LESS THAN STANDARD NON RADAR SEPARATION BETWEEN ARRIVING AND DEPARTING SMT AT ELY; NV; ARPT. INCOMPLETE RELIEF BRIEFING AND FLT PROGRESS STRIPS NOT MARKED. SYSTEM ERROR.

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AT APPROX XA18Z ON 8/FRI/88; AFTER SECTOR BRIEFING; I ASSUMED RESPONSIBILITY OF SECTOR 44/43 AT ZLC ARTCC. TFC WAS VERY HVY AND COMPLEX; THE SECTOR SHOULD HAVE BEEN DECOMBINED. APPROX 8 MINS LATER; I CLRED SMT X (CURRENTLY AT 15000' SEBND V269 EKO TO ELY) FOR APCH (NO SPECIFIC TYPE APCH WAS ISSUED) TO THE ELY ARPT. I ADVISED HIM RADAR SVC TERMINATED FREQ CHANGE APPROVED; AND FURTHER INSTRUCTED HIM TO CANCEL IFR OR RPT DOWNTIME THROUGH RNO FSS. RADAR CONTACT WAS SOON LOST WITH ACFT; AS IS COMMON BELOW 14000' IN THIS AREA. AT XA34Z SMT Y RPTED OVER ELY VOR CLBING THROUGH 12500' FOR 16000' NBOUND V269. AS ELY IS STRICTLY ONE IN ONE OUT; I QUESTIONED THE D-SIDE AS TO THE STATUS OF SMT Y AND WAS INFORMED HE INDEED HAD BEEN CLRED FOR DEP OVER 20 MINS PRIOR TO THIS TIME. I THEN ADVISED AREA SUPVR OF LOSS OF SEP; AND WAS RELIEVED OF DUTIES. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: ALTHOUGH SMT X (SEBND V293 AT 15000') WAS LESS THAN 18 MINS AWAY FROM ELY AND SMT Y (WITH CLRNC TO 16000' NBOUND V269); I WAS NOT INFORMED OF THE FACT THAT AN ACFT (SMT Y) HAD A CLRNC OFF ELY. THIS FACT HAD BEEN OMITTED BY THE CTLR BEING RELIEVED. DUE TO AMOUNT AND COMPLEXITY OF TFC; R-SIDE TO D-SIDE COM WAS BASICALLY NONEXISTENT AS EACH RACED TO KEEP UP WITH DUTIES. LACK OF ADEQUATE STAFFING TO DECOMBINE SECTOR PREVIOUS TO THIS AS WAS NECESSARY. LACK OF ADEQUATE RADAR COVERAGE (NONE BELOW 14000') AND RADIO COVERAGE (NONE BELOW 12000'). RECENT RELOCATION OF ELY FSS TO RNO FSS LEAVING NO MEANS OF COM WITH ACFT ON GND AT ELY. NO CLRNC VOID TIME ISSUED TO SMT Y ALLOWING HIM TO TIE UP THE AREA FOR OVER 20 MINS; AND POSSIBLY LEADING TO THE CTLR FAILING TO ADVISE ME OF HIS EXPECTED DEP. SUGGESTIONS TO PREVENT FURTHER OCCURRENCES: RAISE STAFFING MINIMUMS TO ALLOW FOR DECOMBINING OF BUSY SECTORS OR TO PROVIDE FOR A THIRD CTLR AS NECESSARY. HAD SMT Y BEEN DEPARTED IN THE COMPUTER; AND A DATA BLOCK STARTED AT ELY; THIS WOULD HAVE REMINDED THE CTLR BEING RELIEVED OF THE IMPENDING LOSS OF SEP. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING: RPTR STATED THAT QAP DETERMINED THAT SEP WAS LOST AT APPROX 9500'; BUT SINCE RADAR DOES NOT COVER THAT ALT THEY WERE UNABLE TO DETERMINE HOW CLOSE THE ACFT CAME. VERY INVOLVED AND COMPLEX SYSTEM ERROR. RPTR HAD RELIEVED THE SUPVR WHO DID NOT BRIEF HIM ON THE SMT Y DEP OFF ELY. FLT PROGRESS STRIPS DID NOT REFLECT THE SMT X BEING CLRED FOR APCH. NOT SURE IF SMT X FLT PROGRESS STRIP IN ELY BAY. DEV D CTLR HAD ONLY 2 WKS CERTIFICATION ON THIS SECTOR AND WHEN RELIEVED DID NOT BRIEF THE NEW D CTLR ON THE FACT THAT SMT Y WAS CLRED OUT OF ELY AND SMT ON AN APCH TO THE ARPT. NO VOID TIME GIVEN THE SMT Y ACFT WHEN CLRNC ISSUED SOME 16 MINS PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT. TFC VOL MODERATE TO HVY AND RPTR ONLY ON SECTOR APPROX 16 MINS PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT.