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SILICON
CHIP
www.siliconchip.com.au
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD
Production Manager
Greg Swain, B.Sc.(Hons.)
Technical Editor
Peter Smith
Technical Staff
John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.)
Ross Tester
Jim Rowe, B.A., B.Sc, VK2ZLO
Reader Services
Ann Jenkinson
Advertising Enquiries
Lawrence Smith
Benedictus Smith Pty Ltd
Phone (02) 9211 8035
Fax: (02) 9211 0068
lawrence<at>benedictus-smith.com
Regular Contributors
Brendan Akhurst
Rodney Champness, VK3UG
Julian Edgar, Dip.T.(Sec.), B.Ed,
Grad.Dip.Jnl
Mike Sheriff, B.Sc, VK2YFK
Stan Swan
SILICON CHIP is published 12 times
a year by Silicon Chip Publications
Pty Ltd. ACN 003 205 490. ABN 49
003 205 490 All material copyright
©. No part of this publication may
be reproduced without the written
consent of the publisher.
Printing: Hannanprint, Noble Park,
Victoria.
Distribution: Network Distribution
Company.
Subscription rates: $83.00 per
year in Australia. For overseas
rates, see the subscription page in
this issue.
Editorial office: Unit 8, 101 Darley
St, Mona Vale, NSW 2103.
Postal address: PO Box 139,
Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097.
Phone (02) 9979 5644.
Fax (02) 9979 6503.
E-mail: silchip<at>siliconchip.com.au
ISSN 1030-2662
Publisher’s Letter
Pacific Hydro should
not be sold
Australia’s biggest renewable energy company,
Pacific Hydro, is under threat of takeover by a
Spanish company Acciona in an $870 million
deal announced at the end of March. The board
of directors has unanimously recommended the
takeover to its shareholder and normally, that
would be that; another great Australian company
sold off overseas due to the shortsightedness of
Australian investment institutions.
Pacific Hydro operates wind power installations both here and overseas and
is an important part of Australia’s energy future. As a concerned shareholder,
I would prefer it to remain Australian-owned, even though I recognise that
not every foreign takeover is necessarily a bad outcome.
In this case though, we might have got lucky. One Australian institution,
Investment Fund Services, is not selling, at any price. They own 32% of the
company and therefore they will probably stop the deal as it is conditional
on 90% of the shareholders accepting it. Still, brokers are recommending that
small shareholders should sell, otherwise they will be squeezed between the
interests of large holders.
Some commentators are hoping that Investment Fund Services will itself
mount a takeover for Pacific Hydro but that is problematical since IFS is a
superannuation fund and normally, such funds are unable to borrow money.
The best result would be that, Acciona, finding itself thwarted by IFS, withdraws its bid, leaving Pacific Hydro to get on with business. Let us hope this
happens.
Glitch with Jaycar’s 2005 catalog
The April 2005 issue of SILICON CHIP was accompanied by the 2005 Jaycar
Engineering catalog which is very fine effort for this dynamic company. I
trust that readers have enjoyed both the magazine and the catalog and that
you will find the catalog a very handy reference for the coming year.
However, there was a problem with the packing of these catalogs. There is
a chance that some Australian readers may have received the New Zealand
version of this catalog instead of the Australian version. With the exception of
page 324, both versions of the Jaycar catalogs are absolutely identical except
in regard to product pricing and the website identification at the bottom of
the left-hand pages.
Australian Jaycar catalogs have the website listed as www.jaycar.com.au
while New Zealand catalogs have the website listed as www.jaycar.co.nz
In addition, page 324 of the Jaycar NZ catalog gives store location maps for
New Zealand, while the same page in the Australian catalog shows a range
of burglar alarms.
Please check your catalog to see which version you have received. If you
have been unlucky enough to receive a Jaycar NZ catalog instead of the Australian version, please return it to your local Jaycar store who will replace it
or call 1800 022 888 and Jaycar’s Techstore staff will send out a replacement.
We apologise for any inconvenience.
Leo Simpson
* Recommended and maximum price only.
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