Museum that has a little TE, but is difficult to get into

[tggzzz]

I've often been past this museum on the way back from the FRARS rally, but the museum is closed on Sundays. So today I took a detour after picking up the stereoscopic catalogue of (human) parts and assemblies.

To get in you:

1. park your car, and walk to the entrance
2. present your passport
3. stand on an X and have your photo taken
4. take the ticket with you photo back to your car
5. enter the site, go to the specific location and no other, and park
6. enter the museum and pay

Overall the http://www.royalsignalsmuseum.co.uk/ was a disappointing, except that it was quite revealing of the military mindset...

There were quite a few exhibits with a long explanation, but the explanation was only at the "the floggle is connected to the flugle" - little if any explanation of what floggles/flugles were nor how they work. (I think the limit of technical explanation were the words "packet switched network".) Sufficient, however, for a trained grunt to assemble and operate it.

There were quite a few "human story" exhibits. Yes, I know these are generally fashionable, but these tended to be "X did Y very bravely and got a medal". The obvious subtext is "and so should you maggots".

There was only a nod to sigint and its contributions. A sign indicated previous sigint heroes on active service weren't paid out of the army's budget. Presumably they don't count for much.

Most interesting exhibits were a scope and enigma machine, and a computer drum memory that was used for crypto until 1975. No, of course there wasn't any indication of how it did that.

Glad I went, but I won't return.

[Zenith]

From your account and looking at the website, I take the view that you went, so we won't have to.

[mansaxel]

Enigmas have been in more than one museum we visited this vacation. None of the museums visited, however, have the same depth and quality of their Enigma collections as can be found at the museum of FRA, the Swedish sigint authority. That museum is very hard to get into; it is strictly by invitation, and basically only can be visited if someone with the authority to host visitors at the site decides to invite you, and the security department thinks you're not a risk.

I've been lucky, and have seen it. No, cameras not allowed.

In comparison the Royal Signals museum looks to be positively longing for visitors and they run a charm campaign to entice anyone in.

[tggzzz]

Enigmas have been in more than one museum we visited this vacation. None of the museums visited, however, have the same depth and quality of their Enigma collections as can be found at the museum of FRA, the Swedish sigint authority. That museum is very hard to get into; it is strictly by invitation, and basically only can be visited if someone with the authority to host visitors at the site decides to invite you, and the security department thinks you're not a risk.

I've been lucky, and have seen it. No, cameras not allowed.

In comparison the Royal Signals museum looks to be positively longing for visitors and they run a charm campaign to entice anyone in.

This is "staff and medical professionals only" https://www.kcl.ac.uk/lsm/centre-for-ed ... don-museum Daughter could legitimately claim to be staff, and I managed to blag my way in on the basis that I'd made a medical instrument 35 years earlier! Bit gruesome, but there are a few exhibits I'd like to show to some religious politicians, 0.5cm from their eyes/nose.

I've seen Enigmas in other museums too, notably TNMoC and Bletchley Park.

[25 CPS]

Is there a British citizenship requirement to visit the museum? I'm just wondering if that's the reason for the passport and picture being taken.

A friend and I went to Ottawa a couple of weekends ago because I had a football game out there on the Saturday. We visited the Diefenbunker in Carp, which is about half an hour west of Ottawa and on the way home on the Sunday morning before heading back. Surprisingly, there was some vintage test equipment on display as incidental pieces in a couple of the rooms. The teletype maintenance room had a couple of HP nixie digital voltmeters. Both were too far away to see model numbers. One was a narrow, half rack width machine and the other looked like a 3439 or 3440 or similar unit. The computer room had a Tektronix 545B scope on a scopemobile and an HP 5245M counter.

Only the studio floor half of the "CBC Room" as they called it, a radio studio, was open. For many of the rooms, they're blocked off so you can only stand in the doorways from the hallways and look in from there so getting up close to anything is not possible. In the case of the "CBC Room", the control room was only visible through the glass. There was a B&K Precision scope in there among some Ampex tape machines and McCurdy turntables and console. Adding an HP 200CD plus a distortion analyzer would be a nice touch if any were to be donated. And the on-air lights throughout are correct for CBC for that period. The huge omission from the "CBC Room" was the total lack of furniture in the studio floor. It was empty. A carpeted table with some chairs around it and stands with some period correct microphones was really needed to make it a convincing radio studio.

I'd like to go back and take pictures when I'm not feeling sore and wrecked from playing a football game the day before.

[tggzzz]

Is there a British citizenship requirement to visit the museum? I'm just wondering if that's the reason for the passport and picture being taken.

It isn't explicit. "A valid photo ID (passport/driving licence/MoD90) is required by all adults 16+ for admission to the museum, no exceptions. Please contact the Museum ahead of any visit if you cannot provide photo ID for all adults."

However, since the museum is inside a the Army Camp at Blandford, I think it is safe to assume that Russians wouldn't be allowed in

[Zenith]

Is there a British citizenship requirement to visit the museum? I'm just wondering if that's the reason for the passport and picture being taken.

It's because it's in a working army camp. So not surprisingly they'd be wary about who they let onto the site.

The website says valid Photo-ID, including a driving license or passport. It doesn't say it has to be a UK passport or driving license. I guess they must have some overseas visitors.

https://www.royalsignalsmuseum.co.uk/visit-us/

If you were planning a visit to the UK and wanted to see it, it would be wise to contact them before turning up, to make sure your ID was acceptable.