BHM CTLR EXPRESSED CONCERN REGARDING STARS SOFTWARE AND DUPLICATE BEACON CODE ASSIGNMENTS TO ARR ACFT RESULTING IN AIRSPACE DEV.

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BIRMINGHAM APCH CTL AIRSPACE IS SITUATED AT THE EDGE OF ZTL AIRSPACE. WE INTERFACE DIRECTLY WITH ZME AND WITH 3 APCH CTL FACILITIES UNDER ZME. ZTL SITS BTWN ZME AND ZJX. ZME AND ZJX SHARE SEVERAL BEACON CODE BANKS. AS A RESULT OF THIS SHARING OF BEACON CODE BANKS; AND OUR POS ABUTTING ZME AIRSPACE; IT IS POSSIBLE FOR 2 ACFT ASSIGNED THE SAME BEACON CODE TO BE HEADED TOWARD BIRMINGHAM AIRSPACE AT THE SAME TIME. RECENTLY; I RECEIVED AN AUTOMATED HDOF FROM ZTL ON A TRACK HEADED SBOUND TOWARD BIRMINGHAM AIRSPACE FROM ZME AIRSPACE. I ACCEPTED THE HDOF. HOWEVER; THE ACTUAL ACFT TO WHICH THE TRACK CORRESPONDED WAS NBOUND TOWARD BIRMINGHAM. IN OTHER WORDS; THE ACFT I WAS TALKING TO WAS NOT THE TRACK I WAS WORKING. AS A RESULT; I DSNDED THE ACTUAL ACFT INTO ADJACENT BIRMINGHAM AIRSPACE WITHOUT PERMISSION. THIS WAS ABLE TO HAPPEN BECAUSE BOTH OF THE ACFT WERE ASSIGNED THE SAME BEACON CODE. ONE BEACON CODE WAS ASSIGNED BY ZME AND THE OTHER BY ZJX. SINCE ONLY 1 TRACK MAY BE ASSIGNED ANY 1 BEACON CODE IN ANY CTR'S AIRSPACE; ONE OF THE TRACKS WOULD HAVE TO BE REASSIGNED A NEW BEACON CODE. BUT SINCE THE BIRMINGHAM ASR-9 RADAR BEGAN TRACKING THE TARGET FURTHER OUT THAN WE TALK TO THE ACFT; A NEW BEACON CODE WAS NOT ASSIGNED IN TIME TO PREVENT THE AUTOMATED TRACK FROM TAGGING ON THE WRONG ACFT. SINCE ONLY 1 TRACK IN THE BIRMINGHAM STARS DATABASE CAN BE ASSIGNED ANY 1 BEACON CODE; THE RADAR WILL TAG THE FIRST TRACK IT SEES XMITTING THAT PARTICULAR BEACON CODE; EVEN IF IT IS THE WRONG ACFT. THIS IS A RECURRING PROB.