A momentous day!!

[Bewli-Begto]

Can`t believe there`s nothing here about NERC finally opening this morning - and, ironically, after all that`s happened, it opened 97 minutes ahead of schedule at 12.53am. Looking forward to my first shift there - as they said on `Thunderbirds`, "Anything could happen in the next half hour!". Good luck to all who are starting a new life now `down south`. Cheers, BB.

[BEXIL160]

Yep, quite a day. Felt like the first day at a new school... for those that remember that far back. I have survived, without any serious frights and hence my confidence has grown somewhat. Hooohray!

A question? What do you think of the RT quality from Swanwick? Any pilots out there? What do YOU think?

The Swanwick headsets aren't brilliant, particularly as the microphones need to be postitioned 25mm from your lips (not 23 or 27mm!). Get it wrong and you end up with lots of fading in and out or no intelidgble speech at all (No change there then for me!).

And that's about the only moan. Not too bad for DAY1. The flow rates are about right as well.

Good luck to everyone else, hope you find it as painless as I did.

Rgds BEX

[no sig]

Thats all good to hear Bex, seemed to go OK from our end as well. Any problem were sorted and the liasion with FMP went well, as usual.

So far so good...

(sorry about all this editing, it's too late..)

[ 27 January 2002: Message edited by: no sig ]

[ 27 January 2002: Message edited by: no sig ]</p>

[Scott Voigt]

I would like to get some feedback on how the interface is working...

regards

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

I'm amazed to hear about the poor headsets at Swanwick... UK ATCOs really do have garbage headsets compared to those used elsewhere. When I worked with IAL abroad in the late 60s I had a lightweight headset which weighed 1.75 ounces, including the cable and plug. Those monstrous things we've been using for the last 30 years weigh nearly half a cwt - at least it feels that way!! It really is about time someone in Tels woke up to the fact that elsewhere in the world ATCOs use headsets which really are lightweight.

[BEXIL160]

Hello HD,

The Swanwick headsets are lightweight . It's just that they don't seem to work very well.

Given the choice between my old chunky LATCC electic hat (that WORKED properly) and the "new" lite version (that DOESN'T all the time), I'd prefer the old one.

It's only a minor moan, but I'd like something done. As HD says, in 30 odd years you'd think we'd be able to get a decent headset supplied.

Rgds BEX

[kennedy]

In response to Bewli, just come back from BFS to LTN EZY377 and firstly great service,no slot (thank you), but unfortunatly lost comms with the controller in the sector north of Clipy (Pedig area), between FL250 and FL200 with the controller fading in an out.

No problems really, as they say No Harm, No foul!

[250 kts]

I agree about the RT quality and the headsets. In fact there was an incident on day 1 attributable to the poor RT quality.

Speaking to one of the engineers down there,he stated that the new headsets are the worst that they had seen but that they were chosen by the ATCOs. Probably the Saga boys that they had down there at the start of the project!!.

They really are unacceptable in this day and age.

[BDiONU]

I was working on the ATC helpdesk 'O' date morning and it was pretty frantic. But nothing really much more than the usual crop of 'troubles' that we've had with new software drops in the past. These will get 'fixed' very soon. The biggest dissapointment was the quality of R/T due to the feak and weeble headsets. So many project staff have worked VERY hard to get this centre up and running and the edge has been taken off of that achievement by being let down by the R/T, which is one of the absolute primary tools required in ATC! Sorry to all the operational staff but we hate the headsets too. BTW thanks as well for not making our lives Hell and 'blaming' us for anything which is 'wrong'. Happy to Help!

[Max Angle]

Good luck to everyone involved with the new centre, not at work for a few days now so won't have a chance to sample the new service until Thursday. Rather worried to hear about the poor RT quality though, it's hard to be precise but I am sure that RT in the London area is not as good as it was anyway. I think it took a big dip with introduction of the new frequency spilts a few years ago, I don't know it it's the new aircraft radios or the ATC ones but a lot of London controllers are quite difficult to hear sometimes, there is certainly a very marked difference getting airbourne and switching from local tower r/t to the centre which I don't always rememember being the case.

Sorry you are having to deal with crap headsets, I was always amazed at the state of your headsets anyway, they all looked about 30 years old and most uncomfortable. You would think that after all that money and effort they could supply you something decent. A lot of guys at work, including me, have bought our own headsets now, the company ones are not very good and for about £125 I have a very comfortable, good quality set that you hardly know you are wearing. Hope you get it sorted out.

