Found this on CNN.com - hopefully 1/1/2000 will go smoothly too!
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No problems reported in U.S. as result of navigation tool glitch
August 22, 1999
Web posted at: 6:31 AM EDT (1031 GMT)
LONG BEACH, California (AP) -- It appeared to be smooth sailing this weekend
for boaters and aviators who rely on a satellite-based navigation system
that reset itself, which was expected to confuse older locator units.
The U.S. Coast Guard here and the Federal Aviation Administration reported
receiving no calls for stranded boats or airplanes having problems in
determining their coordinates by using the Global Positioning System, or
GPS.
"Just a regular weekend. It's actually been a very slow day," said Coast
Guard Chief Petty Officer Danny Phee.
The FAA in Washington also had no reports of problems, said agency spokesman
Les Dorr, noting that small, private plane pilots had been warned to check
their systems.
Time clocks on the popular GPS receivers reset to zero at 5 p.m. PDT
Saturday, which could possibly confuse units made before 1993. Those units
may take longer to pinpoint a location, be off in their calculations, or be
unable to find the location.
GPS receivers determine location by using signals of three to 24 satellites.
To do this they need the exact time, which the system determines by counting
the weeks since Jan. 5, 1980 -- up to 1,024. But GPS reached its maximum
number of weeks on Saturday.
Manufacturers offer upgrades. Otherwise, some receivers may think it is 1980
when the clock reset, according to the Transportation Department.
GPS, originally designed for the military, is booming in the commercial
market, often offered in luxury cars as a mapping device. Aviators and
boaters have been using GPS for at least a decade and only in recent years
have hikers begun to use hand-held units.
A nationwide, private tow boat agency, Vessel Assist Association of America,
based in Newport Beach, reported no GPS-related problems Saturday.
"Definitely not. We haven't had any troubles at all," said Steve Ryan, a
dispatcher for Vessel Assist.
Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
- --
No problems reported in U.S. as result of navigation tool glitch
August 22, 1999
Web posted at: 6:31 AM EDT (1031 GMT)
LONG BEACH, California (AP) -- It appeared to be smooth sailing this weekend
for boaters and aviators who rely on a satellite-based navigation system
that reset itself, which was expected to confuse older locator units.
The U.S. Coast Guard here and the Federal Aviation Administration reported
receiving no calls for stranded boats or airplanes having problems in
determining their coordinates by using the Global Positioning System, or
GPS.
"Just a regular weekend. It's actually been a very slow day," said Coast
Guard Chief Petty Officer Danny Phee.
The FAA in Washington also had no reports of problems, said agency spokesman
Les Dorr, noting that small, private plane pilots had been warned to check
their systems.
Time clocks on the popular GPS receivers reset to zero at 5 p.m. PDT
Saturday, which could possibly confuse units made before 1993. Those units
may take longer to pinpoint a location, be off in their calculations, or be
unable to find the location.
GPS receivers determine location by using signals of three to 24 satellites.
To do this they need the exact time, which the system determines by counting
the weeks since Jan. 5, 1980 -- up to 1,024. But GPS reached its maximum
number of weeks on Saturday.
Manufacturers offer upgrades. Otherwise, some receivers may think it is 1980
when the clock reset, according to the Transportation Department.
GPS, originally designed for the military, is booming in the commercial
market, often offered in luxury cars as a mapping device. Aviators and
boaters have been using GPS for at least a decade and only in recent years
have hikers begun to use hand-held units.
A nationwide, private tow boat agency, Vessel Assist Association of America,
based in Newport Beach, reported no GPS-related problems Saturday.
"Definitely not. We haven't had any troubles at all," said Steve Ryan, a
dispatcher for Vessel Assist.
Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
