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Technology Stocks : Y2K (Year 2000) Stocks: An Investment Discussion -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JDN who wrote (13895)	6/2/1999 10:31:00 AM
From: C.K. Houston	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13949

<I was planning to get the Magellan for my new Jeep when I get it. It relies on the GPS to tell it where you are and how to get to where you are going. Are you saying that system will not be working?> Commercial receivers sold after 1994 are EOW & Y2K OK. EOW = End-of-Week. On August 21, 1999 any receiver that had not been remediated for EOW problem ... will revert back to 1900 ... and not function properly. Miltary's been working on that for a long time and has software patches for most receivers or have replaced others. Most large commercial enterprises have probably done the same. Small, mid-size businesses (those employing <500) and individuals are pretty much unaware of the problem. That's a problem. "On board" systems on satellites have been checked out by Boeing and Lockheed Martin, who says their EOW & Y2K OK. While the satellite support systems are end-of-week rollover compliant, they are not yet Year 2000 compliant … Satellite support systems, are physically located on the ground. These systems are responsible for maintaining the satellites and their proper functioning This includes keeping the satellites in proper orbits (called “station keeping”) and monitoring satellite subsystem health and status—e.g., monitoring solar arrays, battery power levels, and propellant levels, and activating spare satellites, if possible. These systems are in the process of being either replaced or renovated and tested. This work is expected to be done by December 1999. New systems are scheduled for initial delivery in September ... for testing. Hopefully they can get testing completed by December 31. But, sure is cutting it close. So ... your RECEIVER would be OK ... systems "on-board" satellites are OK ... but Satellite Support Systems are NOT Y2K OK. Therefore, your new receiver may or may not give you accurate data come January 1. But IMHO GPS for navigation in a car is not a big deal. You can always read a map. HERE'S THE PROBLEM: GPS is now used in numerous civilian applications and industries. For example, emergency vehicles use GPS to pinpoint destinations and map routes; shipping companies use the system to track movement of their vessels; truck and transportation services use the system to track their fleets and to speed deliveries; and airlines use GPS to develop flight plans and to land planes. GPS is also being used to map roads, track forest fires, assist in construction projects, and even monitor earthquakes. GPS dates also are used to synchronize some electrical power plants and large international transfers of funds .... telecommunications companies are increasingly relying on GPS receivers to synchronize their own networks, comparing their reference clocks directly with a GPS receiver. "Timing errors due to the lack of synchronization, in fact, can lead to data loss and degradation and eventually to network disruption or even complete failures. Because of the inter-connective and interdependent nature of networks, these problems, in turn, could impact other networks and even the Internet. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's where I got the military power point presentation. Check out FCC hearing on status of wireless communications at same site. Not encouraging. Message 9567593 And this congressional testimony from May 12, 1999 does a great job of explaining the situation in laymens terms. GPS – The Year 2000 Problem, and the End-Of-Week Rollover Problem house.gov Cheryl P.S. This is what triggered my thinking about how situation could impact offshore companies. Foreign countries are groping for reassurance & help from U.S. - Doesn't look like they're getting much except ... "check our websites" or "go thru diplomatic channels". May 11 Worldnet Teleconference with Foreign Countries United States Information Agency FCC did most of the talking. "First of all, the military has already fixed the system, and the system should be fine for the transition. But the issue really is in the GPS receivers that exist all over the world. They have DPROM (ph) or embedded chips in them, and there are many of these GPS receivers that will not function properly." greenspun.com