St Mawgan

[proctor]

I'm going to undertake a week's work experience with ATC at RAF St Mawgan in July, but am not really sure what I will be doing/witnessing. If anyone could give me a few ideas in advance, I would be really grateful, so as to have an idea what I might do.

Thanks

[Felix Saddler]

How did you manage that?

[proctor]

Ingenuity and charm (and some careful searching on the internet)

[Widger]

What will you see?????? About 6 movements a day....all civil!!!!!!!!!!

[LXGB]

You'll have plenty of tea making practice. Get that brew list memorised! :}

LXGB

[proctor]

You'll have plenty of tea making practice. Get that brew list memorised! :}

LXGB

Well, I'm not a tea drinker, so it could open up a whole new world to me!

[Phantom99]

Actually it's about 20 scheduled flights plus an increasing number of private aircraft. Not enough to make it viable after the RAF withdraw but it could be (and has been) worse!

The ATC down there have always been great when I've flown down, hope you have an interesting week.

[Angrel]

anyone who says mawgan is a sleepy hollow should be shot! :)

we have exercises coming out of our ears at the moment including fast pointy things! the civil side has grown to approx 40 scheduled movements a day not to mention the private civvies that come in!

opening hours? 05:50 to 22:00 for civil, 05:50 to cease flying (last night 02:30!!) for military!

mixing tonkas with C172's is ......... interesting to say the least!

add to that approach where it seems the whole of cornish puddle jumpers need to talk to you and tell you there life story! we did over 15000 LARS tracks last year and countless FIS's! Bloody civvies!!:E :E
but i still saw the light and am comin over to ''civvie side''!

Proctor, check ya PM's

[Dances with Boffins]

You may also witness quite a bit of drink-related shenanigans in Newquay and the occasional scantily-clad young lady [or indeed young-man if you are so-inclined]. And surf. And Jamie Bloody Oliver.

Enjoy St Mawgan. I had two weeks there staying in a wooden hut a long time ago.

[Pierre Argh]

Always been the case, those who knock SMG have never been there... Up to 450 moves a day during exercises, mixed types... enough to make even a Valley or Linton ATCO'e eye's water...

True at other times it can be quiet (90% boredom 10% panic), and the hours are long. So a bit hit and miss (sorry that's probably a bad phrase to use)

Very nice bunch of people in the Tower, and if it's quiet they have time to talk to you and you'll get most out of it. Expect to see a standard RAF ATC set-up, and hopefully you'll see a bit of variety

SMG ATC has just won the Falconer Trophy, presented annually to the best RAF ATC Tower... so can't be that bad?

[tired-flyboy]

Falconer Trophy, is that the old Cossor trophy thingy ma bob?

[Number2]

Nice part of the world and all that but I can't believe it's the best ATC Unit - I'm prepared to be wrong!

Probably means they had more time off for people to do:

Charity Events
Secondary Duties
Sports
Adventurous training etc etc

and, therefore, more for project officer to write about. I hope Angrel is an LAC, if not, that drop to 10k at Hurn will hurt and 16k under training.

Good luck all the same

[Grabbers]

I have it from a reliable source that all the Air Traffickers as St Mawgan are brilliant. They 'won' the Falconer Raytheon (It's your turn and we fancy a weekend golfing and boozing in your part of the world for a weekend)Trophy so they must be brilliant. And hardly any of them were chopped at busier units!

[NorthSouth]

Still amazes me how the controllers at St Mawgan provide any service at all with the crap they have on their screens from wind farms, clay pits and gawd knows what. Saw a trainee do his first PAR there a few years ago and he was as gob-smacked as me at how easily the mentor could pick up the traffic in amongst all the garbage.
Heard the RAF was going to go digital soon. Probably a nasty rumour.
NS

[transmitforDF]

i went to St Mawgan on Air Cadets summer camp its a fantastic place especially in the summer ;)

[proctor]

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

It looks like there'll be more than just tea drinking going on after all- I'm very much looking forward to it.

[Angrel]

no i'm afraid im an SAC of 6 years! so yes the drop in pay will hurt majorly!
and as for time off to do secondary duties..............tell that to the guys who write the rosters! with OOA's and all these people leaving (sic!) there actually understaffed by about 3 people on both controllers and assistants! oh well can't complain as i'm off to civvy street!

[Number2]

Don't worry, there's more than enough bleeting on 'civvy street'. I wish you well. Spend your £10k wisely.....

