Sam Hooke

Tour of MRAO (Part 4): One-Mile Telescope Control Room

Map §

SITE 1.ADMINISTRATIONCambridge RoadWimpoleRoadHaslingfieldRoadBarton RoadLord's BridgeStationAMI Small ArrayCOASTAMI Large Array†Pulsar Array4C Array†Half-Mile Telescope (small) & †One-Mile Telescope (large)†One-MileTelescopeTrack continues 1km eastwardse-MERLIN†CLFST†CATUnknown?Unknown?†SKA†HERAUnknown?†SKAPrototypearrayPrototypeindividualPrototypeRyle ControlRoomOne-MileControlRoom(Previously site of †Ryle Telescope)(Track is shared)Name†NameLong BrookBourn Brook𝕳𝖊𝖞 𝕳𝖎𝖑𝖑𝕽𝖔𝖒𝖆𝖓𝕭𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖔𝖜NSITE 6.SEWAGE DISPOSALSITE 2.BOMB STORESSITE 4.F.F.D.4.1 Mile1 Kilometerhttps://sam.hooke.me/mraoJune 2024Mullard Radio AstronomyObservatory (MRAO)KeyFormer railwayTelescope railwayMain roadMRAO tarmac roadMRAO trackTelescope (static)Telescope (on track)Telescope (approx. area)Telescope (active)Telescope (inactive)MRAO (approx. area)

Finally, we take a look inside the One-Mile Telescope Control Room, situated at the east end of the track, directly beneath one of the static dishes.

One-Mile Telescope Control Room §

The control room was a perfect time capsule. It’s as if the team just vanished one day, leaving everything the way it was.

Equipment §

First a look at some of the general equipment around the room.

Several old equipment racks, with dials and a large casette.
Some interesting rack mounted equipment.
Some bulky electronics.
The inside of one of the units, which had been pulled out.
A clear panel viewing inside some rack mounted equipment.
Close up of a panel.
A control panel, four units wide, with various dials and buttons, and a desk covered with log books.
The main control panel, with stacks of log books.

Books §

Let’s take a closer look at some of the books.

Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO) §

An old book with a colour radio telescope on the front cover.
Front cover of Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory.
A black and white diagram of some track mounted dishes and some text.
One of the inside pages.

One-Mile Telescope - Copilots Guide §

An old spiral bound book with a black and white radio telescope on the front cover.
Front cover of One-Mile Telescope - Copilots Guide.

Log Book No 1 §

An old grey log book.
Front cover of LOG BOOK NO 1.
A page with scribbled numbers and calculations.
One of the inside pages.

1 Mile - 408MHz Interference - No 2 §

An old red log book.
Front cover of 1 MILE - 408MHZ INTERFERENCE - NO 2.
A page with a table of figures.
One of the inside pages.

Desk §

A look at the workstation.

An old keyboard.
An old Gemini Microcomputers keyboard. This looks like it might belong to a Galaxy 2 or Galaxy 3 “computer system” (see this old advert from ~1979, and this computing history page about the Galaxy 2).
A view from the desk, looking out through a window down the track towards the One-Mile and Half-Mile Telescopes.
Not every desk has this view!

The end §

Thank you for reading about my visit to the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory, and thank you especially to Peter Doherty for the excellent tour!

If you found this series interesting, you may also enjoy:

  • This visit by Nelly from February 2012.
  • This visit by Darbians from March 2012 and October 2014.
  • This visit by Mike Lancaster from September 2015.
  • This visit by BikinGlynn from July 2022.
  • This visit by the Cambridge Philosophical Society from April 2023.

For a slightly more concise overview of the MRAO, see my post with a map and summary of all the telescopes.