[chiglet]

I was on nights at MACC, and we found it "seamless" :) . .BTW,BB it was Stingray that anything can happen...etc <img src="rolleyes.gif" border="0"> . .we aim to please, it keeps the cleaners happy

[Manual Reversion]

Passed through 133.45 (Clacton) sector four times last night. Had to crank the volume up to a very high level (B 737). There seemed to be a bit of 'head in dustbin' type quality to the speech. It all seemed a great performance at Swanwick when I'm sure it was a very trying time for all concerned.If we didn't know what was happening, you couldn't have guessed from the service (well apart from the speed control approaching the FIR). I hope someone sorts out the audio quality at an early stage, such a simple thing would be a big plus for flight safety.

[5milesbaby]

Believe half the RTF problems will be solved when they take LATCC out of the loop in about 3-4 months time.

[BEXIL160]

It's a start.

How about :. .(a) running down to TransAir and buying some decent headsets (Off the shelf, NATS prefered method of procurement). .or. .(b) sticking a Swanick Plug on my LATCC headset (still in my LATCC locker).

Rgds BEX

[The Sad ATCO]

You'll all be pleased to know that parking at West Drayton is now very easy. You AC types have stopped blocking our spaces and we can get to the front where we belong. :) . .Rumour has it that there has been a bit of congestion in the NERC car park. Will they have the multi-storey finished by the time us TC chaps get down there?

[BEXIL160]

[quote]Get to the front, where we belong <hr></blockquote>

You must mean Porters Way, next to the burnt out Metro/Astra/Escort/Whatever's been trashed and burned this week :)

Rgds BEX

[OrsonCart]

Sat listening to 127.1 this morning. So many times the crew said "Say again" or "Your transmition faded". The land based transmission was at time excellent, but the fade was random and potentially dangerous. Several times traffic called whilst the controller was transmitting simply because the crew thought the freq quiet!

It kind of doubled the controller work load. A comm's fault is not what you all need right now

[Stan Sted]

When are the TC mob moving to the sunshine coast?

When you do get there, you are bound to thoroughly enjoy the local Gales bitter. Fairly appropriate in the current met conditions I reckon.

[ 31 January 2002: Message edited by: Stan Sted ]</p>

[Captain Windsock]

There's no need for TC to go to Swannick. We've now got your photocopier, your shredder and we don't have to queue in the canteen. Car parking is easy and we have a GM all to ourselves.

ps Not sure what the DGM does any more so can somebody enlighten me?

[Late Downwind]

Hmmmm! GM yet to be proved! Parking ... great .. good ridance to you all <img src="wink.gif" border="0"> All the rest ... Standby ... we'll get back to you!

[Scott Voigt]

New headsets huh... We just got in a bunch of new types too. We were able to chose from about five different styles. The biggest difference from our old star sets (light weight) is that you can get a muff type (covers the ear) or you can get one like the star set that fits on top of the ear. Either one is ok. The BIG difference between the headsets is that you can get one with or without a noise canceling mike. Something that we didn't have before. The new ones with the noise cancelation work GREAT as long as you have them very close to your mouth. If not, you get canceled too &lt;G&gt;. But for a noisy environment, they do seem to work well.

BEX, who makes your headsets? Ours are Plantronics...

regards

[BEXIL160]

Dunno Scott,

I'll check. The old LATCC types were made by AirLite back when Pontius was a pilot.

The new ones probably come from Tandy, or Mattel <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

Rgds BEX

[Goldfish Watcher]

Fisher Price!

[brockenspectre]

nah they will probably have been supplied by a firm owned by Mrs Blair's uncle/cousin/aunt twice removed... they probably will have had full contract for the fixture/fittings LOL

Not that I am cynical! :)

[Sink Rate]

Well done to everyone that's been working hard to make it a smooth transition.

Certainly the view from 35,000 was a little nerve wracking in the run up, BUT...

...all was great and slot's asside we couldn't tell the difference. In fact the slots even made us remeniss about life pre Sept 11th!

That said, the RT quality is a bit naff to the extent that it's like being back in the eastern block. I wondered if it had anything to do with the "remotely generated sidetone" and all the fancy computers that are processing the signal. Please let me blame Swanick for this, I need something to moan about. I can't just put it down to a poor choice of headset. IT'S JUST NOT ENOUGH!

Well done again. So when do we get the guided tour?

[ 30 January 2002: Message edited by: Sink Rate ]</p>

[NERC Dweller]

Its nice to know the hard work was worthwhile.

[JuicyLucy]

TELS knew about the **it RT quality a couple of years ago and them upstairs in ATCOland were told and chose to ignore it.. .The reason for "earmuff" style is supposed to allow concentration on ones own job and ignore the rest of the row in the OPs room - nice in the ear jobs would work just as well if not better, but hey lets not go 21st century yet - next thing you know all the nice paper strips will disapper...