GA SMA UNAUTH PENETRATION OF AIRSPACE. SFO TCA.

Narrative

ENRTE FROM EUGENE; OR; TO SAN CARLOS; CA; VFR AT NIGHT MY ENCODER WAS RPTED BY ATC AS NOT READING CORRECTLY; SO I WAS NOT ABLE TO FILE IFR TO MY DEST. THE ROUTING WOULD BE THROUGH THE SFO TCA. I WAS RECEIVING VFR ADVISORIES FROM OAKLAND CENTER. APPROX 60 NM N OF SKAGGS ISLAND; I ASKED THE CTLR IF IT WAS POSSIBLE TO OBTAIN TCA CLRNC W/O ENCODING. HE STATED THAT HE COULD NOT PROVIDE CLRNC BUT HE WOULD CHK. HE REPLIED LATER THAT BAY HAD SAID THAT 'AT THIS TIME OF NIGHT; NO PROB.' MY ASSUMPTION WAS THAT IN DOING THIS; HE HAD PASSED ALONG MY INTENTIONS FOR A TCA CLRNC TO THE BAY CTLR POS RESPONSIBLE. LATER; OVER SKAGGS ISLAND; I WAS HANDED OVER TO BAY. CONTACTING HIM; I RPTED AT 5500' (MSL). HE ASKED ME TO AFFIRM THAT VALUE (I DON'T THINK HE HEARD MY RPT WELL). THEN HE GAVE ME A HDG TO FLY AND A REQUIREMENT TO CROSS OAKLAND AT 2000'. I TURNED TO THIS HDG AND BEGAN A DSCNT. I BELIEVED THAT A VFR TCA CLRNC WAS IMMINENT SINCE MY CONVERSATION WITH OAKLAND AND BECAUSE OF THE HANDOFF (NOT A RADAR SVC TERMINATION WITH AN ADVISORY) TO BAY. I CONTINUED DSCNT; THINKING THAT THIS WAS A ROUTE NORMALLY GIVEN TO VFR TFC W/O TCA CLRNC. I HAD NOT KEPT EXACT TRACK OF MY LOCATION WITH RESPECT TO UPCOMING TCA FLOORS; SINCE I WAS EXPECTING CLRNC. THE BAY CTLR ASKED FOR MY CURRENT ALT; WHICH WAS 3500 MSL. I'M NOT SURE OF THE LOCATION; BUT IT COULD HAVE BEEN OVER RICHMOND OR BERKELEY. NOT KNOWING MY EXACT LOCATION; THE POSSIBILITY EXISTS THAT I WAS IN AREA GOLF OF THE SFO TCA. THE CTLR SAID NOTHING ABOUT IT. I QUERIED HIM AS TO WHETHER HE WANTED ME TO REMAIN CLR OF THE TCA; I.E.; WAS NO CLRNC FORTHCOMING? HE SAID; 'YES; REMAIN CLR. IF YOU WANTED CLRNC; YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING. WE COULD'VE COORDINATED THAT.' I CONTINUED DSCNT AND WAS HANDED OFF TO OAKLAND TWR. BY THIS TIME; I WAS LEVEL AT 2000. SYNOPSIS. I AM NOT SURE THAT I EVER VIOLATED THE GOLF SECTOR LOWER BOUNDARY. IN LIGHT OF THE CTLR NOT MENTIONING IT; I DON'T THINK SO. BUT I'M NOT SURE. FLYING INTO SEATTLE THREE DAYS EARLIER; A TCA CTLR HAD CLRED ME FOR VFR DSCNT THROUGH THE TCA W/O MY ASKING. HOWEVER; I WAS HEADED FOR SEA-TAC; THE PRIMARY ARPT IN THAT TCA. THERE IS A ROUTE UNDERNEATH THE TCA. PARTLY BECAUSE OF MY TALK WITH OAKLAND; AND MY EXPERIENCE AT SEATTLE; I THOUGHT THAT A TCA CLRNC WAS FORTHCOMING. THE INFO I RECEIVED FROM THE OAKLAND CENTER CTLR MUST HAVE BEEN RECEIVED AS AN OPEN ENDED QUESTION LIKE; 'CAN YOU HANDLE A NON ENCODER VFR FLT?' AND NO IMPENDING REQUEST WAS EVER PASSED ON. I UNDERSTAND THAT NO TCA CLRNC IS IMPLIED OR MADE W/O THE WORDS 'CLRED INTO THE TCA' OR SOMETHING SIMILAR. I WANTED THE TCA CLRNC BECAUSE AT NIGHT; I'M NOT THRILLED ABOUT FLYING 1000' ABOVE OPEN WATER; EVEN IN A MULTI ENGINED AIRPLANE W/O LIFE PRESERVERS. RECOMMENDATIONS. SINCE MANY PLTS USE VFR FLT FOLLOWING; SOME WAY TO FORWARD REQUESTS TO DEST CTLRS SHOULD EXIST; OR AT LEAST GET FEEDBACK AS TO WHETHER A CLRNC IS POSSIBLE AT THAT FUTURE TIME. BEING HANDED OFF 10 NM FROM THE TCA IS NOT ENOUGH TIME TO MAKE A REQUEST W/O HAVING TO DO A VFR 'HOLD' IN PLACE. OR USING THE OVERLYING AIRSPACE REQUIRING A LONG DEV. PERHAPS A CTLR (TCA) SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO WARN VFR FLTS THAT THEY ARE ON A COURSE FOR A TCA; OR INCLUDE A REMINDER THAT THEY HAVE NO CLRNC; WHEN THAT FLT IS HANDED OFF TO A TCA CTLR. I DON'T WANT TO INCREASE CTLR WORKLOAD OR RESPONSIBILITY; OR CAUSE FAA TO CONCLUDE THAT VFR ADVISORIES ARE NOT WORTH THE TROUBLE FOR TRACON CTLRS. THIS SEEMS TO BE A GRAY AREA (VECTORS GIVEN WHEN NOT ACTUALLY IN AN ARSA OR TRSA OR TCA; BUT APCHING ONE). I AM ALSO AWARE OF AIM PARAGRAPH 165 (1) AND (2) AND 165 (10) (D). PERHAPS SOME CLARIFICATIONS ARE IN ORDER AS REGARDS TRANSITIONAL PROC BTWN 'STAGE I' SVC TO A TCA.