MLG TURNS WRONG DIRECTION ON RADAR VECTOR FOR AVOIDANCE. RECEIVES TCASII RA.

Narrative

FLT FROM LGA-MSP. PASSING 32500 FT CLBING TO 35000 FT. RECEIVED AURAL 'TFC' CALL ON TCASII; LOOKED UP AND SPOTTED ACFT VISUALLY -- TCASII READ -400 FT. WE TURNED R IMMEDIATELY AND CONTINUED OUR CLB TO 35000 FT. CTR HAD EARLIER GIVEN US A VECTOR TO THE R OF 20 DEGS FOR TFC. MY FO WAS FLYING THE ACFT. I SUDDENLY REALIZED THAT WE HAD BOTH INADVERTENTLY PUT OUR HDG BUGS TO THE L INSTEAD OF TO THE R AND TURNED THE WRONG WAY. I PICKED UP THE MICROPHONE TO CALL ZOB AND BEFORE I COULD SPEAK; THEY CAME ON FREQ AND ASKED OUR HDG. I TOLD THEM WE WERE DOING 275 DEGS BUT WERE IN A R TURN TO AVOID TFC VISUALLY. CTR TOLD US TO CONTINUE R TO A 330 OR 340 HDG. I INFORMED CTR THAT WE HAD THE OTHER ACFT VISUALLY AS WE CONTINUED TO TURN R AND CLB TO 35000 FT. AT TIME OF INITIAL TCASII ACQUISITION; OTHER ACFT SHOWED 4000 FT BELOW US. BY TIME OF VOICE CONTACT WITH ATC; WE WERE 1000 FT HIGHER AND STILL CLBING. TCASII DID GIVE US A MILD PREVENTIVE RA ('MONITOR VERT SPD'); WHICH WE ADHERED TO (CONTINUED TO CLB). ZOB SAID THAT NO ALARMS HAD GONE OFF; MEANING WE WERE NEVER CLOSER THAN 5 MI AND THAT WAS VERIFIED BY OUR TCASII (APPROX 5 1/2 MI). WE BOTH TURNED THE WRONG WAY WITH OUR HDG BUGS -- SUGGESTIONS: 1) WHEN PLTS RECEIVE CLRNC TO 'TURN FOR TFC X DEGS;' SUGGEST THEY READBACK TO CTR WHAT HDG THAT WILL BE -- ATC MIGHT THEN CATCH AN ERROR. 2) WHEN ATC GIVES THAT TYPE OF CLRNC; SUGGEST THEY FOLLOW UP WITH 'AND SAY NEW HDG.' THIS MIGHT ALSO CATCH INADVERTENT NON COMPLIANCE.