A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/703686
SAFETY AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT LE AN MAINTENANCE AND REVALIDATION (LMRP): Tim Travis (ZID) is the LMRP Article 48 Representative for NATCA. His update for the membership is below: We met in D.C. the week of the 26th of June. We were informed the LMRP Project Manager is retiring due to he alth concerns. The status of the program is not known. We looked at several Navaids and ranked them on availability, cost, location , etc. Tech Ops have decided they need to get lean and are looking at ways to cut cost s . I heard from a t ech th ere is a maj or problem with LED s that are used in aviation related items due to frequency interference and that pilots can 't see the lights because LED s only project light in one direction. Tech Ops is re - starting an awards program for suggestions that save the FAA mo ney. They will be announcing this shortly if approved. TERMINAL AUTOMATION MODERNIZATION AND REPLACEMENT (TAMR): Aaron Rose (NCT) is the TAMR Artic le 48 Representative for NATCA. Below is the report from the TAMR Project for the past month : Deployment Th e TAMR program is starting to transition huge numbers the ARTs IIe facilities to STARs. Just in this reporting period numerous sites have achieved Initial Operating Capability (IOC) to include: Sioux Falls, SD: 6/13 Fort Smith, Ark. : 6/20 Palm Beach, Fla. : 6/22 Colorado Spr ings, Colo.: 6/27 This is an amazing achievement considering the amount of coordination and collaboration that has to take place just to transition one facility much less four. In the coming month , we are looking forward to Tallahassee, Fairbanks, Wilkes - Ba rre, and Roswell. Also, an upgrade from G1 legacy STA Rs to G4 processors at Tucson. Co ngratulations NATCA TAMR team. Without the teamwork and dedication the NAS would still be in the 20 th century. Article 48 meeting June 14 Mr. Rose me t with outgoing A rticle 48 R ep Mitch Herrick and new TAMR P rogram M anager Lisa Bercher , who replaced Jeff Yarnell. Topics included the Common Terminal Digitizer (CTD) and the effects of aging ASR8 radars in the NAS. Surveillance radars located in Southern California to include ADSB and issues of compliance fro m users. Merge training at STARS facilities. Had a productive meeting and stated concerns to Jim Linney, Director Air Traffic Systems, reference TAMR , and a path forward after deployment. The CTD is a hurdle for TAMR deployment because of the aging infrastructure and differences betwe en digital/analog radar feeds. All ASR8 radars transfer data via an analog feed and STARs wi ll only accept a digital feed. The CTD converts this analog signal to digital. 41 sites that need to transition have ASR8 radars that need to be digitized ; unfortunately the CTD is behind schedule and i n the process of being tested. Most ARTs IIe sites transitioning with an ASR8 have been moved to the bac k of the deployment waterfall . Testing is ongoing. Eric Labardini (NATCA ART 48 SBS) attended the meeting to give a report reference ADS - B and surveillance is sues in the Los Angeles basin. We are hopeful that