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| Mick, re: Transponder | |
Stephen Dubbie 14th Feb 2011 21:48:46 | Afternoon Mick,
just wondering, any idea why the transponder code only goes up to 7? thanks Stephen |
Mick McG   15th Feb 2011 12:46:46 | Good question mate,
It's mainly historic. Mode Alfa transponders came about as a development of the war time IFF (Indification Friend or Foe). It was before computers and micro electronics so moving data around quickly was quite hard. A binary system didn't give enough options but using a tirtuary system (ie using only 3 bits of digital data) it was possible to encode up to 8 numbers fairly efficiently - 0 to 7. Using 4 numbers this way gives you up to 4096 individual codes and this was deemed sufficient until fairly recently. Nowadays, Mode Sierra does things diffently but not all aircraft or air traffic service providers have the required kit to receive/transmit which is why we're stuck with mode A for the time being. Hope this helps mate. Cheers, M |
| Stephen Dubbie 15th Feb 2011 15:10:38 | Ah kool, thanks Mick :)
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| Stephen Dubbie 15th Feb 2011 17:23:40 | and that would also explain why they can be called mode 4096 transponders,
kool, thanks |
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