International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) announced there will be an extra second added to the end of this year (or the start of 2017 depending on your time zone!). An extra second will be added between 12:59:59 to 13:00:00 NZDT on 1st January 2017, or 23:59:60 on December 31, 2016 UTC. Such leap seconds are occasionally needed to ensure Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the official measure of time, stays in sync with changes in the Earth’s rotation.  

GNSS equipment may experience issues acquiring or sustaining a fixed solution during this event.  In some cases, a position solution may resolve itself after a new almanac & ephemeris are downloaded. However if you experience ongoing problems acquiring or sustaining a GNSS fix, please make a note of the firmware version on your device and contact your local Aptella team on 0800 867 000 as you may need to update the firmware on your instrument. 

Advice for those unlucky enough to be working on New Year’s Day or when coming back to work after the holiday break:

1. Cold restart – ie Perform NVRAM Clear on all equipment
2. Check equipment and if equipment still not working note the firmware version in use on your equipment before contacting Aptella for support on 0800 867 000