Msn controller concerned with radar adjustment to resolve ARTS iie program system failures.

Attributes
ACN	542505
Time
Date	200203
Day	Wed
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	airport : msn.airport
State Reference	WI
Altitude	agl single value : 0
Person 1
Affiliation	government : faa
Function	controller : approach
Qualification	controller : radar
Experience	controller military : 4 controller radar : 14
ASRS Report	542505
Events
Independent Detector	atc equipment other atc equipment : radar arts ii e other controllera
Resolutory Action	other
Consequence	faa : investigated
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Maintenance Human Performance Navigational Facility Environmental Factor ATC Human Performance
Primary Problem	Navigational Facility
Situations
ATC Facility	computer equipment : msn.tracon radar equipment : msn.tracon

Narrative:

ARTS iie system at madison, wi, TRACON has experienced several outages recently. The probable cause given is overload of primary targets. A temporary fix has been installed which disables or partially disables tracking of primary targets. Recent changes have been made to the ASR-9 in preparation of wsp WX modification. The temporary changes degrade designed safety features of tracking primary targets. The highest resources should be devoted to restoring the primary target tracking features.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MSN CTLR CONCERNED WITH RADAR ADJUSTMENT TO RESOLVE ARTS IIE PROGRAM SYS FAILURES.

Narrative: ARTS IIE SYS AT MADISON, WI, TRACON HAS EXPERIENCED SEVERAL OUTAGES RECENTLY. THE PROBABLE CAUSE GIVEN IS OVERLOAD OF PRIMARY TARGETS. A TEMPORARY FIX HAS BEEN INSTALLED WHICH DISABLES OR PARTIALLY DISABLES TRACKING OF PRIMARY TARGETS. RECENT CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE TO THE ASR-9 IN PREPARATION OF WSP WX MODIFICATION. THE TEMPORARY CHANGES DEGRADE DESIGNED SAFETY FEATURES OF TRACKING PRIMARY TARGETS. THE HIGHEST RESOURCES SHOULD BE DEVOTED TO RESTORING THE PRIMARY TARGET TRACKING FEATURES.

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.