Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer
Confusion; Human-Machine Interface; Situational Awareness
ATC Issue All Types
General None Reported / Taken
ATC Equipment / Nav Facility / Buildings; Procedure
With the ARTS IIIE aircraft departing ADS will automatically display to Dallas South; AR7; AR6; Dallas East; Feeder East 1 and Feeder East 2. These aircraft also auto handoff to DR1. Since we implemented STARS this feature has worked sometimes and sometimes not. Now it does not work at all. The auto displays are required in the D10 7110.65 for prearranged coordination climbs in designated areas. Without this function people are still climbing but do not realize; or are forgetting that these aircraft are not properly displayed to the appropriate positions; and thus the Controller should not be using prearranged coordination areas. Additionally since they are not displayed to Dallas South who owns the airspace; when the aircraft are handed off to DR1 or ZFW they go to a limited data block and Dallas South could easily run into them. The aircraft are also not handing off to DR1 and sometimes go directly to auto-handoff to ZFW. In that instance; people switch you the aircraft; but since you did not get the auto handoff; the aircraft is not even displayed on your screen. You literally have to hunt for it. This is a very serious safety issue that needs to be immediately corrected. This happened at least three times today. This is a serious safety issue. Immediately correct it or turn off STARS until these issues are corrected. We have been working with this for some time. Someone is going to get hurt!
D10 Controller expressed concern regarding the STARS equipment; providing examples of how the STARS functionalities can lead to an unsafe condition.