United States National Radio Quiet Zone: Impact on travellers?
The United States National Radio Quiet Zone forbids radio noise in a 34,000 km2 rectangle encompassing several touristic towns: Staunton, Harrisonburg, Charlottesville, Bridgewater, Shenandoah Valley, Stuarts Draft, Waynesboro, Amherst.
Does the Radio Quiet Zone have any impact on travellers visiting the area?
For instance, the Wikipedia article says "Gasoline-powered motor vehicles are forbidden within 1 mile of the telescope". TV, phone and WiFi seem to be impacted too, in the whole area.
- How to not breach the rules?
- What services will not be available?
Best Answer
I live in Lynchburg, Virginia but drive up 29 often enough (in the bottom right of the box, and most of that area is apparently in the silent zone. The only things I've noticed are FM radio stations tend to fade more in that region and my phone never seems to work, but the roads are sort of embedded in the hills so this would seemingly be the case anywhere.
As far as enforcement goes, I saw this article on NPR several years back. They have a map on that page with a circle in it that represents where the rules are more "actively" enforced (example: man drives around in truck, looking for radio signals, asking people to turn off WIFI or whatever). When I put on my radio knowledge hat, I noticed in the article the things they appear to be blocking the most are "microwave" transmissions. (You can never escape the super low frequency signals they use to talk to submarines or the radios some hobbyists bounce off the ionosphere). I'm willing to bet there are areas of Alaska more quiet on the RF spectrum than a place several hours from DC.
It's important to remember this area is pretty hilly and rural. Even if there wasn't a quiet zone here, there just isn't much merit for lots of high-power equipment.
So will it affect your travels here? No. You likely won't notice unless you go to the receiver itself (which I hear has a visitors office) but that's not a place you would accidentally stumble into.
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Why did the US establish a National Radio Quiet Zone?
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) created the Quiet Zone in 1958 to protect the radio telescopes at Green Bank and Sugar Grove from harmful interference. Today, the Green Bank Observatory oversees the Quiet Zone.How many people live in the radio Quiet Zone?
Green Bank and the surrounding towns \u2014 the total population in the area is around 8,000 people \u2014 may seem idyllic. But it's also definitely strange. Because of the lack of cellphones, locals find creative ways to communicate with each other.Where is the National Radio Quiet Zone?
Established in 1958, the National Radio Quiet Zone encompasses about 13,000 square miles near the border between Virginia and West Virginia. People who grow up there live mostly without cell phones and wifi access.What is the NRQZ and what states does it cover?
The Federal Communications Commission created the NRQZ in 1958 to block potentially detrimental interference at the NRAO, as well as at the U.S. Naval facilities in nearby Sugar Grove. This zone covers 13,000 square miles in Virginia and West Virginia.The National Radio Quiet Zone Reporting Is Bollocks
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