DIRECTIONS to NIHRAC
NIHRAC has a radio station facility at the NIH Central Utility Plant in the center of the Bethesda campus, Building 11, Room 305 . We regularly meet here for monthly meetings, radio contest participation, and other Club activities.
GPS coordinates: 38°59'52.4"N 77°06'11.5"W (decimal 38.997888, -77.103189).
Grid Square: FM18kx
ITU Region: 2
ARRL Section: Maryland-DC
CQ World Wide Zone: 5
Time Zone: US Eastern Time
See maps below.
As many other Federal Government facilities, access to the NIH campus is restricted but accessible to the public. Before visiting, please read the NIH Visitor Information page.
To visit our NIHNRAC radio station:
Bring a government-issued photo-ID. NIH-badge holders can drive right through any of the gates, but non-NIH-badge holders must obtain a visitor pass from one of the security facilities.
Visitors walking into the campus can get a visitor pass at the Visitor Gateway Center near the Medical Center metro station. Visitors who want to drive into the campus must enter via the NIH Commercial Vehicle Inspection Facility (CVIF) on Rockville Pike--Rt. 355--south of West Cedar Lane, or via NIH Gateway Dr. off Rockville Pike (see the diagram below. There, your vehicle will be inspected and you will be issued a visitor pass.
On weekends, visitors are free to park on regular parking spaces designated for NIH Parking Permit Holders throughout the campus. There are several such parking spaces right outside (West side) of building 11. where our radio station is located. On weekdays before 6pm, there are a few paid visitor parking locations on campus, but one common choice is MLP 11, accessible through NIH Gateway Dr. Weekdays after 6pm parking works like on weekends.
Outside doors of building 11 and the door to our radio station are kept locked. If you do not have an NIH badge, let us know in advance that you will be coming by sending an email to info@nihrac.org so that someone can help you in the building. If you are attending one of our regular meetings and carry a mobile or HT amateur radio, you can also call someone via our VHF repeater--see our Repeaters page for details.
There is an ingress/egress registration after entering the front door of building 11. Register at the station the first time you visit , then check-in when you enter and check-out before you leave. Building 11 is an industrial installation and for safety reasons they must know when you are in the building.
Visitors driving into the NIH campus without an NIH employee badge, can use one of the options on the above diagram to enter the campus and get a visitor pass. See instructions above for more details and parking options.
The NIH Bethesda campus can be easily reached by metro and other public transportation. For more details, visit the NIH Visitor Information page.