8/2/2021 Mode A and Mode C Codes

MODE A AND MODE C

THE STRAIGHT SCOOP ON HOW IT WORKS
by

Darryl Phillips

What happens when you dial "1200" into your transponder? How
is aircraft altitude transmitted to the
controller? What is Mode A and
Mode C anyway?

To find answers, perhaps we should begin with a little history. The Air
Traffic Control Radar Beacon System
(ATCRBS) is an outgrowth of the IFF
equipment developed during World War II, at the same time radar
itself was
coming into use. The problem was differentiating between the good guys and
the bad guys, and
IFF (Identification, Friend or Foe) was the answer. The
equipment on board each allied aircraft received the
radar pulses, and
transmitted a secret code in reply. There were 64 possible codes, and the
idea worked quite
well.

After the war the concept was adapted for air traffic control.
Improvements were made, and the interrogator
was separated from the radar
itself. It still rotates around on the same dish, looking in the same
direction, and
is displayed on the same scope, in the same shade of green.
(Ever wonder why the FAA never learned the
advantages of color? I've
wondered that too.)

The 64 codes consisted of two digits, called A and B. (These are not
Mode A and B, that is something else
altogether.) There were two knobs, A
and B. Each digit has 8 possibilities, from 0 thru 7. 8 X 8 = 64, so there
were 64 possible codes.

Figure 1 shows the original 64 code format, and today's 4096 code format
under it. Each reply consisted of a
framing pulse, some combination of the
six possible data pulses, and another framing pulse. It all took place
in
20.75 microseconds. At the speed of light, a radio signal travels 3.35 NM
in that much time. Like ripples
in a pond, the signal travels outward from
the plane, and when the last of the signal leaves the antenna, the
first
is 3.35 milles away.

Figure 1

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8/2/2021 Mode A and Mode C Codes

The pulse numbers are binary weighted, so it is easy to determine the

relationship between pulses and the
number they represent. The A digit,
for example, looks like this, with 1 representing a pulse, and 0
representing no pulse:

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

A1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1
A2 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1
A4 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1

The same pattern applies to digits (knobs) B, C, and D.

Pretty soon 64 squawk codes weren't enough, and a scheme evolved to

place a pulse between each of the
original pulses. This gave us 8 X 8 X 8
X 8 = 4096, the system we have today. The C digit nested into the A
digit,
likewise the D interdigitated with B. In the process the new X pulse
appeared and could have been used
to differentiate between Squawk and
Altitude replies, but it wasn't. X has never been used for anything.

So today we have transponders with four knobs, which represent A, B, C,

and D. Each can be set to anything
from 0 to 7 (the switches don't have a
position 8 or 9.) To squawk 1200, the A knob is set to 1, B is set to 2,
C
and D are set to 0.

If the transponder receives a Mode A interrogation, it transmits the

squawk code, as set by the pilot. If it
receives a Mode C interrogation,
it transmits the altitude code, as supplied by the encoder. It's important
to
understand that AT NO TIME does the transponder send both. It's one or
the other, if the ground station
sends a Mode A interrogation, the
transponder replies with a string of pulses that are the squawk code only.
If a Mode C interrogation, the reply is altitude only.

Figure 2 illustrates the interrogation pulses. These pulses are

transmitted on 1030 Mhz. All interrogators use
the same frequency. The
space between P1 and P3 defines the type of request, Mode A (the feds call
this
3/A), or Mode C. If the P1-P3 timing is 8 microseconds, leading edge
to leading edge, a Mode A response is
expected, and if 21 microseconds,
the request is for Mode C (altitude) data. P2 is used for sidelobe
suppression, so that the transponder will only respond to the principal
forward lobe of the rotating antenna,
even when flying in strong signal
near the interrogating site. Long range radar installations, the kind
Center
uses , typically alternate A, C, A, C, on a one to one ratio. ASR
usually looks like this: A, A, C, A, A, C,
with two squawk requests for
each altitude interrogation.

