Here is part seven (the final part) of my non-fiction work about the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Green Bank, West Virginia. You can also read parts one, two, three, four, five and six.
The NRAO fleet
The cars used on the NRAO campus are different from what you might expect. You’ll see photos of them below, and in case you’re wondering why they look so old, let me explain.
20 Comments
zx8080
I wonder if any of the currently produced cars will have seats still comfortable after so many years. Probably, no.
mobilene
This was one of the most wicked cool things I've read in a long time.
I grew up in a TV market that was UHF only (South Bend, IN) in the 1970s. TVs from before about 1963(?) didn't have to have UHF dials. So a company named Blonder-Tongue (Blonder was pronounced like blunder) produced UHF receivers you could attach to your TV through the little screw tab things on the back, the predecessor to the coax input. I had never seen Blonder-Tongue referenced anywhere except in nostalgia articles about my hometown.
dhosek
I imagine that there will come a time when they’ll need to revert to horse and wagon transport at the site. Or perhaps lay down railroad tracks and use cable cars.
msandford
I feel like they could probably buy some 80s Mercedes 300d and get newer cars with lots of parts available as there's junked ones everywhere.
laurencerowe
> Before retiring from NRAO (years after my interviews with him), Mr. Sizemore outfitted a new Dodge Ram extended cab truck as an RFI vehicle, a feat which was written up in USA Today.
Dead link but luckily archive.org has it.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140725075606/http://usatoday30…
defrost
Today, in the Murchison Radio Quiet Zone:
~ https://www.australiandefence.com.au/defence/cyber-space/icr…
I still haven't found any vehicle guidelines for the Inner Zone ( 70 km radius ), but for anyone with an interest:
* General introduction: https://www.industry.gov.au/science-technology-and-innovatio…
* Restricted airspace: https://www.avsef.gov.au/consultations/restricted-airspace-o…
* Limits of intereference by frequency and distance table: https://www.ursi.org/proceedings/procGA11/ursi/JP2-17.pdf
frompdx
My time to shine! I still own an early square body truck with the 6.2L Detroit Diesel. The thing that stands out to me in this article is that the Suburbans shown are an earlier generation produced from 67-72. Those did not have a Diesel engine, however the 6.2L Detroit Diesel was designed to drop into anything with a Small Block Chevy, so I can see how these may have been retrofitted. In fact, these engines are still produced today in 6.5L form (see the AM General Optimizer) and are used in the HMMWV.
These really are very simplistic engines and simplistic vehicles in general. Mine has power nothing, at least electronically. The shifter really is comically large and very inconvenient to whoever sits in the middle. The highest gear is third gear.
Powerful? No, not really. But surprisingly efficient for the size. Reliable as well.
1970-01-01
Those are what you need after an EMP blast.
gooseyard
I grew up in this area of West Virginia, it's such a crazy thing that a community of really amazing scientists are nestled in the middle of this incredibly rural area. It's really neat to see the old blue trucks if you take the tour, and the Cass Scenic Railroad is just nearby and gives a really beautiful view of the telescope array. The National Youth Science Academy Camp is also surprisingly located nearby, it was wild as a kid knowing that this batch of future scientists were flying in from all over the country and once I learned of it I wished I'd studied a bit harder. Such a beautiful, strange place.
garaetjjte
I suppose they removed the alternators, and that's why they keep them plugged in?
iancmceachern
One of my favorite parts about the old perkins diesel engine in our boat is that you need to press a button to stop it from running once started. You turn off the ignition and it just runs on physics until you do something to interrupt the fuel or air supply.
spacecadet
Grew up around some farm trucks that were electronic free diesels. My grandfather called them "luddite diesels". Later in life I realized the humor, considering that a diesel engine is a technology, and that luddites likely prefer horses…
CobaltFire
This is an awesome article. I'm a HAM in an urban area trying to figure out how to operate in the mess that is my EM spectrum with low power gear. It's a fun challenge, but having some quiet would be nice!
I haven't had the pleasure of seeing this site, but I did have the opportunity to visit Sugar Grove Station (not too far away) while it was in operation. I had a friend stationed there while I was nearby, and took a detour to spend the weekend at his house on the base.
Seeing the massive old radio telescopes and the tracks they used for positioning them was something else. The scale is hard to communicate; it's kind of like the first time you get up close with a Navy Aircraft Carrier. It's hard to fathom just how BIG they are until you are next to them.
nimish
I wonder what signal processing methods exist to deal with terrestrial noise sources instead of relying on the brute force approach.
rootbear
In 2006 my friend and I decided to stop talking about visiting the NRAO and actually go. We picked a weekend and then discovered that that Sunday was the 50th Anniversary open house! There were special exhibits and more of the facilities were open to tours than on regular visitors days. I can highly recommend visiting if you get the chance.
Coincidentally, my friend's last name is Blonder! And he's related to the Blonder-Tongue founder. According to my friend, all Blonders are related, the family name was originally Gottlieb, but was changed to something more Anglo sounding, to avoid anti-semitic discrimination, probably when they immigrated to the US from Russia.
floatrock
> Here he monitors the gross violations of the Quiet Zone and also looks at the local environment: powerline noise, illegal use of radios, etc.
For example, at the time of my visit there, the amateur radio bands were being used improperly by a group of people and the signal was strong enough to overload the 140-foot telescope, so it became a serious problem… The likely action taken will be that he calls the FCC in to enforce the rules in place. After 20 years on the job, Wesley has built up a network of contacts he can call upon when he needs help. One of those contacts is the man in charge of the Enforcement Bureau at the FCC, whom Wesley knew when he was still a satellite technician.
Always interesting to hear examples how effective coordination often comes down to networks of people-connections that get built up over time. Software folk often think it's simply automating whatever process — I certainly thought that early on — but more and more I'm seeing it's about knowing the person in the right role with the right experience. Your personal network is leverage.
The last two sections about helping out a grumpy farmer with an old burned out amplifier and coordinating secret fly-overs with the Cheyenne Mountain guys are also great people-network stories.
rkagerer
It's a shame we don't better contain all the EM noise emanating from our modern vehicles.
I'm dealing with this issue right now on my boat (EM noise from hydraulic trim pump for the drive leg is coupling to a power supply line running to a more sensitive electronic component).
johnklos
So there are good reasons, aside from reliability, efficiency and ease of repair, for having a 1981 Diesel Chevette with a 100% mechanical engine :)
torstenvl
Green Bank is great. I have ties to E WV and made a trip there one time after hiking Seneca Rocks. Highly recommended if you get a chance.
https://ibb.co/N2RYW8vr
watersb
I spent two weeks there, during the commissioning of the Green Bank Telescope (GBT). Our team was designing the monitor and control system for an upgrade for another NRAO telescope, the Very Large Array in New Mexico. The team from the GBT led us through their design during the day; our nights sleeping in the on-site dormitory, complete with the break room where Frank Drake came up with his Drake Equation estimating the number of extraterrestrial civilizations…
Those old diesel trucks!
The GBT is so big, it's just wrong. Experiencing the forest moon of Endor, in real life.
(The single-dish GBT is sensitive to near-field RFI, whereas the multi-dish Very Large Array is a bit more tolerant. The VLA isn't restricted to antiquated diesel vehicles. Although they do ask visitors to power off cell phones and refrain from any microwave ovens that RVs might bring in.)