[atc1100]

There are alot of excercises at St Mawgan in July with a wide variety of military aircraft. Hopefully you'll get to see alot during your time with us.
The assistants normally take you under their wing but you will get amble time sitting with the controllers. It is a brilliant place to work. You wont be tea making you'll be experiencing the wide variety of tasks St Mawgan undertake.
See you in July

[Angrel]

yeah! its us poor bloomin assistants that make the tea! well, my colleauges at least!!

[Raven30]

Proctor,
You will be well looked after, St Mawgan has had many plaudits from previous Work Experience students. You may not make it as a fully endorsed controller during the week, but you will have plenty of hands on experience within the constraints of an operational tower.
St Mawgan has a reputation for being a sleepy hollow, but as mentioned earlier it has some extremely busy periods, and plenty of variety. One day last year saw 26 different aircraft types. Mix in one of the busiest LARS units and the real picture is somewhat different.
Nearly every detachment to St Mawgan comes up with the same comments about how it suits their needs, and many also wish they were based here. The MOD is being very short sighted in choosing to close the base.
As for the comment about time off, we wish! The airfield is open 363 days a year, to the hours previously mentioned, and has less staff numbers than units with little or no weekend or extended hours commitment - so yes, they do lots of secondary duties, but they also put in a lot of hours too. The Raytheon Falconer Trophy(Cossor Trophy of old) may come in for a fair bit of banter, but hey, we get a good night out at their expense in a top hotel, so who's complaining!

PS We will make the tea, just make sure you bring a plentiful supply of biscuits to go with it! See you soon.:ok:
Raven

[Grumpy Old ATCO]

Rumour is that the Jobs for the new 'Civil' St Mawgan will be in Flight next month. Anyone any details?

GOA

[SirToppamHat]

Having flown from there this morning with Southwest Airways, I can confirm some at least of what has been said here - a number of small delta-winged fast manoeuvrable and NOISY ac were wizzing around as we walked out to the Dash 8.

The thing that really pi55ed me off as a member of the RAF travelling on duty was that the cheeky g1ts at the 'Newquay International Airport' charged us an additional £5 each 'Airport Development Charge'. In effect (if I ever manage to get a claim into JPA) the RAF is paying for the joke of a civvy airport on the other side of its own runway to be developed... arrse.

Presumably the civvies don't have 'Airfield Driving Permits?'. If they do, I recommend SATCO St Mawgan keeps a closer eye on what's going-on round the apron - one numpty reversed a large transit pick-up truck around the back of one of the ac at about 20 mph - no sign of a marshaller!

[Gonzo]

Rumour is that the Jobs for the new 'Civil' St Mawgan will be in Flight next month. Anyone any details?

Interesting. That might be a nice little retirement spot....:E

[Raven30]

SirToppam
Thats a bit of a jaundiced view about the development tax. As you say, the RAF will reimburse you so you don't lose out, and as far as the airport is concerned, you are just another passenger - the fact that you are in the RAF is irrelevant. The Airport(or its owners the County Council) is charged by the MOD under the terms of their contract for the use of their services, and it is up to them how they raise their revenue. In effect, the MOD is being paid for you using the airport. The departure tax is controversial, and a lot of hot air has been vented over it, not least by a couple of the airlines using it as propaganda to hide their real reasons for not continuing scheduled services - Ryanair being the main culprit. However, most passengers questioned about it are in favour of it, or at least, do not mind paying it. Also bear in mind that the alternative to the tax is to make the ratepayers pay by increasing the council tax. Surely its better to charge the people that use the service, rather than the local residents?
And if you are less than amused by the tax, spare a thought for the staff at the airport - they get no concession either, and they earn far less than you do.

As for the ramp staff - they do not come under SATCOs jurisdiction until they enter the taxiway - the aprons come under the control of the airport. RAF personnel cannot enter the aprons when aircraft are on the ground unless cleared to do so by the airport security staff, and that is laid down by the CAA. That doesn't excuse bad driving on the airfield, but are you sure there was no marshaller??

