Anticipating IDENT

TangoWhiskey

TangoWhiskey

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Feb 23, 2005
Messages
14,210
Location
Midlothian, TX
Display Name
Display name:
3Green
I was listening to my scanner the other day, and heard a pilot contact Regional Approach with this call:

"Regional Approach, Cessna 123XY, request."

"Cessna 3XY, Regional Approach, go ahead with your request."

"Regional Approach, 3XY is a Cessna 182 five miles south of Meacham, 2500, VFR to Pecan Plantation, requesting VFR flight following, pressing IDENT now."

Seems to me he was "anticipating" the controller asking him to IDENT, though Approach usually has you do this AFTER being given a new code, if at all. I fully expected the controller to "hand slap" the pilot for cluttering his scope with an unrequested bloom, but he didn't.

I know we have some controllers on the board, and I think it's not accepted or documented practice to IDENT before being requested to do so--in fact, I could see it causing a problem for the controller if he'd already asked somebody else in the same general area to IDENT. I'm curious if the controllers on this board would find an "anticipated IDENT" helpful or irritating.
 
Good question. I am not a controller, but I wouldn't ident unless asked. If you know where you are (which you are responsible to know) and communicate that to ATC they should not need you to ident. When I call them up I always state position and altitude if its a new frequency and I haven't been handed off by a previous controller. If they want a verification they will ask me to ident.
 
Last edited:
See AIM 4-1-20

d. Transponder IDENT Feature
1. The transponder shall be operated only as specified by ATC. Activate the "IDENT" feature only upon request of the ATC controller.
Click to expand...


Joe
 
When calling up ATC for flight following, I'm usually pretty specific about where I am. Less than half the time, I'll get a squawk code with an IDENT request. Unless asked, I wouldn't make it a SOP.
 
This topic has always interested me. It seems like it depends a lot on the ATC facilities you interact with. I remember that ATC in the Washington D.C. area usually wanted to get all the info (callsign, location, altitude, type, etc.) in the initial call. Here in California, I call up with just callsign, approximate location, and "vfr request" (controllers appreciate not having to look for your strip, thinking you're IFR)....

I want an IDENT button on the yoke like some P-Baron folks :p
 
The IDENT feature of a transponder is used as an aid to the controller in positively identifying ("Radar Contact") an aircraft. Other things can be used also, such as an identifying turn of 30 degrees or more, pilot gives position and the controller observes an aircraft in that location (one target), within 1 miles off departure end of the runway.... typically, if the controller wants to see your beacon code flash (ident), he/she will direct us to ident.
 
sba55 said:
...

I want an IDENT button on the yoke like some P-Baron folks :p
Click to expand...


Yeah, well, *I* have one!

'Course, I still have only one engine, and an old-fashioned mechanical HSI.
 
What if the controller just finished asking someone to ident. Potential problem there. And you can't prevent that by just listening for a while, they aren't always talking on just one frequency.
break
Whenever I use the yoke ident button, I always have to marvel at just how much effort that action saved! It must be what, 18" to the panel! [/S]
 
I have nothing substantive to add, other than to say that I agree with everyone else that it's a bad practice.

Now the real question...what's worse, an errant IDENT or ATITAPA? :devil:

Let'sgoflying! said:
Whenever I use the yoke ident button, I always have to marvel at just how much effort that action saved! It must be what, 18" to the panel! [/S]
Click to expand...

:yesnod: We have them on the yokes of both the 1900 and the Q, but they're under the non-dominate thumb for both pilots (left hand for FO, right hand for CA). Combine with the fact that it's used so seldom, on the rare occasion they ask for an IDENT, we usually take 5 seconds or so looking for the button, then just reach down to the radio head and use that anyways.
 
Teller1900 said:
we usually take 5 seconds or so looking for the button, then just reach down to the radio head and use that anyways.
Click to expand...
What?!? Do you mean to imply that you don't pre-flight that button as your checklist certainly asks you to? Unbelievable :D
 
i just got a transponder for the glider. maybe i should wire up a remote ident switch for the stick. that would be cool
 
Teller1900 said:
Combine with the fact that it's used so seldom, on the rare occasion they ask for an IDENT, we usually take 5 seconds or so looking for the button, then just reach down to the radio head and use that anyways.
Click to expand...
Same here. Seems like only a few flights ago that I re-remembered there was one on the yoke....
 
Everskyward said:
Same here. Seems like only a few flights ago that I re-remembered there was one on the yoke....
Click to expand...

:lol: Glad to know it's not just me. Seems like every time we hit the ident button on the radio, the next thing our finger goes to is the one on the yoke. And I think the required reply is "[PTT] There's the flash [PTT off], damnit."
 
Virtually all transponders for GA aircraft have a remote ident function already installed. It's just a matter of running a wire from the back of the rack to the location you want the switch, hook it to a momentary switch and the other side to ground.
 
Ident's don't BLOOM like they used to. But a 1200 squawk with an IDENT is not so great, the controller may be talking to you and looking at something else on the scope.

Controllers like to get the call sign, aircraft type and destination into the computer, request a code and issue it. Then tell you the code, he watches for the code to change, an auto track gets started and you have been Radar identified, no need for the ident. Although some controllers will issue the code and squawk ID on the new code. Makes your ID flash and stand out from the crowd.

I agree, don't do it until the controller is ready and askes.
 
the T28 has 3 switches on the stick that used to work the weapons. The trigger is my PTT and the thumb button (I think it was rockets) is connected to the radio flip-flop, much more useful than the ident. I hope the other button is not connected to anything or I may have been making even more of a fool of myself than I thought.

Joe
 
There's only one situation where I use the IDENT before I'm asked... Coming out of my home airport IFR, every time I call departure I get a request to ident. By the time the controller sees it, I'm already leveled off at 3k, and then they respond with "IDENT observed, radar contact, climb and maintain" etc.

After a month of so of that, I started hitting the IDENT button as I initiated my call to departure. Now I get "Thanks for the IDENT, radar contact, climb and maintain", etc before I've leveled off and pulled the power back. Drops one call and usually prevents an intermediate level-off.
 
TangoWhiskey said:
I was listening to my scanner the other day, and heard a pilot contact Regional Approach with this call:

"Regional Approach, Cessna 123XY, request."

"Cessna 3XY, Regional Approach, go ahead with your request."

"Regional Approach, 3XY is a Cessna 182 five miles south of Meacham, 2500, VFR to Pecan Plantation, requesting VFR flight following, pressing IDENT now."

Seems to me he was "anticipating" the controller asking him to IDENT, though Approach usually has you do this AFTER being given a new code, if at all. I fully expected the controller to "hand slap" the pilot for cluttering his scope with an unrequested bloom, but he didn't.

I know we have some controllers on the board, and I think it's not accepted or documented practice to IDENT before being requested to do so--in fact, I could see it causing a problem for the controller if he'd already asked somebody else in the same general area to IDENT. I'm curious if the controllers on this board would find an "anticipated IDENT" helpful or irritating.
Click to expand...

I'm a controller, IDENT should be activated only when directed to do so by ATC. In the situation described here it probably wouldn't be needed. The controller will issue a discrete code, observing a 1200 code five miles south of Meacham change to the ATC assigned discrete code is satisfactory radar identification.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top