MD82 ACFT ON ILS APCH TO RNO; FLC DIDN'T SEE THE VISIBILITY MINIMUM IS 4 MI AND THE ARPT WX WAS BELOW THAT. RPTR FO QUESTIONS WHY THE VISIBILITY MINIMUMS ON THE ILS ARE HIGHER THAN THE OTHER APCHS TO THE SAME RWY (LOC DME).

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ARR ATIS STATED VISIBILITY 1 1/2 MI IN SNOW; THEN NEW ATIS STATED VISIBILITY AS 1 MI IN SNOW. CAPT NATURALLY PLANNED TO USE THE PRECISION APCH WITH THE LOWEST WX/VISIBILITY MINIMUMS. SO BOTH PLTS GRABBED RNO COMMERCIAL CHART PAGE 11-1; ILS RWY 16R (NEXT PAGE WAS LOC RWY 16R). COMMERCIAL CHART PAGE 11-1 FOR RNO ILS RWY 16R SHOWS DECISION HT AS 5512 FT WITH RWY 16R TOUCHDOWN ZONE AS 4412 FT. 'CREW COORD' COMMAND REQUIRES THE PNF TO RESPOND BY VERBALIZING ONLY 2 NUMBERS: TOUCHDOWN ZONE AND DECISION HT; AND THEN TO ALSO STATE THE PAGE NUMBER AND PAGE DATE. SO AFTER THE OFFICIAL CREW BRIEFING; EACH PLT HAD SET HIS ALTIMETER'S BAROMETRIC DECISION HT BUG (CIRCULAR ALT/ROTATIONAL POINTER) SLIGHTLY ABOVE THE '500' ON HIS ALTIMETER'S DIAL. UNFORTUNATELY; NEITHER OF US GRASPED THE UNUSUAL VISIBILITY REQUIREMENT LISTED AS 4 MI. AND; LATER DURING THE FINAL APCH SEGMENT; BOTH PLTS MISPERCEIVED THE DECISION HT AS BEING AFTER THE REQUIRED CALLOUT OF 'SPD AND SINK' AT 500 FT RA. (THE CUSTOMARY SEQUENCE OF CALLOUTS DURING A TYPICAL CAT I ILS IS: SPD AND SINK AT 500 FT RA; THEN '100 FT TO GO;' THEN 'MINIMUMS;' THEN '100 FT' CALLED FROM RA AGL.) THE FIRST PERCEPTION OF ABNORMALITY WAS THAT THE 'MINIMUMS' CALLOUT HAPPENED COINCIDENT WITH THE 100 FT RA TONE. PROBS: COMMERCIAL CHART PAGE 11-7 FOR RNO IS 'ILS DME RWY 16R' AND SHOWS DECISION AS 5012 FT AND VISIBILITY AS 1 1/2 MI. THAT COMMERCIAL CHART PAGE WITH THE LOWEST MINIMUMS SEEMS LOCATED UNUSUALLY AFTER OTHER PRECISION AND NON PRECISION APCHS. POOR DISPATCHER AND PLT MONITORING OF RNO WX VERSUS FORECAST: PLTS SHOULD EXPECT NOTHING FROM DISPATCH; AND PLTS SHOULD UTILIZE ACARS TO CHK RNO WX AT EACH HR'S OBSERVATION (PLTS MUST IGNORE/DISREGARD PRESSURE TO AVOID ACARS COSTS). 'CREW BRIEFING' IS ALMOST TOO MINIMALIST: BOTH PLTS FAILED TO NOTE THE REQUIRED VISIBILITY (FOR THE RNO ILS RWY 16R) IS AN UNUSUALLY HIGH 4 MI. VERT SCALE BAROMETER/ALTIMETER; WITH DECISION HT BUG; MIGHT BE AN IMPROVEMENT OVER THE TOO-SIMPLE ROUND- DIAL ALTIMETER; WITH MERELY A DECISION HT BUG SET AT 'HUNDREDS-TENS' (1000 FT OFF).