Reporter states that the litton rvds communication equipment has not worked properly since its insta...

Attributes
ACN	439340
Time
Date	199906
Day	Mon
Local Time Of Day	1801 To 2400
Place
Locale Reference	atc facility : msn.tower
State Reference	WI
Altitude	agl single value : 0
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Weather Elements	Thunderstorm Rain
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Operator	other
Person 1
Affiliation	government : faa
Function	oversight : supervisor
Qualification	controller : radar
Experience	controller military : 4 controller radar : 10 controller supervisory : 1 controller time certified in position1 : 5 flight time total : 125
ASRS Report	439340
Person 2
Affiliation	government : faa
Function	controller : flight data
Qualification	other other : flight data
Events
Anomaly	other anomaly other
Independent Detector	atc equipment other atc equipment : litton rvds other controllera other controllerb
Resolutory Action	none taken : anomaly accepted
Consequence	faa : investigated
Supplementary
Problem Areas	ATC Human Performance Maintenance Human Performance FAA
Primary Problem	FAA
Situations
ATC Facility	communication equipment : msn.tower

Narrative:

Tower flight data specialist (atcs) called ARTCC flight data position to reconfigure flight data printer. The non control conversation bled over onto the landing (shout line) used for control instructions between radar controllers. I received a phone call from ZAU area supervisor expressing a safety concern. The radar controller at the center (ZAU) was distraction and confused by the non pertinent conversation on the control line. The litton rvds has not worked properly since it was installed approximately 2 yrs ago. This particular problem has gone uncorrected since installation. Local FAA technicians are unable to troubleshoot the problem. Recent problems include several total communications failures where backup radios were needed. A ucr has been filed on this piece of equipment (litton rvds). Callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: reporter revealed that since the report was written, the facility has not had the shout line bleed-through problem. This particular problem is intermittent and is usually carried over on the daily log as an open item, even though they haven't had an incident of this lately. Other communications outages involving the litton rvds equipment are still occurring intermittently. Reporter attributes some of the problems to the lack of qualified technicians.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: RPTR STATES THAT THE LITTON RVDS COM EQUIP HAS NOT WORKED PROPERLY SINCE ITS INSTALLATION. THE EVENT DESCRIBED BY THE RPTR IS ONE OF MANY PROBS WITH THE SYS.

Narrative: TWR FLT DATA SPECIALIST (ATCS) CALLED ARTCC FLT DATA POS TO RECONFIGURE FLT DATA PRINTER. THE NON CTL CONVERSATION BLED OVER ONTO THE LNDG (SHOUT LINE) USED FOR CTL INSTRUCTIONS BTWN RADAR CTLRS. I RECEIVED A PHONE CALL FROM ZAU AREA SUPVR EXPRESSING A SAFETY CONCERN. THE RADAR CTLR AT THE CTR (ZAU) WAS DISTR AND CONFUSED BY THE NON PERTINENT CONVERSATION ON THE CTL LINE. THE LITTON RVDS HAS NOT WORKED PROPERLY SINCE IT WAS INSTALLED APPROX 2 YRS AGO. THIS PARTICULAR PROB HAS GONE UNCORRECTED SINCE INSTALLATION. LCL FAA TECHNICIANS ARE UNABLE TO TROUBLESHOOT THE PROB. RECENT PROBS INCLUDE SEVERAL TOTAL COMS FAILURES WHERE BACKUP RADIOS WERE NEEDED. A UCR HAS BEEN FILED ON THIS PIECE OF EQUIP (LITTON RVDS). CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR REVEALED THAT SINCE THE RPT WAS WRITTEN, THE FACILITY HAS NOT HAD THE SHOUT LINE BLEED-THROUGH PROB. THIS PARTICULAR PROB IS INTERMITTENT AND IS USUALLY CARRIED OVER ON THE DAILY LOG AS AN OPEN ITEM, EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVEN'T HAD AN INCIDENT OF THIS LATELY. OTHER COMS OUTAGES INVOLVING THE LITTON RVDS EQUIP ARE STILL OCCURRING INTERMITTENTLY. RPTR ATTRIBUTES SOME OF THE PROBS TO THE LACK OF QUALIFIED TECHNICIANS.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.

Reporter states that the litton rvds communication equipment has not worked properly since its installation. The event described by the reporter is one of many problems with the system.