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ZTL ARTCC radar controller reports facility has been having various transmitter and receiver problems for months.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 629417 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200408 |
| Day | Fri |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201 To 1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | atc facility : ztl.artcc |
| State Reference | GA |
| Environment | |
| Light | Night |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | government : faa |
| Function | controller : radar |
| Qualification | controller : radar |
| Experience | controller radar : 13 |
| ASRS Report | 629417 |
| Person 2 | |
| Affiliation | government : faa |
| Function | controller : supervisor |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | other anomaly other |
| Independent Detector | other controllera other controllerb other other : 3 maint tech |
| Resolutory Action | none taken : unable |
| Consequence | faa : investigated other |
| Supplementary | |
| Problem Areas | ATC Facility FAA |
| Primary Problem | ATC Facility |
| Situations | |
| ATC Facility | communication equipment : ztl.artcc procedure or policy : ztl.artcc |
| Airspace Structure | class a : ztl.a class e : ztl.e |
Narrative:
I work at ZTL, area 6. Our normal west departure frequency has had a problem for months now. The pilots departing atlanta say it sounds like an open microphone with a loud squeal. The regional office reports that after investigation, they 'think' it's a pager tower interference. What are they doing about it? We don't know -- obviously nothing! Our back-up frequency 135.0 has started having problems also. Oh, west departure's normal is 134.95. So, on this evening, the pilots were complaining about the frequency. I went to the back-up. I had the normal frequency monitored also. I had several aircraft on 135.0 and it went dead. The supervisor called and found out that someone was at the site working on it, and no one told us it should have been released. Then, I had NORDO aircraft all in my sector. Luckily this did not happen when we were busier. The normal (134.95) needs to be fixed. When it is all we have, we have excess complaints from pilots tying up the frequency and/or they return to atl approach without checking on because they think there is a hot microphone. There will be an incident if this problem is not corrected. It is reported daily, I am certain, to no avail.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: ZTL ARTCC RADAR CTLR RPTS FACILITY HAS BEEN HAVING VARIOUS XMITTER AND RECEIVER PROBS FOR MONTHS.
Narrative: I WORK AT ZTL, AREA 6. OUR NORMAL W DEP FREQ HAS HAD A PROB FOR MONTHS NOW. THE PLTS DEPARTING ATLANTA SAY IT SOUNDS LIKE AN OPEN MIKE WITH A LOUD SQUEAL. THE REGIONAL OFFICE RPTS THAT AFTER INVESTIGATION, THEY 'THINK' IT'S A PAGER TWR INTERFERENCE. WHAT ARE THEY DOING ABOUT IT? WE DON'T KNOW -- OBVIOUSLY NOTHING! OUR BACK-UP FREQ 135.0 HAS STARTED HAVING PROBS ALSO. OH, W DEP'S NORMAL IS 134.95. SO, ON THIS EVENING, THE PLTS WERE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE FREQ. I WENT TO THE BACK-UP. I HAD THE NORMAL FREQ MONITORED ALSO. I HAD SEVERAL ACFT ON 135.0 AND IT WENT DEAD. THE SUPVR CALLED AND FOUND OUT THAT SOMEONE WAS AT THE SITE WORKING ON IT, AND NO ONE TOLD US IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN RELEASED. THEN, I HAD NORDO ACFT ALL IN MY SECTOR. LUCKILY THIS DID NOT HAPPEN WHEN WE WERE BUSIER. THE NORMAL (134.95) NEEDS TO BE FIXED. WHEN IT IS ALL WE HAVE, WE HAVE EXCESS COMPLAINTS FROM PLTS TYING UP THE FREQ AND/OR THEY RETURN TO ATL APCH WITHOUT CHKING ON BECAUSE THEY THINK THERE IS A HOT MIKE. THERE WILL BE AN INCIDENT IF THIS PROB IS NOT CORRECTED. IT IS RPTED DAILY, I AM CERTAIN, TO NO AVAIL.
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.