ACR MLG COM PROBLEM WITH ZHU MID GULF OF MEXICO.

Narrative

AT NULEY NBOUND SWITCHED TO HOUSTON CTR AS INSTRUCTED BY MERIDA CTR. HOUSTON CTR COULD BE CLRLY TALKING TO ANOTHER ACFT THAT WE COULD NOT HEAR. OUR INITIAL POS RPT WAS UNANSWERED. WE REPEATED THE NULEY RPT AND QUICKLY AND CLRLY HEARD 'HOUSTON CTR ROGER.' ON FEB/92 I RECEIVED A COMPANY LETTER ASKING TO CONFIRM THAT THE NULEY POS RPT WAS GIVEN SINCE HOUSTON CTR DID NOT RECEIVE THE RPT. HOUSTON CTR NOW HAS AN OFFSHORE TRANSCEIVER THAT ALLOWS ACFT TO CLRLY HEAR 'THEIR' XMISSION OVER A GREATER AREA THAN IN THE PAST. APPARENTLY THEIR ABILITY TO RECEIVE IS NOT EQUAL. ALSO HOUSTON CTR USUALLY HAS 1 CTLR WORKING THE OFFSHORE AS WELL AS THE COASTAL HIGH SECTORS. NEITHER AIRBORNE ACFT CAN HEAR THE OTHER. BECAUSE OF DIFFERENT FREQS; BUT ALL OF THE CTLRS XMISSIONS ARE SIMULTANEOUSLY XMITTED ON BOTH FREQS. IF BOTH ACFT XMIT AT THE SAME TIME; HOUSTON COULD POSSIBLY ONLY HEAR THE CLOSE TO SHORE ACFT. WHEN THE REPLY IS XMITTED ON 2 SEPARATE FREQS; BOTH ACFT BELIEVE THEIR RPT HAS BEEN RECEIVED ESPECIALLY IF THE REPLY IS 'HOUSTON CTR ROGER.' TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM HOUSTON CTR NEEDS TO INSURE THAT THE OFFSHORE SECTOR'S ABILITY TO RECEIVE XMISSIONS IS EQUAL TO ITS ABILITY TO XMIT. SECONDLY; AND IDEALLY ONCE THEY HAVE THE 2 WAY CAPABILITY HAVE JUST 1 CTLR WORKING 1 SECTOR; ELIMINATING THE DUAL FREQ XMISSION THAT CAN BE MISCONSTRUED BY OTHER ACFT. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 201174: AFTER SECOND POS RPT TO HOUSTON AT NULEY INTXN HEARD A 'ROGER; 'HOUSTON CTR.'