No Aircraft
Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 4
Situational Awareness; Human-Machine Interface; Distraction; Troubleshooting
ATC Issue All Types; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Equipment / Tooling; ATC Equipment / Nav Facility / Buildings
I am unsure if this is considered an 'event' or a problem; but it seems like both. A long term problem we have had at JAN is with our Airport Surveillance Radar (ASR) generator. When we turn it on during bad weather there is a better than 50% chance that the Mode S will stop working and the ASR will also not work properly. I understand that Tech Ops has worked hard to find and fix the issue and has even gone so far as to bring in outside help to diagnose the problem; but nothing has worked. This event happened at the end of my shift yesterday and when I came in today I found out that we were in Center Radar Presentation (CENRAP) Plus. While I was monitoring the operation in Radar all 3 scopes went dark and the ASR high voltage went into alarm indicating that the primary radar had shut down also while Tech Ops was troubleshooting the Mode S problem. It came back after about 10 seconds; but I called Tech Ops on the radar site and they said that they had no clue why it happened; and no idea if it would happen again forcing us to full CENRAP; and ATC alert.Not only is it unsafe working with spotty equipment; but the fact that it goes out when we turn on the generator makes it even more unsafe. The generator only goes on in bad weather and when it causes the radar to quit we lose our live weather; along with out low altitude; and collision alerts. We then have to use the Integrated Terminal Weather System (ITWS) which is far less accurate than what the ASR gives us.These circumstances are the definition of the swiss cheese model. The combination of weather hazards with equipment that is not 100% creates a perfect opportunity for bad things to happen. As a controller and an FLM I feel that we cannot provide nearly as safe of services to the flying public as we could with functioning equipment.We have some of the oldest equipment still operating in the agency outside of a contract tower. I would recommend updating our systems to something more reliable. Be proactive and replace this aging facility before it stops being able to function completely. We work as best as we can with what we have; but before long the only thing that will be working for us to do our jobs is a PET2000 (Portable Emergency Transceiver); and a light gun.
JAN FLM reported of a problem with the facilities Airport Surveillance Radar (ASR) generator. When turned on during bad weather it has a 50% probability of working. Tech Ops is aware of the problem; but is unable to fix it. FLM is concerned something bad might happen related to the ASR being out of service.