A low time C182 pilot set his transponder improperly when talking with tcm tower.

Attributes
ACN	514110
Time
Date	200106
Day	Sat
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	airport : tcm.airport
State Reference	WA
Altitude	msl single value : 1600
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Operator	general aviation : personal
Make Model Name	Skylane 182/RG Turbo Skylane/RG
Flight Phase	cruise : level
Flight Plan	VFR
Person 1
Affiliation	other
Function	flight crew : single pilot
Qualification	pilot : private pilot : instrument
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 13 flight time total : 463.8 flight time type : 236.1
ASRS Report	514110
Events
Anomaly	non adherence : far non adherence : published procedure
Resolutory Action	none taken : detected after the fact
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Flight Crew Human Performance
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance

Narrative:

Erroneous code set in transponder. Need to check code before turning transponder from 'standby' to 'on.' problem discovered when given new code by ATC. Corrected by setting new code in transponder.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A LOW TIME C182 PLT SET HIS XPONDER IMPROPERLY WHEN TALKING WITH TCM TWR.

Narrative: ERRONEOUS CODE SET IN XPONDER. NEED TO CHK CODE BEFORE TURNING XPONDER FROM 'STANDBY' TO 'ON.' PROB DISCOVERED WHEN GIVEN NEW CODE BY ATC. CORRECTED BY SETTING NEW CODE IN XPONDER.

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.