ZAB RADAR ASSOCIATE CTLR WITNESSED OPERROR AT FL390 DURING HVY TFC WITH RADAR POS COMBINED.

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ARRIVED FOR SHIFT AT APPROX XA05L. I WAS IMMEDIATELY PUT INTO POS D-19 TO WORK RADAR HDOF POS. SECTORS 19 AND 89 WERE COMBINED; WITH VERY HVY TFC. THE RADAR CTLR HAS ONLY BEEN CERTIFIED FOR 2-3 MONTHS. AT THE TIME I PLUGGED IN; THE SECTOR HAD 20-25 AIRPLANES. AFTER I HAD BEEN THERE ABOUT 20 MINS; I TURNED TO THE SUPVR AND ASKED WHY THE SECTORS WERE COMBINED. I WAS TOLD THERE WASN'T SUFFICIENT STAFFING TO SPLIT SECTOR 89. THE VERY HVY TFC CONTINUED. AT ABOUT XA45 I NOTICED A DIFFERENT SUPVR IN THE AREA. I AGAIN ASKED WHY THE SECTORS WERE COMBINED. I RECEIVED THE SAME ANSWER WITH THE ADDITIONAL COMMENT THAT 2 PEOPLE WERE COMING IN AT XB00 AND THE SECTOR WOULD BE OPENED THEN. AT APPROX XA50 MONTERREY CTR CALLED WITH A HDOF ON A NBOUND (J13) B737 AT FL390. WE HAD A WBOUND B737 AT FL390 OVERHEAD ELP VORTAC. SEEING THE TFC SIT I ISSUED A CTL INSTRUCTION TO THE MTY CTR CTLR TO TURN THE NBOUND ACFT 20 DEGS R AND TOLD HIM 'RADAR CONTACT.' IN FACT; I TOLD THE MTY CTLR TWICE TO TURN HIM R. AFTER ABOUT 2 MINS I COULD NOT SEE ANY TURN IN THE NBOUND HISTORIES. I CONTACTED THE MTY CTLR TO SEE IF HE HAD TURNED THE ACFT. AT THIS TIME THE MTY CTLR INFORMED ME HE HAD TURNED THE ACFT L AND HE WAS ON MY FREQ. THE RADAR (ZAB) CTLR DID HIS BEST TO SEPARATE THE PLANES. HE DSNDED THE WBOUND PLANE TO FL370 AND TURNED HIM 30 DEGS R. CONFLICT WAS NOT ACTIVATED NOR WAS OEDP SINCE THE ACFT FROM MEXICO WAS ON A DIFFERENT CODE THAN ASSIGNED BY ZAB'S COMPUTER. BOTTOM LINE: SUPVRS SHOULD LISTEN TO CTLRS WHEN COMBINING AND DECOMBINING SECTORS.