Viperdoc wrote:

Does anyone know how to tell if the Traffic Information System uplinked by
Mode S is in service or not? My Garmin 530/ GTX 330 says "traffic
unavailable" and passes all of the diagnostics, but when I called ATC and
flight service they said Mode S was operational.

Is there any other way to get information on whether the uplinks are working
or not?

TIA

JN


As others have stated, it must be mode-s (most radars are) and transmitting TIS
(most radars do not). If the Garmin unit says "unavailble" it is not lying to you,
it means you absolutely are not getting any TIS at all.

In the bay area, San Jose radar is marked as a TIS facillity, and it has been
on fairly reliably there. However, I have been able to get TIS, depending
on altitude, out in the central valley and far north. What I believe this means
is that a radar can give you TIS for any airplane on any radar, even if that
airplane is not being scanned by the radar transmitting the TIS information.

It works this way because radar information is networked so that radar A and
radar B share data to cover each other's holes.

As stated, it seems to be pointless to talk about it to the FAA at this point.
The people I have talked to are interested in it, but have no direct knowledge
of it. There are stations, like Sacremento, that are supposed to have TIS
but clearly don't have it operational.

I source who I won't mention has told me that they know of radar sites
who the FAA lists as having TIS because they shipped the equipment to them, but
in reality the TIS gear is sitting in storage at the radar site in its shipping
boxes, awaiting trained installation personell.

There is little to do but have patience. The system is not really operational
yet.

--
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