Try to look on the bright side - where else in the UK do you get an air display while waiting for your flight?:ok:

Raven

[FunFlyin]

You should really enjoy it down there

As everyone else has said, July will be fairly busy. All sorts down here at the moment - Even a herc doing circuits over the flat :suspect:

Looking at them from the civvie side, the Controllers all seem very polite and friendly. And no doubt just as sociable :E

[BDiONU]

Rumour is that the Jobs for the new 'Civil' St Mawgan will be in Flight next month. Anyone any details?
Its Newquay International not St Mawgan ;)

BD

[SirToppamHat]

Sorry Raven30, but this is just another example of the traveller being hit whilst the airlines boast about how cheap their flights are. Now I am not saying that it's reasonable for the council-tax payer to pick up the cost of the development, but I agree with you the cost should at least be passed-on HONESTLY to the airlines which would force them to charge more realistic prices rather than blame the council. The main reason I was grumpy was because of the irony of it.

are you sure there was no marshaller??

Absolutely! I was astonished by what I saw, but, as you suggest, it was all on the apron.

On the whole, though, better than flying to Exeter or Bristol then driving!

STH

[airman sam]

Rumour is that the Jobs for the new 'Civil' St Mawgan will be in Flight next month. Anyone any details?

Who is going to employ the Civil Controllers !! is it that Serco mob.

[Raven30]

Where do these rumours come from?

Chances are that SERCO will not be in the running...............

[chevvron]

Where would SERCo get the controllers from anyway? When NATS lost Boscombe Down, the successful bidder (Airwork) was only able to get about 5 controllers to replace the 16 or so NATS ones; as far as I know none of these validated (apart from one who transferred from NATS and therefore already had validations) hence the CAA refused the unit a license and the RAF took over!
It would be no good recruiting abroad, because you would need an ATCO License valid in the UK. Safeskys where are you?

[Raven30]

Safeskys - no thanks!

No doubt the Flight International ads will reveal all - but I don't think either of the two contractors mentioned will get a look in.

[clicker]

Umm, must wander down to St Moggie one day. Last time I visited there was a Victor sitting rather sadly at the end of the runway having slightly extended its landing run and two 5 Sqdn Lightnings on the pan as well as the usual bunch of Nimrods that were based there.

[Number2]

Lightnings, Victors, Nimrods at SMG! Bloody Hell - that was a long time ago!!!

[Raven30]

Number 2

How times have changed, last week it was Typhoons, Tristars and ASTOR !

And still they call it a sleepy hollow!:)

[Dances with Boffins]

Gonzo - by the time you retire, Newquay will be underwater so don't get yer hopes up. Me on the other hand...:E

[Gonzo]

DwB,

Things the way they are, I might be looking to 'retire' in under five years!!! :}

[pbrookes]

add to that approach where it seems the whole of cornish puddle jumpers need to talk to you and tell you there life story! we did over 15000 LARS tracks last year and countless FIS's! Bloody civvies!!:E :E

You just can't win! You don't talk to them and hear them talk about unidentified traffic, so you call them, to be helpful, and get accused of giving your life story :)

I had a bimble down to Lands End last month, with a mate in his kite. Decided to follow him as he had a transponder and I didn't. Next, I heard the controller asking him if we were a two-ship formation (we were microlights actually), to which he replied to the affirmative, at which point I thought I'd identify myself.

When signing off to go to Lands End the controller told me to "have fun with your playmate!" Cheeky $^&ger!

Can't complain about the service though. Kept the tanker at a distance from us on the return trip, I couldn't quite get the pilot's name as he zoomed past!

[SID East]

pbrookes, totally understand your point especially as mil ATCO who also flies said puddle jumpers as well as providing service to them every day. I get to see both sides of the story.
Trouble is the CAA teaches PPLs to say everything on RT, and you do often get a rather protracted transmission. A good tip I was taught, which rings true as a controller, is to check in first with your call sign and type of service requested - then wait for the controller to respond rather than go head first into all the other details. Gives everyone a "heads up" of who is out there and a chance to write a flight strip!
I often find myself battling for either side when I find myself in a radar room or flying club crew room - always good to play devils advocate.
My opinion is that if there is someone available for you to talk to then do, Especially at St Mawgan where the MATZ blocks off the entire land mass and they will often, as you said, require some degree of coordination.
As for St Mawgan generally, given the current tempo of operations and the RAF requirement to be able to activate and run a civil airport, we might have lost a key source of experience and knowledge when the place closes. It is a lovely bit of the UK and is more than interseting in terms of traffic from an ATC perspective. Given the achievements of the Air Traffikers last year their award of the Falconer Trophy was well deserved. The previous Chief of the Air Staff referred to the exercises at SMG as the most important activity undetaken by the RAF second only to deployed operations.
Nuff said.
:ok:

[NorthSouth]

How do you EGDG ATCOs manage all that traffic that's been talked about on this thread given the amount of clutter from wind farms? You've got 4 or 5 of them visible - must be a nightmare providing a RAS?

