TRACON's with ARTS?

jarhead0863 Trusted Member Grand Forks, ND

What tracons are still using the old ARTS equipment? I am pretty sure Dallas (D01) still uses it. I also heard that Minneapolis (M98) was transitioning to STARS soon. Do you guys have anymore info on which tracons still use the older equipment? For those of you that have used both, which do you like better?

otterstrom Trusted Member of NATCA

very few of the huge TRACONs use STARS. it didn't turn out to be as great as projected. most use ACD (ARTS Color Display.)

jarhead0863 Trusted Member Grand Forks, ND

Dangit! I knew I switched those two around!

Otterstrom, would you care to share a little more info about your statement??

Roddy_Piper Resident Knucklehead Vegas baby

chicago does NOT use stars.

RFDATM Trusted Member IL

Most Large TRACONs use Common ARTS IIIE with ACD (All color displays)

otterstrom Trusted Member of NATCA

heres a decent article about STARS...

Avionics Magazine :: FAA’s STARS: Ready to Shine Bright?

me too. the STARS menu is so cumbersome.

Roddy_Piper Resident Knucklehead Vegas baby

L30 uses stars

meatasaurusx Trusted Member Chi-town

C90 uses ACD

MikeATC Retired FAA, NATCA Member Nashville TN

The common complaint with STARS was that it was only capable of tracking X number of targets (aircraft), when that number was exceeded then it was rumored that STARS would fail causing havoc.
ARTS IIE and IIIE don't have this issue. I've worked STARS, ARTS IIE, ARTS IIIE, between the 3 I like ARTS IIIE, then STARS, and lastly ARTS IIE. The first two are really good systems, but I feel that IIIE is slightly better than STARS.

Nightmaremode Newcomer

N90 uses ACD. Per AF, it has to do with the target tracking issues MikeATC mentioned.