Gatwick - can someone satisfy my idle curiosity
 

Declaration: I'm a wannabe and not a professional, hence the question below.:}

On Gatwick Road just south of the Airport there is a huge red and white radar antenna. On most other days it's stationary but on others it's rotating.

Does anyone know why?

Thanks in advance

V:confused:

Sometimes its on and sometimes its er off. Just a guess.

There is also a radar parallel to runway at Gatwick, Lowfield Road or something and that is not rotating sometimes.

There is a NATS engineering centre just to the south of Gatwick ( for now at least ) and they have a toy radar to play with.

This has been discussed before, on this thread -

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15362

In short.

The big orange and white radar is a medium range 23cm radar It is known as the TSF and is a test facility for all the en-route HSA's around the country. i.e. major parts are tested in it before being classed as servicable. Thats why it is sometimes turning and somtimes not.

The one that abuts the airfield is a 10cm radar mainly used for TC purposes whilst controlling a/c's in and out of Gatwick. That's why it should be turniung all the time.

Hope this helps.

I believe that the Central maintenance Unit at Spectrum House, which houses the Test Facility, may be due to re-locate in the near future. If so, does anybody know where the new radar head may be relocated?

I was under the impression that spec house was closing and the tsf would not be moved. The talk is that the test facility will move to an outstation.

Mr talkdownman sounds as though he knows a little more that first meets the eye

Yeah, well, Mr talkdownman does know a little more that first meets the eye 'cos he has a vested interest in a feed from said test facility should it be located where initially envisaged, but it has gone frustratingly quiet.........

This would need to be a non op feed. A new one on me. Please enlighten me if you will.

There has always been rumour that the TSF could/and would be used in earnest but when push came to shove spares and cost made this impracticable.

Personally I can see the old girl having the legs cut off and being sold for scrap. The new TSF being at one of our sites further north utilising an existing set into a dummy load.

Time will tell but they need to get there sh*t together.

No, we are talking an op feed in this case, in exchange for a site. Or, at least, we were, before it all went quiet. I was just wondering if a re-location decision had been made.

Spectrum House closing this year, staff vacating site by December.

The TSF radar will stay a bit longer until a new site is found, not that easy to find someowhere without NIMBYs!

Why not try Dunsfold? They used to have Spectrum House's ILS

My base is/was prepared to accept it, no nimbys. We thought we were gonna get the feed in exchange for the site but it has all gone 'orribly quiet. I understood from my Chief Tels man that it wouldn't be a 23 but a Raytheon ASR-10. We are getting desperate for a new feed, our Decca 424 is somewhat old! In fact I understand that there is one in store at the Science Museum, Wroughton, which is younger!

TDM:
I've always been of the opinion that your base, being the highest airfield in the southeast, would be an ideal place to site a radar serving HI, HL, VO and LF from a single head. But an ASR10 is c..p for SRA's, unless you get the threshold speed low enough; ours is set at 50kt and it's too high.

ASR-10 c**P? surely not :bored: - Well thats going to upset Heathrow, Gatwick & Stansted in a few years time!:eek:

I think you'll find Heathrow are already aware!

Good Point - at least they'll not be given false hopes when the new one goes in at the end of the year!

Our radar just has lots of 'features', that's all............:p

Yes Features. That just about sums up the ASR-10. Gatwick is due to get its very own in the near future. :ok: Can't wait.