A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/977826
Mr. Shedden traveled to the MMAC in OKC March 26 - 30 to assist with the OKC software install on the primary and backup systems. Next Generation Air - Ground Communication (NEXCOM) continues deployment of new CM300/350 V2 radios to terminal facilities across the country. 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 Se gment 2 do not have this "feature" as the squelch tail is generally regarded as undesirable in radio communications. This issue has cropped up twice now during deployment and the program office should brief future affected facilities prior to install. N AS Voice Recorder Progra m (NVRP) is the replacement for existing 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 Decisi on. Final Investment Decision will be in February 2019. Key site for NVRP will be Seattle Center in the 2020. A Safety Risk Management Panel is schedule for April 12th. NVRP is currently in the source evaluation phase. 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 t ower c ab. That issue continues to be worked. The Tone Mitigation National Workgrou p met in September 2017 to discuss potential mitigations to the number and severity of tone/noise events across the NAS. This workgroup kicked off largely because of the number of tone/noise events occurring at PCT. One of the outcomes from these meetings was exploring the use of new headset bases which incorporate an active limiter. The FAA is in currently in the process of procuring these new headset bases. Another outcome was the investigation into and possible mitigations for the various causes of tone/ noise events. AJW - 173 in Oklahoma City continues to work with PCT to identify causes and implement solutions, with the additional goal of providing guidance and best practices nationwide. SURVEILLANCE BR OADCAST SERVICES (SBS) OFFICE Eric Labardini (ZHU) is the Article 114 Rep resentative to the SBS Office. Below is the update for SBS. The NATCA Surveillance and Broadcast Services (SBS) team includes: Eric Labardini (ZHU), National SBS Article 114 Rep, Craig Bielek (A90), Dan Hamilton (SFO), National Airport Surface Surveillance Capability (ASSC) Rep, Andrew Stachowiak (I90), Tom Zarick (ZDV), National Interval Management Rep, and Chris Aymond (MSY), National Terminal Interval Management Rep ADS - B: As of March 1, 2018, the number of Rule Compliant ADS - B Out airc raft in the US reached 45,282. ADS - B In equ ipped aircraft reached 38,843. The growth in aircraft equipage has been significant, and some areas of the NAS are seeing high pe rcentages of traffic equipped. Howe ver, the projections are still falling short of the numb ers needed