AN ACR CREW STATES THAT THERE IS A CONTINUING PROBLEM WITH RECEPTION OF THE ATIS AT SAN; PROBABLY BECAUSE OF THE HIGH TERRAIN E OF THE ARPT.

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OPERATING FLT DTW-SAN. AN LGT AND FO FLYING. ONE OF MY DUTIES AS THE PNF WAS TO COPY THE ATIS. THE ALTIMETER; WIND; TEMP; APCH TYPE; TRANSITIONS AND MDA MUST THEN BE ENTERED INTO THE FMGC. ON THIS FLT; WE WERE IN THE AREA OF SHADI AND DSNDING IN THE MID FL200'S WHEN I FIRST TUNED THE ATIS. I COULD ONLY HEAR BRIEF PIECES OF IT OR LONG PERIODS OF NOTHING AT ALL. THE LCL ALTIMETER WAS PROVIDED BY CTR IN DSCNT CLRNCS. IT WAS NOT UNTIL WE WERE APCHING SWATT THAT I WAS ABLE TO HEAR THE ENTIRE ATIS AND CONFIRM THE APCH IN USE. (RWY 27 IS NORMAL; BUT BECAUSE OF MILD SANTA ANITA CONDITIONS; RWY 9 WAS ALSO A DISTINCT POSSIBILITY.) BECAUSE WE ASSUMED AND SET UP FOR THE LOC 27 APCH AND NOTHING ELSE WAS WRONG; THE CONCLUSION WAS SUCCESSFUL. SAFETY WAS COMPROMISED THOUGH; BECAUSE I WAS 'OUT OF THE LOOP' FOR SO MUCH TIME TRYING TO PICK UP THE ATIS. THE FO RECEIVED 2 OR 3 DSCNT CLRNCS I NEVER HEARD. IN HINDSIGHT; I REALIZE I SHOULD HAVE GIVEN UP AND JUST REQUESTED THE ATIS INFO FROM ATC. I TRIED TO BE TOO GOOD A PNF IN 1 AREA AND LET ANOTHER GO. AT THE HEART OF ALL THIS IS THE POOR ATIS RECEPTION. THE FO WHO HAS MUCH MORE EXPERIENCE ON THIS STAR SAYS IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME BECAUSE THE MOUNTAINS BLOCK THE SIGNAL AT OUR DSCNT ANGLE. I THINK THE FIX IS TO XMIT THE ATIS FROM A MOUNTAIN TOP. HOW ABOUT THE JULIAN VOR VOICE? IT'S BEEN DONE OTHER PLACES. ANOTHER FACTOR COULD BE THE VHF SQUELCH LEVEL ON THE LGT. IT CANNOT BE ADJUSTED OR DEFEATED BY PLTS. I FLEW THIS STAR AGAIN. WE GOT THE ATIS MUCH SOONER; BUT IT WAS STILL CUTTING OUT. WE MAY HAVE BEEN A LITTLE HIGHER OR THE SQUELCH WAS DIFFERENT OR RADIO PROPAGATION WAS BETTER.