MLG ACR OVERSHOT MERCED 238 DEGREE RADIAL ON MERCED 4 ARR TO SJC. PIC BLAMES INABILITY TO NAVIGATE ON MERCED VOR WHILE RECEIVING SJC ATIS.

Narrative

FOLLOWING A CHANGE IN OUR ROUTING; WE WERE CLRED TO THE MERCED VOR FOLLOWED BY THE MERCED 4 ARR TO SJC. WE WERE ALSO CLRED TO DSND TO A LOWER ALT AND MAINTAIN AN ASSIGNED AIRSPD. I SET UP THE NAVAIDS AND FLT GUIDANCE SYS TO ACCOMPLISH THIS. SHORTLY THEREAFTER; THE CTLR ASSIGNED US A RIGHT TURN AND A VECTOR TO INTERCEPT THE MERCED 4 ARR OUTBND FROM THE MERCED VOR. I ACKNOWLEDGED THE CTLR'S INSTRUCTIONS AND ROLLED OUT ON THE ASSIGNED HDG. I INFORMED THE CAPT OF OUR NEW INSTRUCTIONS. THE CAPT (PNF) INITIATED THE CHANGE OVER REQUEST FOR LNDG DATA AND ALSO BEGAN COPYING THE ATIS INFO. DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE ATIS INFO WAS XMITTED ON A VOR FREQ; THE CAPT DID NOT HAVE THE MERCED 4 ARR TUNED IN AT THAT TIME. AS WE WERE NOW ENTERING THE LOWER ALT STRUCTURE; I WAS LOOKING OUTSIDE FOR OTHER TFC AND NOTICED AN ACFT AT OUR 12 O'CLOCK POS. I LOOKED LEFT AND SAW THE TOWN OF MERCED; CA. AS I DIRECTED MY ATTN FORWARD AGAIN; I TOGGLED UP THE ATIS INFO TO MONITOR WHICH LNDG RWY WAS GOING TO BE USED AT SJC. MY ATTN WAS MOMENTARILY DIVERTED BY LISTENING TO THE ATIS BROADCAST CLRING FOR OTHER ACFT AND MONITORING MY DSCNT AND LEVEL OFF ALT. I FAILED TO NOTICE THAT I HAD PASSED THROUGH THE OUTBND 238 DEG R OFF THE MERCED VOR. THE ATC CTLR CONTACTED US AND INFORMED US THAT WE WERE WELL PAST THE OUTBND R AND NEEDED TO TURN RIGHT TO INTERCEPT. I IMMEDIATELY INITIATED A RIGHT TURN TO INTERCEPT. WE WERE THEN HANDED OFF TO BAY APCH CTL AND ASSIGNED A VECTOR DIRECT TO SJC. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 81285: COPLT WAS FLYING AT THE TIME AND SET UP THE R OUT. I WAS CHANGING OVER FOR SJC AND MAKING A PAX ANNOUNCEMENT WHEN THE INSTRUCTIONS WERE ISSUED. I THEN HAD TO TUNE IN SJC ON 114.1 FOR ATIS. THE CTLR CALLED JUST AS I FINISHED COPYING ATIS AND INFORMED US WE WERE PAST THE R AND ISSUED A RADAR VECTOR TO SJC. BECAUSE SJC ATIS IS ON THE VOR FREQ I DID NOT HAVE MY NAV AVAILABLE TO ME WHILE COPYING ATIS. I BELIEVE SJC SHOULD USE ANOTHER FREQ FOR ATIS. ALSO; IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO RECEIVE SJC ATIS ANY FURTHER OUT BECAUSE ROUTE FORECASTS ARE BEING BROADCAST ON THAT FREQ FROM HAZEN VOR. IN A 2 PERSON CREW ACFT; IT IS IMPORTANT TO GET ORGANIZED EARLY (IE; ATIS; CHANGE OVER; PAX ANNOUNCEMENTS) IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN A TFC WATCH OUTSIDE; ESPECIALLY WHEN ARRIVING AT A BUSY ARPT LIKE SJC.