voted to discontinue Broadband over Powerline (BPL) Internet service as of July 1, 2010 to the approximately 520 residents and businesses who currently subscribe to the service; these customers were told that they have three months to find a new Internet service provider.

The ARRL's newest contest -- the Rookie Roundup -- is getting a lot of buzz among newly-licensed amateurs. Designed as a modern equivalent to the ARRL Novice Roundup from a few decades ago, this new incarnation combines a competitive event with some on-the-air training. The first Rookie Roundup is scheduled for April 18 and will be an SSB contest.

In February 2010, the American Hospital Association (AHA) filed a request with the FCC for a blanket waiver of Section 97.113(a)(3) of the Commission's Rules "to permit hospitals seeking accreditation to use Amateur Radio operators who are hospital employees to transmit communications on behalf of the hospital as part of emergency preparedness drills." On March 3, the FCC issued a Public Notice -- WP Docket 10-54 -- seeking comments if the Commission "should grant AHA's request for a blanket waiver of Section 97.113(a)(3) to permit amateur operators who are hospital employees to participate in emergency drills that are conducted by hospitals for accreditation purposes and that are not government-sponsored." Section 97.113(a)(3) specifically prohibits amateur stations from transmitting communications "in which the station licensee or control operator has a pecuniary interest, including communications on behalf of an employer." On April 2, the ARRL filed comments regarding the blanket waiver request.

In November 2009, the FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) -- WT Docket No 09-209 -- seeking to amend the Commission's Amateur Radio Service rules in an attempt to clarify certain rules and codify existing procedures governing the vanity call sign system, as well as revise certain rules applicable to club stations. In March, the ARRL submitted comments and additional proposals to the FCC to update the Amateur Service's call sign assignment system and provide for continued growth of the Amateur Radio Service, as well as enhance the pride and satisfaction of licensees in their personal achievements in the radio art. The ARRL's positions were developed by the Executive Committee at its March 13 meeting.

Sending Amateur Radio signals to the Moon and back has never been easy. After roundtrip journeys of nearly half a million miles, even the most powerful signals generated by hams are exquisitely weak on arrival. Because of the equipment and expertise necessary for successful "moonbounce" operating, this facet of Amateur Radio has been traditionally confined to a small audience. But for three days in April even hams with very modest stations will have the opportunity to experience the thrill of moonbounce, thanks to the giant radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.

Registration remains open through Sunday, April 25, 2010, for these online course sessions beginning on Friday, May 7, 2010: Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 1; Antenna Modeling; Radio Frequency Interference; Antenna Design and Construction; Propagation; Analog Electronics, and Digital Electronics.

The ARRL has filed a Petition for Reconsideration with the FCC concerning a waiver granted to the ReconRobotics Corporation for a device known as the ReconScout – a remote-controlled surveillance robot designed for use in hazardous areas.

Early on the morning of Thursday, April 1, almost 40,000 people -- including Lincoln's government, business and emergency centers -- in Southeastern Nebraska found out that they had no landline telephone service, as well as spotty cell phone coverage, thanks to an equipment malfunction at a Lincoln switching facility owned by Windstream Communications. According to news reports, residents of 12 counties were unable to contact 911 and dispatch centers had to provide other ways to report emergencies -- including Amateur Radio.

Discover all the excitement of Amateur Radio when you get your Technician license -- your ticket to the unique mix of fun, public service, technology and experimenting with electronics. The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual and ARRL's Tech Q&A will guide you as you get started in Amateur Radio, helping you select your equipment, set up your first station and make your first (of many!) contacts.

Even though this bulletin may arrive a little early (due to the Good Friday holiday on April 2), jokesters are still too late for sneaking any First of April pranks into this bulletin. No matter when you read it, this bulletin is dated April 2 for good reason. Your bulletin editor serves as a solid wall against nonsense. Do not think of us as humorless, for your editor has enjoyed perpetrating many elaborate pranks, japes and stunts, but never on April 1 (because that might give it away), and never in this bulletin (standing on principle). Also, we prefer to be perpetrators rather than recipients.

This week, Surfin' checks into a ham radio multimedia social net.

According to ARRL Chief Operating Officer, Harold Kramer, WJ1B, we are currently finishing the final pre-launch adjustments and testing the new ARRL Web site and plan to launch it by April 12. "This launch has been a longer than anticipated process for all of us," Kramer said, "but we have learned a lot during the past two years as we conducted research about what people want from the ARRL Web site. We created a new architecture and navigation scheme to meet those needs and we implemented a contemporary new design. After that, we updated our current Web content and created lots of brand new content, including multimedia. We then began integrating the incredibly complicated functionality, e-commerce, advertising and database connections from the current Web to the new Web site. It has been a lot of work, and while it is disappointing that we are not out the door quite yet, we are now in the home stretch. When the new ARRL Web site debuts, we just want to be sure that it looks great, works well in meeting the needs of our members and that it is something that we can all be proud of."

This feature -- including convenient Web links to useful information -- is a concise monthly update of some of the things ARRL is doing on behalf of its members. This installment covers the month of March.