CTLR CLAIMS THAT THE ASR-9 RADAR SYS LOSES RADAR TARGETS AND BEACON DATA.
Synopsis
CTLR CLAIMS THAT THE ASR-9 RADAR SYS LOSES RADAR TARGETS AND BEACON DATA.
Narrative
AT SALT LAKE TRACON WE USE THE ASR-9 SYS WITH A MODIFICATION TO THE BEACON SYS. I THINK A MODE S SYS WAS ADDED ABOUT 3 MONTHS AGO. PROB IS WE ARE ALWAYS LOSING RADAR TARGETS AND BEACON DATA AT RANDOM LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT OUR AIRSPACE AT VARIOUS ALTS. THE CTLRS HAVE TO RELY ON POS RPTS AND ALT RPTS TO PROVIDE SEPARATION. I WOULD LIKE IT IF YOU WOULD CALL ME OR WRITE ME CONCERNING THIS INFO. THIS IS A NATIONWIDE PROB THAT NEEDS ATTN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO GET COPIES OF YOUR DATA BASE ON THIS SUBJECT. THANK YOU. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR CLAIMS THAT THE WORST AREA FOR NON RADAR IS MIL ACFT DEPARTING RWY 14. IN SOME CASES; THEY MAY NOT PICK UP THE ACFT UNTIL APPROX 30 MI AWAY. GHOSTING; COASTING; FALSE WX ECHOES; AND LOSS OF RADAR CONTACT IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS OCCURS ON A FREQUENT BASIS. RPTR SAYS THAT THE AREA BTWN 325 AND 335 BTWN 20 AND 30 MI OUT IS ALSO BAD. THIS IS AN INTERMITTENT PROB. COVERAGE APPEARS GOOD WHEN THE ACFT IS CLOSE IN TO THE ARPT. MAINT RESPONSE TO PROBS SEEMS GOOD. THINKS THE PROB IS IN THE ANTENNA. SOME PEOPLE HAVE SAID THAT THE REASON OF POOR COVERAGE IS THE MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.