A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/857389
be in attendance to get a better idea of their needs. Bill Straube will be in attendance representing NATCA AFSS. Next Generation Air - Ground Communication (NEXCOM) continues deployment of new CM300/350 V2 radios to terminal facilities across the countr y. Some terminal facilities in the NAS using very old radios hear a pop back or " squelch tail " when they release their transmitters. The new radios being deployed under NEXCOM Segment 2 do not have this " feature " as the squelch tail is generally regarded a s undesirable radio communications. This issue has cropped up twice now during deployment, and Mr. Shedden is working with the program office on an information br iefing for selected facilities. NAS Voice Recorder Progra m (NVRP) is the replacement for exis ting NAS voice recorders (DALR, DALR2, DVRS, DVR2). The Program Office presented to the JRC and received approval to proceed to Final Investment Analysis, leading up to the Final Investment Decision. Key site for NVRP will be Seattle Center in the 2018 tim e frame. Grand Rapids Tower/TRACON (GRR) is reporting multiple issues with their aging voice switch. There ' s one outstanding issue where a RADAR site is causing interference in the Tower Cab. That issue continues to be worked. There were a large number of tone incidences being reported at Potomac TRACON (PCT). This has also caused NATCA and the FAA to take a closer look at the headsets to determine if they provide adequate protection against these events. On May 17th, NATCA and the FAA collaborated on new guidance for how to handle tone incidences going forward. This new guidance will go into the 7210.3, and the FAA rescinded the memo governing tone incidences from 2007. A workgroup has been formally established, and members have been selected, to address t he number and severity of tone incidences. Plantronics, the provider of our headsets, has been debarred due to " adequate evidence of conduct indicating a lack of business honesty or integrity." This means that the FAA cannot buy any headsets from Plantati ons for three years. The FAA is currently working with NATCA to address this issue. NEXTGEN Kevin McLaughlin (SCT) is the National Ne xtGen Representative for NATCA. His report to the membership is below. The FAA NextGen Remote Tower Services Program has been pushing forward on supporting the State of Colorado and their efforts to install a Remote Tower Services (RTS) site at the Fort Collins – Loveland Municipal /Northern Colorado Regional Airport (FNL). NATCA has named Shawn Reuth, from NATCA Centennial To wer Local, as the Fort Collins R TS Representative. During early 2017, the FAA concluded the Request For Information (RFI) process soliciting proposals from Vendors seeking approval to construct and cer tify the FNL RTS installation. Five responses were rece ived, with four Vendors having significant RTS experience with active RTS projects/proposals in some part of the world. These four proposals were evaluated by ANG - C on the merits of cost, program management, an d vendor technical experience.