NS

[Gisajob]

Thankfully Raven, You will not be involved in any decision making in your life and certainly not at St Mawgan where both Serco and Safeskys will be invited to bid. Similarly at RAF St Athan and at the other two RAF airfields being developed for civil use !!!.

[Raven30]

"you know nothing raven"

I freely admit to not knowing everything, however, I know more today than I did yesterday thanks to your post!

As the name implies, this is a rumour network. Sometimes when you go fishing, you need to "decide" what bait to use. Using existing rumours can be a good method of finding out information!

:ok:

Raven

[Gisajob]

I bet you didn't even know that we were bidding for NATS !!

[niknak]

Welcome back Richard, how did the Gibraltar court case go? Wouldnt it be irony upon irony if you did buy NATS...... as for St Mawgan... who knows??:E

[Timwright]

Slightly off the subject but thanks for routing the ATP over Saltash on saturday 8th, had a nice view but couldn't make out whose it was.
Using callsign Darwin 1550, was it swiss?

[Raven30]

Swiss yes, ATP no. It wa a Saab 2000.

[Timwright]

when I was an ATCA at Exeter last century!

[JanBoy]

Nice to see that the Raytheon Falconer win stirred things up elsewhere. The submission certainly lacked a bit in the charity department but concentrated on the operational stuff: major mil exercises, ATC training, safety management, personal development and the increasing traffic levels resulting from NCA...and a clean bill of health from the ATCEB!
Oh and expeds (character & leadership development on the piste in Chamonix - guess that ones a fair cop then). Surprising SMG won it I am sure. As a busy FJ base multi-tourist/area controller and a former SMG sceptic I found it a real eyeopener particularly when the 20 FJs turned up for Maxeval followed a month later by 40 green helos all wanting to do everything at the same time. SMG is as busy as any other RAF unit and probably busier during the exercise season, it is just a pity that the sleepy hollow label is pressed home from peoples perceptions probably carried over from the Nimrod days and the quieter winter months.

Nice part of the world and all that but I can't believe it's the best ATC Unit - I'm prepared to be wrong!

Probably means they had more time off for people to do:

Charity Events
Secondary Duties
Sports
Adventurous training etc etc

and, therefore, more for project officer to write about. I hope Angrel is an LAC, if not, that drop to 10k at Hurn will hurt and 16k under training.

Good luck all the same

[BDiONU]

it is just a pity that the sleepy hollow label is pressed home from peoples perceptions probably carried over from the Nimrod days and the quieter winter months.
Probably the real busy units were too busy (and trying to cope with lack of manpower due to Out of Area deployments) to be able to write anything decent up, never mind going on adventurous training. ;)

BD

[Raven30]

BD

The guy who collated and wrote most of the submission was himself sent somewhere hot a few days after completing the task - most of it in his own time!

There are few units these days that can boast decent manpower levels. and its not about to get any better :(

Raven

[JanBoy]

You are quite right that within our 'few' daily operating hours between 0600 and 0200 our guys managed to put together a decent submission. And there were more than a few ac to speak to as well. Oh and our ATCOs do get OOA detachments, very recently it was 2 gone at the same time. I also forgot to mention the yachting exped conducted courtesy of the RN lending us a yacht. If you try hard enough some people will actually do AT in their own time!
It is always great to hear other units bemoan the success of somewhere usually out of the limelight. As a seasoned campaigner of several 'busy' units I think it always best to write a place off AFTER you have actually worked there!

Probably the real busy units were too busy (and trying to cope with lack of manpower due to Out of Area deployments) to be able to write anything decent up, never mind going on adventurous training. ;)

BD

[Number2]

I did go there on detachment - it was possibly the most boring place I worked!

Nice area though!

[niknak]

Advert in todays Flight International Magazine at Newquay/Cornwall Airport for:

Airport Ops Director (£57 - 62K)

Manager - ATC (£51 - 55K)

Both posts offer relocation, expenses and local government pension scheme.

