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<br />The statistics presented in Tables 1 and 2 show a <br />50 to 55% increase in overall operational activity in 1978 when com- <br />pared with the previous annual average. The addition of IFR night- <br />time coverage and the cloud-top seeding technique were the two <br />----- ------'. -~- _..-.- ._~- <br />principle factors contributing to this increased activity. <br /> <br />D. Equipment Problems <br /> <br />As judged by experts familiar with weather modification <br />field operations, overall equipment performance was better than <br />average in Muddy Road IV. Even though there were no abnormal <br />equipment failures or excessive outages, it is deemed useful to <br />identify problems which interfered with the successful treatment of <br />threatening storms. <br /> <br />1. Ground Based Radar <br /> <br />Radar malfunctions of various types occurred on <br />16 of the 57 seeding days. Crystal receiver strength was the main <br />malfunction. This in turn usually occurred when there was low AC <br />line voltage or when there were power surges due to electrical <br />storms. Calibration of the RHI scope and erratic antenna rotation <br />caused some problems. <br /> <br />2. Seeder Aircraft <br /> <br />Aircraft related problems interrupted operations on <br />18 of the 57 seeding days. The most serious of these interruptions <br />was related to the Navajo seeding cartridge ejection racks; occurring <br />on 11 out of the 159 seeding flights. Mechanical and avionics failure <br />also contributed to the aircraft problems. <br /> <br />., <br />,. <br /> <br />17 <br />