Ever heard of a Radio Quiet Zone?
The USA has National Radio Quiet Zone located in West Virginia. AKA NRQZ or Radio quiet zone or EMF quiet zone, ever heard of it? I suspect, I am not the only one, I stumbled upon this a couple weeks ago!
The NRQZ is centered between the Green Bank Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia, and Sugar Grove Station in Sugar Grove, West Virginia. The NRQZ is centered between the Green Bank Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia, and Sugar Grove Station in Sugar Grove, West Virginia.
The Quiet Zone has restrictions that require broadcasters to operate at reduced power and use only directional antennas. This makes cable and satellite all but essential for acceptable television in much of the region. Restrictions of transmissions are strictest within ten miles (16 km) of the Green Bank and Sugar Grove facilities, where most omnidirectional and high-power transmissions are prohibited.
Imagine living in an area of this world where no cell phones, no WIFI signals exist. All of this to preserve an unobstructed view of space for the Observatory.
By standards definition there are five (5) zones of Protection within the quiet zone:
Zone 1 and Zone 2 are located within the property of the Green Bank Observatory. The entire property is designed as Zone 1 except small portions (such as housing, visitor, and laboratory areas) that are designed as Zone 2. Zone 1, also termed the Radio Astronomy Instrument Zone, restricts intentional radiators only to those are deemed essential. All unintentional radiators must be operated within the ITU-RRA.769 recommendations on protection criteria used for radio astronomical measurements. Gasoline-powered motor vehicles are prohibited in Zone 1 as their spark-ignition engines generate significant radio interference, resulting in the requirement that all vehicles and equipment be diesel-powered.[13] Zone 2, also called Observatory Building Zone, allows intentional radiators licensed by National Radio Quiet Zone, but not other radiators such as Wi-Fi, cordless phones, and other wireless equipment. Certain types of unintentional radiators are allowed. Digital cameras are prohibited, although film photography is allowed.
Zone 3 and Zone 4 are governed by the Radio Astronomy Zoning Act which is the Chapter 37A of the West Virginia Code. It strictly regulates radio transmitters within 2 miles (3.2 km) and within 10 miles (16 km) of the Green Bank Observatory, respectively.[4] Within these zones, interference to observations will be identified and documented. The owners of the offending equipment will be visited personally to request cooperation in eliminating the interference. Enforcement is used as a last resort. Enforcement in Zone 4 may be more lenient than the limit set by Chapter 37A.
Zone 5 is the boundary of National Radio Quiet Zone; the National Radio Quiet Zone Administrator at the Green Bank Observatory manages the enforcement policies
Let's dive deeper into the restrictions designed to protect radio telescope or communications station
Equipment impacted by restrictions that can cause interference include:
- mobile phones,
- television transmitters
- CB radios
- as well as other electrical equipment
Who created the Quiet Zone?
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) created the Quiet Zone
When was the Quiet Zone created?
It was created in 1958 to protect the radio telescopes at Green Bank and Sugar Grove from harmful interference.
Other sites around the world including
- Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in Australia
- The National Radio Astronomy Observatory on the University campus in Charlottesville, Virginia.
- The Sugar Grove Station in West Virginia, United States
- The Itapetinga Radio Observatory in Brazil
- MeerKAT in South Africa
Makes me wonder do they collaborate on new findings? Do they use the Internet to share information. What type of interstellar confirmations have they found and have not shared with the citizens of the world?
Summary
Our hyper-connected world grinds to a halt in/around the NRQZ's. I assume that anything of any electronic design is putting off EMF and thus inference. I am thinking it might be nice to take a 1-3 day vacation there to see how the brain feels without all the waves bombarding it? Would you take this time off too?
