Bright or Dark Rooms?

jarhead0863 Trusted Member Grand Forks, ND

I've seen pictures from the inside of different facilities around the U.S. My question is, do tracon's or artcc's keep their radar rooms fully lit or do they keep the lights off? Pictures I have seen showed radar rooms that were both fully lit and completely dark. Is this up to the facility or is it a FAA rule? Thanks.

Davo Trusted Contributor VT

When I took a tour of Seattle tracon they keep it very dark. So dark that you had to wait a couple of minutes after entering the room so your eyes could adjust and you did not bump into things. Seattle center and Socal tracon were bright in comparison but to some degree I think they all turn the lights down a little. Seattle tracon said the reason their lights were down so much was because years ago the lights had to be down so the display screens could be seen and they didn't change the lighting when they got new displays.

jarhead0863 Trusted Member Grand Forks, ND

That makes sense with the screens. I've seen a picture of Las Vegas Tracon and all of the lights were out, but I saw a picture of Philly Tracon and the lights were on. Both use STARS.

otterstrom Trusted Member of NATCA

most are pitch black

DOD_ATC Senior Member Chicago, IL

Red overhead lighting is also common. The red lights help the eyes adjust to the bright lights outside the radar room.

boston757 Rookie

When I toured Chicago TRACON they were pitch black there, and Chicago Center is pretty dim, but not totally dark. The radar room at ABQ is very dark too.

Battani22 Trusted Contributor Minnesota

Aren't the new terminal radars designed so they can have the lights turned up a little? I thought they designed it to take away glare. When I interned at M98 you always entered a red light room to help adjust your eyes before getting in the radar room.

Cirrus12 Epic Member So. NH

I've toured A90 and ZBW. A90 was pretty well lit. ZBW was kind of dim.

otterstrom Trusted Member of NATCA

yeah, you're right. technically they are. nothing beats a dark room though. you notice the difference when someone turns a small light toward you and your scope or when someone has the flashlight out looking for something lost on the floor.

ATCinWI Senior Member Illinois

Some of the older ARTS II scopes require the room be dark to be able to see the displays. Newer scopes don't need the lights down as much (if at all), but most controllers still prefer to have the lights down. I like it a little brighter (tired of tripping over chairs and feeling like it's the middle of the night all the time), but I think most radar controllers prefer it almost pitch black.