B737 FLC HAS DIFFICULTY UNDERSTANDING THE COMPUTER GENERATED ATIS VOICE AND MISINTERPS THE CEILING AS 4600 FT INSTEAD OF 4 TO 6 HUNDRED FT. ATIS COMPUTER GENERATED VOICE UNREADABLE.

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THE COMPUTER GENERATED VOICE ON THE ATIS BROADCASTS AT LAS; ABQ; PHX; AND STL (TO NAME A FEW) ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND. THE OTHER DAY MY FO WROTE DOWN 4600 FT BROKEN AS HE UNDERSTOOD IT BROADCAST. THE WX WAS ACTUALLY 4 TO 6 HUNDRED BROKEN. WE HAD NOT BRIEFED THE APCH; AS WE WERE EXPECTING VFR WX. WIND DIRECTIONS; ALONG WITH THE ALTS (HEIGHT) OF CLOUD BASE; ARE DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND AND THEREFORE; A SAFETY HAZARD. I SUGGEST A DISCONTINUATION OF THE COMPUTER GENERATED VOICE ON ATIS UNTIL SOFTWARE CHANGES BRING ABOUT A MORE UNDERSTANDABLE VOICE. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATES THAT EVEN FOREIGN ACCENTS ARE EASIER TO UNDERSTAND THAN THIS COMPUTER GENERATED VOICE. IT TAKES SO LONG TO TRY AND COMPREHEND THE INFO GIVEN THAT ONE CANNOT MONITOR OTHER ASPECTS OF THE FLT. IN THIS INCIDENT THE FLC BECAME VERY CONCERNED WHEN THEY REACHED THE OM WITH ARPT IN SIGHT AND THEY HAD NOT BRIEFED THE APCH. THE HOTLINE WAS DISCUSSED AND RPTR INDICATED HE WOULD FOLLOW UP WITH A CALL. RPTR INDICATED THE 4 LOCATIONS MENTIONED ARE FROM HIS EXPERIENCE BUT HE HAS HEARD OF OTHERS.