ZTL RADAR AT THE MAIDEN SITE IS GENERATING FALSE TARGETS OFF OF THE REAL TARGETS; WHICH WOULD BE DISPLAYED IN OTHER RADAR SECTORS. ARTCC CTLR THEN BELIEVES THEY HAVE UNKNOWN TFC THAT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE. RPTR HAS INDICATED THAT THIS HAS BEEN AN ON-GOING PROB.

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ACFT #1 (X); PA32; WAS ENRTE FROM AVL TO RDU. HE WAS 1 OF 2 ACFT I WAS WORKING AT THE TIME. I SCANNED THE SCOPE AND SAW A MODE C INTRUDER 4 MI IN FRONT OF AND HEAD ON WITH THE PA32. I ISSUED THE TFC AS AN UNKNOWN. THE TARGET WAS ACFT #2 (Y); INBOUND TO CLT. THE REAL ACFT/TARGET WAS 50 MI AWAY. ACFT #2 (Y) WAS LNDG CLT. HAD THE ACFT BEEN DSNDING WHEN THE INCIDENT OCCURRED I WOULD HAVE HAD NO OTHER CHOICE BUT TO GIVE ACFT #1 (X) AN IMMEDIATE; EVASIVE MANEUVER. THE MAIDEN RADAR SITE (QRM) HAS A LONG HISTORY OF PROBS AND OUTAGES. IN THE LAST 3 WKS; THERE HAVE BEEN OVER A DOZEN RADAR TROUBLE RPT FORMS FILLED OUT ON THIS SITE. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR SAID THIS PROB BEGAN IN EARNEST ABOUT 3 MONTHS AGO. SINCE THEN; THERE HAVE BEEN APPROX 40 TROUBLE TICKETS TURNED IN TO RADAR MAINT DETAILING THE FALSE TARGET PROB. THE DATES RANGE FROM MID-JAN TO MID- MARCH. ZTL'S MAIDEN RADAR IS AN OLD ARSR MODEL #1. THIS SIT DOES NOT HAPPEN EVERYDAY. IT APPEARS TO HAPPEN ONLY WHEN THE WX IS OTHER THAN CLR. RPTR ALSO STATED THE RING AROUND GIVES YOU SPLIT BEACONS THAT WOULD APPEAR AT THE SAME MILEAGE ANYWHERE ALONG THE 360 DEG RADIUS. THIS CONDITION MANIFESTED ITSELF ON OTHER RADAR SECTORS UTILIZING THE SAME RADAR SITE. RPTR STATED HIS RECENT EXPERIENCE WITH THIS ANOMALY WAS WHEN A LIMITED DATA BLOCK SUDDENLY APPEARED ON HIS RADAR; THAT WAS HEAD ON INTO HIS TFC. THE QUESTION WHETHER TO GIVE HIS TFC A DRASTIC TURN OR NOT; WAS UTMOST IN HIS MIND. SINCE THE FACILITY INSTALLED A NEW BEACON INTERROGATOR AWHILE BACK; THE SYS IS MORE SENSITIVE THAN THE ONE THEY REPLACED; THIS MAY ACCOUNT FOR SOME OF THE PROBS. A HUGE SUBDIVISION HAS BEEN BUILT IN CLOSE PROX TO THE RADAR SITE. RPTR BELIEVES THIS IS THE REASON THEY ARE HAVING PROBS. THE BUILDINGS ARE ACTING AS REFLECTORS.