Topcon GNSS CRITICAL UPDATE July 19, 2017

I am confused. Leap seconds occur on Jan 1 or July 1, both dates which have passed for 2017.

Paul in PA

Hmm, I don't know. I'm just the messenger. Maybe they got it wrong and just realized it.

What do you do if you have older Topcon receivers. The My Topcon site does not list Legacy-E or Hiper + receivers?

Wasn't that the message from last year? (2016)

So, since "My Topcon" doesn't list Hiper-Lite+, do I assume that my Hiper-Lite+s are now worthless?

The assumption is the older receives will be ok with a clear nvram and ephemeris reset.

That got them going after the Jan 1 leap second

"Last Leap Second in December 2016
The last leap second was added on December 31, 2016 at 23:59:60 UTC. The difference between UTCand International Atomic Time (TAI) increased from the 36 seconds to the current 37 seconds."

"
1980 JAN 1 =JD 2444239.5 TAI-UTC= 19.0 S + (MJD - 41317.) X 0.0 S
1981 JUL 1 =JD 2444786.5 TAI-UTC= 20.0 S + (MJD - 41317.) X 0.0 S
1982 JUL 1 =JD 2445151.5 TAI-UTC= 21.0 S + (MJD - 41317.) X 0.0 S
1983 JUL 1 =JD 2445516.5 TAI-UTC= 22.0 S + (MJD - 41317.) X 0.0 S
1985 JUL 1 =JD 2446247.5 TAI-UTC= 23.0 S + (MJD - 41317.) X 0.0 S
1988 JAN 1 =JD 2447161.5 TAI-UTC= 24.0 S + (MJD - 41317.) X 0.0 S
1990 JAN 1 =JD 2447892.5 TAI-UTC= 25.0 S + (MJD - 41317.) X 0.0 S
1991 JAN 1 =JD 2448257.5 TAI-UTC= 26.0 S + (MJD - 41317.) X 0.0 S
1992 JUL 1 =JD 2448804.5 TAI-UTC= 27.0 S + (MJD - 41317.) X 0.0 S
1993 JUL 1 =JD 2449169.5 TAI-UTC= 28.0 S + (MJD - 41317.) X 0.0 S
1994 JUL 1 =JD 2449534.5 TAI-UTC= 29.0 S + (MJD - 41317.) X 0.0 S
1996 JAN 1 =JD 2450083.5 TAI-UTC= 30.0 S + (MJD - 41317.) X 0.0 S
1997 JUL 1 =JD 2450630.5 TAI-UTC= 31.0 S + (MJD - 41317.) X 0.0 S
1999 JAN 1 =JD 2451179.5 TAI-UTC= 32.0 S + (MJD - 41317.) X 0.0 S
2006 JAN 1 =JD 2453736.5 TAI-UTC= 33.0 S + (MJD - 41317.) X 0.0 S
2009 JAN 1 =JD 2454832.5 TAI-UTC= 34.0 S + (MJD - 41317.) X 0.0 S
2012 JUL 1 =JD 2456109.5 TAI-UTC= 35.0 S + (MJD - 41317.) X 0.0 S
2015 JUL 1 =JD 2457204.5 TAI-UTC= 36.0 S + (MJD - 41317.) X 0.0 S
2017 JAN 1 =JD 2457754.5 TAI-UTC= 37.0 S + (MJD - 41317.) X 0.0 S"

My observation is that this is more of a precaution than a drop-dead necessity. Some of our customers did the last firmware update. Some have not. On the older receivers for which no further firmware updates will be provided, it has not seemed to have any effect. I read something that suggested that the only time it might actually affect your receiver would be if you were actually running it at the time the leap second was added.

This appears to be one of those cases where the urgency is more from the manufacturer's perspective of being able to say, "We told you this was coming..."

I know lot's of people using HiperLites, HiperXT's, Pros, Legacy E's etc., that have not had any firmware updates for 5-10 years. None of them have had major problems, they are still working fine. The old systems just take longer to fix, and those that own them are used to that, along with performing a clear NVRAM often.

We are very confused about this as well. Apparently, this "critical update that must be done immediately", is going into effect in November. No idea what Topcon is doing, but this seems like a very wrong way about going about things. Especially, when no one else in the GNSS world seems to be aware of an upcoming leap second event planned for this year.

Critical updates are done for many reasons.
They may have stumbled upon flaws that needed to be fixed and have created less commands to do the same task or may have overhauled bad sections of their programing or simply put in a new feature that will advertise for them on a regular basis.
I have a brother in law that is a great programmer and can make computers run most anything he sets his mind to.
I've ask him if he would create a few things that would help me and a few others.
His answer was, yes, I could do that. I won't because it would be better if I did something that would help me.

Its my understanding the leap second is being delayed, it never happened.

LEAP SECOND UPDATE:

The International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) has issued a statement that there will not be a leap second introduced this year. Leap seconds can be introduced in UTC at the end of the months of December or June. Bulletin C is mailed every six months, either to announce a time step in UTC, or to confirm that there will be no time step at the next possible date.

Although the leap second event has been postponed, it only means that the timeframe to update firmware in all receivers isn't as urgent. We anticipate that this will happen in the future and we encourage you to update your receivers to the latest firmware available.

As a valued customer and Topcon user, we would like to ensure that your GNSS receivers perform optimally. GNSS receivers should be updated to the latest firmware available so that you don't experience any loss in productivity. To check if your GNSS receiver is up to date visit www.myTopcon.com. Once you log in and register your product, you will be able to download the latest firmware and update your receiver.

Schedule your update today
by contacting one of our support team specialists:

What is a Leap Second (LS)?

A leap second is an occasional one-second adjustment to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to keep its time of day close to the astronomical time (UT1). Leap seconds are added to our clocks to compensate for the Earth's slowing rotation. The International Earth Rotation and Reference System Service (IERS) in Paris, France observes the Earth's rotation and compares it to atomic time. Since this system of correction was implemented in 1972, 27 leap seconds have been inserted, the most recent on December 31, 2016 at 23:59:60 UTC (2016 LS Event).

I don't use my Hyper SR network rover often and when I do I'm rarely in situations where the Glonass satellites are critical.?ÿ Late this afternoon, I was using it to recon a wooded five acre site and noticed that SurvPC was saying I was only getting 7 of 19 satellites in the open and only 4-5 on the south side of the tree line.?ÿ I knew better than to venture into the woods without solving the issue.

I noticed that the SV light on the Hyper SR was indicating 6 GPS and 9 Glonass near the tree line but SurvPC was still only using 5 GPS.?ÿ I poked around in SurvPC's settings and it appeared to be set to use both constellations.?ÿ I was going to look at the receiver settings but apparently I never reinstalled Topcon Receiver Utility after I gave the DC a lobotomy in October.?ÿ I had a vague recollection of this thread and I knew it had been a while since I'd done a firmware update so I called it a day.?ÿ At the truck, I fired up the laptop and downloaded TRU and the firmware update.?ÿ After I installed TRU on the tablet I should have looked at the receiver settings but I went ahead and installed the firmware instead.?ÿ After the firmware update SurvPC was seeing and using 15 of 17 available satellites.?ÿ I wish I knew for sure if it was a firmware problem or if the firmware update just reset all of the receiver settings and "accidentally" fixed my issue.

Regardless, my memory of this thread pushed me in the correct direction to get up and running again.?ÿ Beer Leg Rocks!!?ÿ