Romeo Romeo
When ever I've been past Sheffield they always give me a squawk, so I'd imagine they have at least some radar capability.
No - Sheffield have no radar at all. The squawk is allocated so that other SSR equipped units can see that you are working them, so that they know who to ask should the need arise for traffic information or co-ordination (The same is the case for Cambridge).
Amex
We can actually see traffic even if it isn't talking to us. 20 West of Gloucester is inside our LARS coverage so the chances are that people there will be talking to us, but even if they're not providing they're squawking
with mode 'C' the traffic information we can give you should do the trick. Otherwise you'll get the "Traffic Left / Right, x o'clock, range n miles, crossing you left - right no height information" better than nothing you have to agree. (40 miles north we can see primary only down to about 2000'). Pop in sometime if you want to see how much we can do for you (have you just started flying a certain based companies twins by any chance?
).
And the reason for the 'Mode C' being in bold? A letter in a recent aviation magazine highlights the point that quite a few people in Mode 'C' equipped don't always select it. If you've got it then
PLEASE select it. It makes life a lot easier for everyone.
CM