It appears that the local government authority have no intention of contracting out ATC (yet), but the ATCO salary scale would have to start at around £45K or so to attract anyone to relocate there, (unless they all bailed out from Exeter and Plymouth!) :D

[Felix Saddler]

whats newquay like?

[chevvron]

It's a seaside resort with hotels, cliffs, waves and a beach, but that's not important right now.

[Raven30]

6 beaches actually!!:8

and don't forget the caravan parks..............where's Clarkson when you need him!

[slowclimber]

...the ATCO salary scale would have to start at around £45K or so to attract anyone to relocate there, (unless they all bailed out from Exeter and Plymouth!) :D

Certainly a pissabolity from Plymouth at the mo...:uhoh:

[Grabbers]

Hi Chaps/Chapesses,
Sorry to bring the thread back onto EGDG but does anyone know if they operate 24hrs or have the rostering to do so?

[Raven30]

Grabbers

No St Mawgan is not H24, its an extended hours aerodrome. Normal hours 0550 - 2359L weekdays, 2200L weekends although mil ops can extend into the small hours as required. Rostering could not extend to H24. Staff levels are less than some units with a much smaller commitment.

[Grabbers]

Grabbers
Staff levels are less than some units with a much smaller commitment.
So what happens if you have a Comp A or other mission of mercy requiring Fixed Wing speed at 4 in the morning? No 'Duty Bod'?

[Raven30]

That commitment would be met, as it has on many occasions in the past. Manning levels could not sustain 24 Hr ops, but occasional extra tasks are accepted depending on priority, and subject to authorisation.

[Grabbers]

Raven
Thanks. Just Curious.

[LXGB]

Nice Website :) (http://www.higher-flier.co.uk/html/role.htm)

[Pierre Argh]

LXGB... I see they've said the Airport Operations Manager post comes under "Transportation & Waste"

[LXGB]

Yeah, tickled me too :)

LXGB

[jEtGuiDeR]

So what happens if you have a Comp A or other mission of mercy requiring Fixed Wing speed at 4 in the morning? No 'Duty Bod'?Ring Culdrose :)

[Raven30]

Ring Culdrose :)

......but only between the hours of 0830 and 1700L Mon-Fri (excluding lunch breaks), and not during block leave, sorry, school holidays!!

:) :)

[jEtGuiDeR]

......but only between the hours of 0830 and 1700L Mon-Fri (excluding lunch breaks), and not during block leave, sorry, school holidays!!
:) :)Without wanting to get into a pointless bunfight, the point I was trying to get across is that Cu does have a "Duty ATC Bod" on call all year round as Grabbers elluded to.
Their main reason for being on call (along with Fire Crews, Medics, SE etc etc) is to provide a service to the SAR when scrambled. However they have been bleeped in the past to open the airfield during silent hours for Medical flights delivering/picking up organs etc.
I think you're getting confused with Ply Mil with those times Raven!! ;) :)

[Pierre Argh]

Raven30... and you wonder why some people sometimes snipe at your posts? (besides don't CU regularly close at 1400 on a Friday?)

[Raven30]

Yep, fully aware of the Culdrose capability and a fine job they do too - as witnessed again today. Been here long enough to have seen it in operation many times.

Couldn't pass up the chance of a bit of SMG / Cu banter though!! ;)

[Pierre Argh]

Well I for one am looking forward to an "all-paid" dinner as guests of Raytheon in a couple of weeks (see above)

To all the other Crab Stations... you should have worked harder!!!

(some people will do anything to get this thread back into the frame?)

[NorthSouth]

Well I for one am looking forward to an "all-paid" dinner as guests of Raytheon in a couple of weeksGood on you - enjoy it! So will the new civil operators buy a new Raytheon radar I wonder? Only £3m to add to the Cornwall council tax payers bill. Or maybe the RAF will just leave their Watchman behind when they leave.:rolleyes:
NS

[Pierre Argh]

NS... no hints of bribery & corruption I'm afraid, simply that SMG ATC won the 2005 Raytheon sponsored trophy for the best RAF ATC unit... and the dinner is part of the presentation. No cost to the Cornish taxpayer. (More details of the trophy have already been given on this thread?)

Why?(no that would be stupid) ...should Raytheon be sponsoring an MoD competition? Good question, ask me again after the slap-up meal.

As to leaving the Watchman radar, why would STC do that? Do you leave your car in the garage when you sell a house... I don't think so?

