Question for controllers about I8 Route String (TEC)

[bjratchf]

On the I8 we are flying from AVX to SAN using a TEC route- SXC V208 LAX118R CARDI MZB320R MZB... when put into skyvector it looks like the route is equal to SXC V208 HUBRD CARDI MZB- which is how I'd stick it into a GPS. Is it written this way due to the fact that some aircraft are /A and would need to plug in the 118R from LAX, etc? Or is it because otherwise the FAA computer spits it back out?

[kullery]

I'm not a controller, but I can tell you that historically the TEC routes were defined on the assumption that aircraft were not RNAV (i.e. GPS) capable. Therefore, the majority of the TEC routes only include way points which can flown /A.

A relatively recent change has been the creation of 11 "parallel" routes which originate in the San Diego area. These are designated with an "R" suffix (i.e. SANP4R vs. SANP4). These routes require RNAV capability, are generally more efficient and may include way points which don't even appear on the en-route IFR charts.