National Radio Quiet Zone W.Va

[w3hwn at comcast.net]

Mobile (and portable) equipment is permitted in the NRQZ; fixed equipment may be usable if it's coordinated in advance with the NRAO Green Bank people. They have somebody there (or maybe more than one somebody; I haven't dealt with them in a few years) whose full-time job is to coordinate with prospective transmitter operators to make sure interference is not caused to the radio telescopes and other sensitive equipment on site. They also keep busy tracking down sources of QRM that manage to sneak past the preview process, using the truck Sandy mentioned. Green Bank has veto power over most fixed equipment in the NRAO, on and off site, which is not to say there is none. They have a fixed repeater on the campus, used by staff, that was carefully installed so as not to cause problems. 

When AMRAD made an invited visit to the place a few years ago, we (for those who aren't already familiar with the story) had to dust off our elderly non-digital photographic equipment. In my case, it meant finding a replacement for the batteries the camera used to power the through-the-lens metering system; the one it wanted. a mercury cell, was no longer being made due to environmental concerns. (It's an old camera, circa the mid-to-late 70s.) 

As a matter of some interest to Phil, they have a bunch of old London taxis on the premises. They're diesels, and electrically quieter than the gasoline-driven buggies we make hereabouts. 

----- Original Message -----
From: "Nan and Sandy Sanders" <radiodog77 at pobox.com> 
To: "Tacos AMRAD" <tacos at amrad.org> 
Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2013 4:46:27 PM 
Subject: Re: National Radio Quiet Zone W.Va 

Hi Phill, transmitters are only banned from the grounds. I have heard 
hams doing a talk in from a park in Green Bank for a picnic on a 2 
meter repeater. The big things are no cell phones and my 
understanding is there is a ban on wifi for a 10 mile radius by way 
of a state zoning law. They also watch for leaky microwave ovens and 
will track them down. They have a very nicely equipped truck for 
tracking down stray RF. Some EMphobics have moved to the area. 
Sandy 
WB5MMB 


At 12:46 PM 8/14/2013, Phil wrote: 
>Hi Richard 
> 
>Yeah, I knew you guys had visited and there was a ban on digital 
>cameras etc. that had you guys scrambling to find replacement 
>batteries for the light meters in your old 35 mm cameras. I was just 
>intrigued about what Josh was highlighting in particular about 
>errors in the news report - people have mobile phones, TVs and 
>radios? Everyone huddles around Jethroe's crystal set on a Tuesday 
>night and dance very quietly? Burglars enjoy the security of burglar 
>alarms being banned? The place isn't full of EMphobics? It was a 
>rather wide-open statement that needed some clarification - but 
>clearly only to me. 
> 
>Phil M1GWZ 
> 
> 
>On 14 Aug 2013, at 15:02, Richard O'Neill wrote: 
> 
> > On 8/13/2013 3:56 PM, Phil wrote: 
> > 
> > please elaborate - in what way different? 
> > 
> > 
> > Phil, 
> > 
> > Brian and I have visited the NRO facility with a local group from 
> AMRAD. It's an interesting place to visit but for a country site 
> differs little from a hundred other places in West Virginia. 
> Mountains, cows, widely separated tiny towns and endless winding 
> roads with plenty of switch backs. A great place to get away from 
> it all or hide in plain sight from the authorities. 
> > 
> > The region near NRO differs only in that no transmitters are 
> allowed. However, night time does bring in sky wave signals across 
> the broadcast frequencies. On my car radio I was able to hear most 
> of the usual stuff and a few low power regional stations on AM. FM 
> was pretty quiet, not full of stations as it is along the east 
> coast and most everywhere else I've traveled. 
> > 
> > The NRO site has overnight accommodations for visitors - plus a 
> cafeteria. No fast food places at all. Rooms are equipped with 
> phone, cable TV, AC and indoor plumbing. A bit fancy for my 
> preferred camping lifestyle but it'll do in a pinch. ;-) The time I 
> was there (August?) the night sky was very dark but not 
> particularly steady for telescopic viewing. Cool air draining off 
> nearby mountains continuously spills into the valley until sunrise. 
> I suspect fog a frequent occurrence in Summer with brutal snows in 
> Winter. Weather extremes abound there. All in all an interesting 
> place to visit but, aside from an old gas station / general store 
> down the road a bit (reminiscent of the movie, 'Deliverance') and 
> an occasional modest home, very short on anything resembling 
> civilization as we know it. Bring a bango and you'd be right at home. :-) 
> > 
> > Richard 
> 
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