Do you monitor mode C ?
I am a PPL who routinely bimbles about the South of England in a C150. I have recently invested a minor fortune to install transponder + alt encoder so that (i) I show up on TCAS and (ii) the local LARS units know what altitude I'm at (e.g. above/below their zones, not barging through them) even if I havn't called up for a Flight Information Service. However, in the few weeks I have been squawking, I have got the strong impression that most controllers have Mode C turned off on their radar screens, and just rely on verbal altitude reports from pilots. For example: on two occasions I have asked controllers to confirm mode C reception (during quite RT periods), and each time the controller needed time before responding (changing display modes?). Also I have heard ATC warning othere a/c of traffic, which I'm sure was me, with "no altitude information". Am I right, or have I got the wrong end of the stick? Is there a problem of screen clutter that drives you to disable mode C returns? If so, is there any point in making Mode C compulsory for light aircraft, as I understood will happen soon? Curious to hear the ATC view.
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If God had meant us to fly he would have given us more money
[This message has been edited by Acker Demick (edited 20 May 2000).]
[This message has been edited by Acker Demick (edited 20 May 2000).]
[This message has been edited by Acker Demick (edited 20 May 2000).]