Power Deal

Electronic News, March 13, 2000 by Bernard Levine

Power supply maker Power-One Inc., Camarillo, Calif., has acquired HC Power Inc., an Irvine, Calif., supplier of power systems for telecommunications and Internet service-providers and OEMs. The stock-for-stock deal in which Power-One issued about 2.1 million shares of its common stock was valued around $103 million at closing Feb. 29. Power-One is accounting for the transaction as a pooling of interests. Based on HC Poweras present level of activity, the transaction is expected to be accretive in 2000.

Tyco Develops Automotive Antenna

A new tri-band antenna design from Tyco Electronics Corp.as M/A-COM business unit provides a full range of communication options using a single, sleek antenna to meet the needs of the growing telematics market, the firm said. aThe growth of telematics in the automotive industry, including communication and navigational systems, has resulted in the need for several antennas to handle a variety of signals all the way up to the two gigahertz and higher frequencies,a? said Ulrich Baur, vice president of Tyco Electronicsa Global Automotive division. For example, mayday and concierge service systems require both a GPS (Global Positioning System) antenna and either an AMPS or PCS cellular antenna. Internet access systems also require a cellular antenna. aWe have responded by developing the first tri-band antenna that covers AMPS, PCS and GPS frequencies,a? Baur said. aAntennas that handle traditional cellular along with GPS signals have been available in the past. However, none has included a PCS antenna. To combine all three antennas in a low-profile unit less than an inch-and-a-half high is an industry first.a?

The tri-band antenna is a low-profile design that blends with the vehicleas styling. The antenna can also be mounted under the dash or rear package shelf, hidden from view. aTechnical challenges in developing the new antenna included the fact that GPS signals are very weak, actually below the noise floor. They are also close in frequency to cellular, so placing a cellular transmitting antenna nearby poses an additional hurdle. Designing the antenna system without a vertical radiating element further added to the challenge,a? Bauer said.

Tyco Electronicsa Global Automotive division consists of the automotive-related operations of AMP, M/A-COM, Raychem and Tyco EC Relays (formerly Siemens EC).