TSTM ACTIVITY - ACR ENCOUNTERS TSTMS; MODERATE TURB AND MODERATE RAIN AND THEIR RADAR MALFUNCTIONS AND THEIR RADIO SUFFERS SOME INTERFERENCE SO THEY TURN AROUND AND LEAVE THE AREA. THEY INFORM THE CTLR AS SOON AS THE RADIO INTERFERENCE CLRS.

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SEVERE TSTM E OF DFW. ROUTED OVER FSM THEN DIRECT MLU (OUR DEST). AS WE APCHED FSM HEARD PIREPS OF SEVERE/MODERATE TURB E OF FSM ASSOCIATED WITH LINE OF TSTMS. MY RADAR JUST WAS NOT DISPLAYING THE KIND OF RETURNS I EXPECTED TO SEE CONSIDERING THE RPTS AHEAD. THERE WERE VERY LITTLE RETURNS DISPLAYED AND NO COLOR. OVER FSM CTR INFORMED US OF AN ACR ACFT 80 MI AHEAD DOING A 180 DEG TURN DUE TO SEVERE WX AND BEING UNABLE TO FIND PATH THROUGH WX. AT THIS POINT I CONCLUDED THAT MY WX RADAR WAS NO WORKING PROPERLY AND AS WE ENCOUNTERED MODERATE TURB AND RAIN IN AN AREA OF EMBEDDED TSTMS JUST PAST FSM I DID A 180 DEG TURN BECAUSE I DID NOT FEEL IT WAS SAFE TO CONTINUE BECAUSE WX AND OUR RADAR'S PERFORMANCE. THE FO INFORMED CTR OF OUR TURN. AT THIS POINT COM WITH ZME WAS DIFFICULT DUE TO STATIC ELECTRICITY BECAUSE OF MODERATE RAIN. WITHIN ABOUT 60 MI OUR COM PROBS WITH CTR DISAPPEARED AND WE RETURNED TO DFW. CTR WAS INFORMED IMMEDIATELY OF OUR 180 DEG TURN BECAUSE OF TSTM; HOWEVER AT THAT POINT RADIO COM WAS SPOTTY AND DIFFICULT. CTR EVENTUALLY PROVIDED US WITH SUGGESTED HDGS AND A COURSE TO DFW.