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To: Bob Tate who wrote (37891)	7/27/1999 4:57:00 PM
From: long-gone	Respond to of 116796

OT(?) GPS System Date Glitch The Global Positioning Systems (GPS) of 24 satellites developed by the U.S. Air Force may fail because of date calculations. When? GPS systems may fail at 13 seconds before midnight on Saturday, August 21, 1999. The GPS system is used by businesses to time financial transactions, guide cars and boats, and fly airplanes in stormy weather. WSU also uses the GPS time functions for variation physical plant control systems. WSU researchers and use GPS systems for tracking locations for experiments and precision farming operations. In the 1970s, cost pressures and bandwidth limitations forced programmers for the U.S. Air Force to limit the GPS date cycle to 1,024 weeks. The greatly reduced the size of the programming code for handling the date calculations. When the current 1,024 cycle ends, some GPS systems may not be able to handle the date rollover. GPS receivers mostly made after 1995 will be handle it. The problems may range from minor glitches to complete shutdown. GPS system are often used for time/date stamping and in control systems. An example of system failure after rollover would if your system thinks it is Jan. 05, 1980. This obviously would cause an error in any date calculations. Now the Good News! The fix is simple! One needs to determine if one's GPS receiver will fail or not. If you have control equipment determine if it is dependent upon GPS signals. If either case, contract the manufacturer to see if the receiver needs upgrading. If a failure is likely then either replace the receiver or get a software "patch." Some manufacturers offer free or discounted software fixes. For more information on fixes, contract: U. S. Coast Guard Magellan Trimble Garmin cru.cahe.wsu.edu