Sfo local controller reported that certain aircraft which taxi low to the ground have difficulty rec...

Narrative:

Aircraft X was instructed to luaw (line up and wait) on runway 10L. The crew acknowledged the instruction. The flight was then cleared for takeoff on runway 10L. There was no acknowledgement and the aircraft didn't move. The instruction was issued again and again no response. Flight was then told to cancel takeoff clearance and hold in position. There was no response. We switched to the standby transmitter and told the crew to hold in position and ask how they heard and they reported loud and clear. There is a frequency dead zone on runway 10L and portions of twy S2 [and] south for aircraft of a certain height (learjets; challengers; citations; etc.) where they are unable to receive the main transmitter for either local control or ground control frequencies. This is a recurring problem at sfo. Move the main transmitters so that all aircraft receive the frequency at all points of the airfield. Especially on active runways.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: SFO Local Controller reported that certain aircraft which taxi low to the ground have difficulty receiving transmissions in a Runway 10L dead zone along portions of Taxiways S and S2. Antenna location seems to be the problem.

Narrative: Aircraft X was instructed to LUAW (Line Up and Wait) on RWY 10L. The crew acknowledged the instruction. The flight was then cleared for takeoff on RWY 10L. There was no acknowledgement and the aircraft didn't move. The instruction was issued again and again no response. Flight was then told to cancel takeoff clearance and hold in position. There was no response. We switched to the Standby Transmitter and told the crew to hold in position and ask how they heard and they reported loud and clear. There is a frequency dead zone on RWY 10L and portions of TWY S2 [and] S for aircraft of a certain height (Learjets; Challengers; Citations; etc.) where they are unable to receive the main transmitter for either LC or GC frequencies. This is a recurring problem at SFO. Move the main transmitters so that all aircraft receive the frequency at all points of the airfield. Especially on active runways.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1326446
Time
Date	201601
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	SFO.Airport
State Reference	CA
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Light Transport Low Wing 2 Turbojet Eng
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Taxi
Route In Use	None
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Air/Ground Communication
Person 1
Function	Local
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Experience	Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 7
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown

Sfo local controller reported that certain aircraft which taxi low to the ground have difficulty receiving transmissions in a runway 10L dead zone along portions of taxiways south and S2. Antenna location seems to be the problem.