Figure 2

The output of the transponder is on the frequency of 1090 Mhz. Pulse

position and timing specs are shown in
Figure 3. The SPI pulse is present
only when the Ident button has been pressed, and lasts about 10 seconds.

Figure 3

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There is no difference between a Mode A and Mode C reply. If a Mode A

interrogation is issued, a Mode A
reply is expected, and the pulses will
be decoded that way. Likewise, if a Mode C request is made, the data
received from the aircraft will be calculated as altitude. This works well
with only one ground station, but
with several stations interrogating the
same aircraft, mistakes can and do occur.

The Mode C data is pressure altitude, i.e., set to 29.92". This is

equally true whether you are using a blind
encoder, or an encoding
altimeter. (If it weren't so, the controller would have to know what type
of encoder
you are using.) Usually there will be a substantial difference
between pressure altitude and the reading shown
on the altimeter. Often
hundreds of feet. (Hint: Turn your barometric adjust knob on your
altimeter from one
end to the other, and see how much difference it makes
in the altitude reading. On most altimeters, it's about
2700 ft.)

The ground equipment automatically adds the necessary barometric

correction, according to the local
pressure. The controller sees the same
reading on his scope that the pilot sees on the altimeter, if both are
using the same barometric setting. It is possible, indeed likely, that
another ATC facility is indicating this
aircraft at a different altitude,
since the barometric pressure varies from one location to another.

Each altitude code has an equivalent squawk code. The

list of altitude codes shows how
that same data
would decode as a squawk rather than altitude. But each
squawk code does not necessarily have an
equivalent altitude. There are
4096 squawk codes but only 1280 altitude codes, one for each 100 foot
increment from -1200 to 126,700 ft.

Why do the altitudes go all the way down to a negative 1200 ft? It's the
barometric thing again. If you are
physically located at sea level on a
day with pressure above 29.92, your encoder will be putting out an
altitude (pressure altitude) below zero. To accommodate the possible high
pressures, the range goes down to
-1200.

Altitude encoders switch from one code to the next nominally at the 50
foot point. Thus the code should
indicate 1000 ft. at any height from 950
to 1050 ft., pressure altitude. But don't depend on it, the
specifications
are somewhat loose.

But in the real world, when does the encoder switch? This is a question
of practical importance to the pilot,
because it can make the difference
between a violation or not. The answer isn't simple. Encoders switch
when
they feel like it. If the encoder was perfect (none are) and temperature
and humidity and gravity and
barometric pressure were standard (they never
are) and there were no vibration or static system error (and if
you
believe in Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny), then the encoder will
switch as stated above, at the 50 ft
point. But consider just one
variable, barometric pressure. If it was 29.93, just one one-hundredth of
an inch
above standard, the encoder would switch at the 40 ft point (1040,
1140, 1240 etc). At 29.96, the encoder
would switch near the 10 ft point,
and at 29.97 reported altitude would switch at the assigned altitude.

So you can see that if you are assigned 6000 ft, for example, your
encoder would be jumping up and down
between 5900 and 6000, while you are
cruising steady at your assigned altitude. This is one reason why it's

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important to have a readout, so you can see what your equipment is

reporting to ATC.

The altitude coding pattern was developed when mechanical encoders were
the only way to digitize the data.
It is somewhat bass-ackwards, with D2
as the most significant bit, followed with D4, A1, A2, A4, B1, B2,
B4, in
a gray code that changes every 500 feet. The least significant digit is C,
with C1, C2, C4 following a
recyclic code different from the gray pattern.
Note that only one bit changes for each increment of altitude.
Bit D1 is
never used and always remains a "0". There are 3 illegal
combinations of C bits, 000, 101, and 111.

One further note on the Mode C codes. Transponder data inputs are
inverted logic. A logic "1" is ground,
while a "0" is
allowed to float to some positive voltage, depending on the particular
transponder model. To
indicate an altitude of 3500 ft., for instance a
ground is placed on A4, B1, B4 and C2.

Figure 4

Table of
Mode A and Mode C Encoder Data

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