Leaving a prefectly serviceable radar would be a cost to the Taxpayer, and might even be seen as the MoD directly subsidising private enterprise. Now that would make the front page of the RedTops! (Whilst we're on the point of cost to taxpayers, you might want think about the lunches/dinners provided by CCC to various contractors, consultants and other interested parties in this NCA business; and frankly I doubt very much it stops at lunch... but I digress)

[NorthSouth]

As to leaving the Watchman radar, why would STC do that? Do you leave your car in the garage when you sell a house... I don't think so?Indeed, but maybe they'd sell it to them? It would save the costs of decommissioning/dismantling/transporting. Then again I hear the RAF doesn't have many spare radars these days.
NS

[LXGB]

Indeed, but maybe they'd sell it to them? It would save the costs of decommissioning/dismantling/transporting. Then again I hear the RAF doesn't have many spare radars these days.
NS

Give it to Wattisham, they'd appreciate it! :)


LXGB

[chevvron]

MOD won't sell Watchmans to outsiders; my airfield tried it. I wouldn't recommend anyone buying the Raytheon radar for use in class G; it's absolute rubbish 'cos it can't be tuned for all eventualites eg non squawking slow movers etc; would be OK for class D or higher ie known traffic airspace; Watchman was far superior because it gave you a picture resembling non-processed.

[NorthSouth]

I wouldn't recommend anyone buying the Raytheon radar for use in class G; it's absolute rubbish 'cos it can't be tuned for all eventualites eg non squawking slow movers etc; would be OK for class D or higher ie known traffic airspace; Watchman was far superior because it gave you a picture resembling non-processed.Sheeesh, has anyone told Doncaster this?
NS

[Pierre Argh]

Watchman was far superior because it gave you a picture resembling non-processed If you're talking about UK Mil ATC Watchman, IIRC, some Top RAF Neddy felt Mil ATCOs wanted to see good old fashioned blips... so the MoD paid for an extra box of tricks to convert the clean & tidy digital signal back to something that resembled the messy analogue one! Mil Watchman is processed radar deprocessed... now doesn't that make sense?

[chevvron]

The Watchman as issued by the RAF was much better at showing all wanted returns because its AMTI was able to operate at a lower threshold speed without resultant unwanted clutter (most of the time anyway). The ASR10 is processed at the radar head, and the resulting info is then sent to the ops room where it is combined with the SSR feed(s), but with the higher threshold speed necessary, plus no ability to take a 'quick look' at background PEs, you get the feeling all the time that there might be something there you need to see eg aircraft with groundspeed less than threshold speed.
ASR10 still suffers from angels as much as Watchman

[Pierre Argh]

no ability to take a 'quick look' at background PEs Chevron, doesn't "Background" provide that option then?

But this is getting off the subject of SMG?

[FunFlyin]

Hmm
bringing the thread back on to topic. The guys currently working out of SM are great.

How many of them are Mil controllers and are any civilians working for the MOD? If any of you are the latter, are you thinking about staying on once the RAF pulls out? Depending on the conditions of course ;)

But we appreciate you all :p

[Pierre Argh]

I'm sure the SMG Tower staff are grateful for your plaudit, but think it's better not to give exact figures, or discuss career choices, in such a forum?

Suffice to say that, by far, the majority of SMG's Controllers are serving in the RAF, the remainder are MoD Civil Servants with a commitment in the RAFR who also work on a Mil Licenses. As there is currently no immediate read-over between UK Mil and UK Civil ATC qualifications, there isn't an option to "stay-on", because some form of conversion and validation would be necessary.

I suspect some (RAF & RAFR) may be considering this option... but their decision is unlikely IMHO to affect the problem of provision of ATS at NCA post RAF departure. On the ATC Assistant side of things life is much simpler as licenses are not involved.

[FunFlyin]

Point taken - and my apologies

Its a great service currently offered by the staff and it will be a shame to see it go :)

[chevvron]

Pierre - there is no facility with ASR10 displayed on FR consoles for background video; sure there's a button which says 'background video' but it does nothing; the background video is not sent from the radar head to the consoles you see; we had to fight to get them to send us a few setting up pe's, which they do by drawing a small circle round the pe, and telling the processor to send it to us, but to see it you have to select 'primary only' and its displayed as a processed symbol, not as a nice reassuring blip. And when you select it, it takes up to 15 seconds before it appears, and that's a long time if you're working traffic.