Narrative:

This report is intended to be positive and constructive. It is not about one particular flight but a series of flights. I hope it is received well. I simply have concerns about this aircrafts radar. After flying the CRJ200 for a full thunderstorm season; I felt compelled to bring my concerns about the aircrafts weather radar to your attention. I appreciate you considering the issues here raised. Here are my general issues with the radar: not showing severe weather returns that I know; without question; are there. In all cases last summer I had to visually deviate around severe weather. Pom tilt setting techniques at altitude are not accurate. I need exact information on what settings to use at all altitudes and all ranges. Called collins; they said to read the manual. Using all tilt settings; still not able to paint the weather that is clearly ahead of us. Radar clearly paints cities. I am unable to discern the difference between a city and weather. Ground clutter suppression suppresses everything; including weather. Radar often paints phantom weather on one sweep; then weather is gone on the next sweep. I have deviated multiple times around non-existent weather. First officer's are unable to offer suggestions on radar use (which is understandable). They have all agreed that it is not very useful; however. 15 years of flying the other aircraft types has not helped me at all with using this radar. The difference between other aircraft and crj radar is glaring. Crj 200 pom states: 'when using a flat-plate antenna for the first time; some pilots have expressed doubt about the lack of weather targets displayed; pointing out that they could see clouds that were not shown on the radar. Since radar display of clouds is dependent upon moisture content; clouds with low moisture may not have enough reflectivity to be displayed. This misunderstanding has been aggravated by the use of flat-plate antennas. The flat-plate antenna exhibits characteristics different form the parabolic antenna. A great reduction in side-lobe energy results in the tilt setting being very sensitive; and its adjustment is critical to effective weather detection. It is recommended that the pm coordinate tilt and range selections with the pilot flying to detect and avoid adverse weather.' (italics and underlining are mine.) this statement from the crj pom I feel is a tacit admission of the inadequacies of this radar. Every line captain I have spoken to has different 'techniques' on how to use this radar. Shouldn't all of these 'techniques' be exactly the same? I feel that this radar is inadequate and I am nervous when flying around thunderstorms. I have read the pom and the collins radar manual. I cannot figure this radar out. The technology available now that could be used would eliminate all of these issues. We desperately need to invest in and upgrade our radar technology for safety. As a start I suggest installing airborne wi-fi and permitting the use of smart phones. That would be incredibly useful. I know that these things cost money. I am a realist. I understand that 20 years from now this aircraft will most likely have the exact same radar in it. I'm simply saying that the radar currently in use has not helped me in any way. I am certainly not interested in rattling anyone's cage but I feel so strongly about this issue that I felt that I must say something. I thank you for your time and consideration.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A CRJ200 Captain discussed the aircraft flat panel weather radar's inability to accurate detect severe weather when compared to his previous aircraft's radar capability.

Narrative: This report is intended to be positive and constructive. It is not about one particular flight but a series of flights. I hope it is received well. I simply have concerns about this aircrafts radar. After flying the CRJ200 for a full thunderstorm season; I felt compelled to bring my concerns about the aircrafts weather radar to your attention. I appreciate you considering the issues here raised. Here are my general issues with the radar: Not showing severe weather returns that I know; without question; are there. In all cases last summer I had to visually deviate around severe weather. POM tilt setting techniques at altitude are not accurate. I need exact information on what settings to use at all altitudes and all ranges. Called Collins; they said to read the manual. Using all tilt settings; still not able to paint the weather that is clearly ahead of us. Radar clearly paints cities. I am unable to discern the difference between a city and weather. Ground clutter suppression suppresses everything; including weather. Radar often paints phantom weather on one sweep; then weather is gone on the next sweep. I have deviated multiple times around non-existent weather. First Officer's are unable to offer suggestions on radar use (which is understandable). They have all agreed that it is not very useful; however. 15 years of flying the other aircraft types has not helped me at all with using this radar. The difference between other aircraft and CRJ radar is glaring. CRJ 200 POM states: 'When using a flat-plate antenna for the first time; some pilots have expressed doubt about the lack of weather targets displayed; pointing out that they could see clouds that were not shown on the radar. Since radar display of clouds is dependent upon moisture content; clouds with low moisture may not have enough reflectivity to be displayed. This misunderstanding has been aggravated by the use of flat-plate antennas. The flat-plate antenna exhibits characteristics different form the parabolic antenna. A great reduction in side-lobe energy results in the tilt setting being very sensitive; and its adjustment is critical to effective weather detection. It is recommended that the PM coordinate tilt and range selections with the pilot flying to detect and avoid adverse weather.' (Italics and underlining are mine.) This statement from the CRJ POM I feel is a tacit admission of the inadequacies of this radar. Every line captain I have spoken to has different 'techniques' on how to use this radar. Shouldn't all of these 'techniques' be exactly the same? I feel that this radar is inadequate and I am nervous when flying around thunderstorms. I have read the POM and the Collins radar manual. I cannot figure this radar out. The technology available now that could be used would eliminate all of these issues. We desperately need to invest in and upgrade our radar technology for safety. As a start I suggest installing airborne WI-FI and permitting the use of smart phones. That would be incredibly useful. I know that these things cost money. I am a realist. I understand that 20 years from now this aircraft will most likely have the exact same radar in it. I'm simply saying that the radar currently in use has not helped me in any way. I am certainly not interested in rattling anyone's cage but I feel so strongly about this issue that I felt that I must say something. I thank you for your time and consideration.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.