As usual, our luncheon will be at Sinbad's just south of the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero near the foot of Mission St. We meet at 11:30 and are seated at 12:30. To make reservations call Paul Black at 925-827-9511 and leave a message on his machine.

Our thanks to Ken Manly of KTVU for letting us use the KTVU studio for this program and to all the KTVU staffers who helped with the setup. As promised there was a lineup of Anvil cases filled with equipment. I was surprised at just how many modern pieces of test equipment now have VGA outputs.

Gary Sgrignoli has doubled the size of the note set from what it was two years ago when I first took the course. Frankly there were times I was puzzled over some aspect of 8VSB that Gary could clear up for me in a few minutes. He's an amazing resource and the industry is indeed fortunate to have him doing these seminars around the country.

A tip of the hat to Paul Marks for putting all the pieces together and making the program work and to Larcan, Tektronix, and Hammett and Edison for their sponsorships.

Richard Calderon, one of the riggers at Sutro Tower died November 14th. He had been in a very serious traffic accident on his motorcycle two weeks earlier. The week before his death, he was showing some signs of improvement but then his condition worsened. He left his wife and three children of high school and early college age.

On the SBE national website at www.sbe.org is the listing of who is a member of each chapter. As of January, given the high cost of printing and postage, we will conform to that list. So, if you don't get your January Ch40 Newsletter, check to see if you are indeed a member. If you check in at our chapter website, you can signup to have the newsletter emailed to you.

BABES was started in the early 60s by Howie Immekus, who then worked for KABL. When Howie died in 1985, a memorial scholarship fund was started at the College of San Mateo. As others have passed on, we've added to that fund. To make a donation, make your check payable to:

CSM/ Howard Immekus Memorial Fund
College of San Mateo
1700 W. Foothill Blvd.
San Mateo, CA 94402
Attention: Special Programs and Services

In the Nov 1st New York Times there was an article based upon information from Nielsen Media Research that put the percentage of cable households in the San Francisco - Oakland - San Jose market at 73.2%. Households using satellite came in at 9.2%. That's a total of 84.4%. Over-the-air viewers comprise just 15.6% of the audience.

Ten years ago there were many cable systems and multiple satellite services. Now there's two gorillas to negotiate with. A little more lobby muscle in Washington D.C. and over-the-airs will have to pay to be carried.

Webmeister Tim Pozar has the current newsletter plus newsletters all the way back to 1996 at: http://www.lns.com/sbe

Tim is also keeping track of email addresses and you can subscribe to the mailing list at:

(What follows are not recommendations of SBE Ch40)

One of the articles I read recently regarding the terrorists said that they don't really want a seat at the table. They want to blow up the table and kill everybody at the table.

We are in a global economy. When we go into a recession and the price of oil goes down, the Persian Gulf is awash in red ink. The clothing industry uses textiles from Pakistan. If the clothing industry cuts back, workers in Pakistan are laid off. In short A and B can no longer do anything in isolation.

I think the worst threat that faces the enemy is that they've proven conclusively that they're bad for business. The world doesn't tolerate that for long.

When do we hit bottom and turn around?

There are a number of proxies for the market and the economy, so you can take your pick. One I like is the comparison of like periods of parcel shipments at UPS. At the moment we're off 3% from last year. Another is the dividend yield of the S&P 500 stocks. It's been running around 1.3 to 1.7% against PEs of 30 to 26. If the yield goes past 3.5%, it might be time to mortgage the barn.

According to the Federal Reserve, exclusive of car loans and mortgages, the average consumer debt exceeds $6000. During the recession, that debt will have to be paid down somewhat before we see consumers enthusiastically increase their 2/3rds of US consumption.

Southern Oregon, known for its scenic environment & limitless recreational opportunities is home to Kathrein, Scala Division, a successful world leader in antenna systems for broadcast and communications industries. We are seeking an experienced sales and applications engineering professional to promote sales and support customer products and service needs in the TV and FM broadcast industry. Strong technical and interpersonal communications skills are required; plus antenna application experience, knowledge of TV, FM and LPTV transmission systems, working knowledge of RF test equipment and procedures, and familiarity with FCC rules and regulations. Some travel is required for trade shows.

Send Resume to:

KSD, HR Dept.
P.O. box 4580
Medford, OR 97501
Fax 541-779-3391
email: lteshima@kathrein.com