CSG CTLR ENCOUNTERS FACILITY ARTS IIE AUTOMATION PROB IN WHICH THE ARTS WILL NOT AUTOACQUIRE NON MODE C ACFT ON DEP.

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WE HAVE BEEN USING ARTS 2E FOR OVER 1 YR. CURRENT VERSION IS 25.4. WHEN AN ACFT DEPARTS ANY ARPT AND THE ALT PORTION OF THE XPONDER (MODE C) DOESN'T WORK; THE DATA BLOCK DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY ACQUIRE ON THE AIRPLANE'S TARGET. THIS IS TRUE EVEN IF THE MODE 3A PORTION OF THE XPONDER IS WORKING FINE. IF THE CTLR NOTICES; HE HAS TO TAKE EXTRA TIME TO MAKE A MANUAL ENTRY. IF HE DOES NOT NOTICE; THE AIRPLANE MAY NEVER BE TAGGED; OR RADAR IDENTED. ALL SORTS OF POSSIBILITIES EXIST AFTER THAT. I AM TOLD THAT ALL ARTS 2E FACILITIES ARE EXPERIENCING THIS PROB AND THE TECHNICAL CTR HAS BEEN WORKING ON IT FOR 6+ MONTHS. THIS IS A SAFETY PROB. I HAVE SEEN IT MULTIPLE TIMES. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR ASKED FOR ADDITIONAL TIME TO ATTEMPT TO RESOLVE PROB AT FACILITY LEVEL. HE UNDERSTOOD THAT THE PROB WAS PROBABLY IN THE 'ON-SITE' APPLICATION ADAPTATION. RPTR ASKED ANALYST IF THERE WERE OTHER ARTS IIE FACILITIES WITH ON-SITE PERSONNEL THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO DISCUSS CSG'S PROB. ANALYST PROVIDED 2 WEST COAST FACILITIES WITH SIMILAR EQUIP AS REFERRAL. ON A SECOND CALLBACK CONVERSATION; THE RPTR ADVISED THAT AUTOMATION PERSONNEL WERE ABLE TO DETERMINE THAT THERE WAS AN ON-SITE ADAPTATION ERROR. THE CORRECTION WAS BEING WRITTEN AND EXPECTED TO BE IMPLEMENTED WITHIN 2 WKS.