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Technology Stocks : Ballard Power -world leader zero-emission PEM fuel cells -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: marketbrief.com who wrote (2849)	6/27/1998 8:11:00 AM
From: Dr. Harvey	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 5827

Has anyone looked into DCHT?, they are apparently taking over the development of the smaller fuel cells that Ballard isn't concentrating on due to costs and other factor?

To: marketbrief.com who wrote (2849)	6/27/1998 4:44:00 PM
From: Urlman	Respond to of 5827

Jane's Defence Weekly: Canada plans to customise Upholder submarines June 24, 1998 Sharon Hobson Canada's Maritime Command plans a series of combat system modifications for the four ex-UK Royal Navy Upholder-class submarines it is acquiring to replace its three ageing Oberon-class boats. A formal agreement on the eight-year lease-to-buy arrangement is scheduled to be signed by the end of this month. The changes aim to enable the cost-effective re-use of the Oberons' existing command and weapon control systems and provide for compatibility with Canada's heavyweight torpedo inventory. They also allow for standardisation with Maritime Command communications equipment. The acquisition cost of the four boats amounts to C$610 million (US$420 million), with a further C$140 million earmarked by the Department of National Defence (DND) for Canadian-specific modifications and other project costs. With no new money coming from government for the Upholder purchase, funds are being re-allocated from the DND's existing budget to cover the cost of the project. The Oberons have already started to be phased out. HMCS Ojibwa ceased operations in May, with HMCS Okanagan to retire in September. HMCS Onodaga will continue to operate out of Halifax as a training boat. It will be supported in this role by the former HMS Olympus, now used as an alongside training submarine. Since being decommissioned from the UK Royal Navy in 1993-94, the four Upholder-class boats have been berthed at the Barrow-in-Furness shipyard of Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd, part of GEC Marine. Reactivation will be protracted by the need to order new long-lead-time items, such as batteries, and to recondition machinery systems. As a result, the first boat is not due to sail home with its Canadian crew until the second quarter of 2000. Its three sisters will follow at six-month intervals thereafter. Conversion courses for 340 officers and sailors will be run in the UK, with an initial 86-strong intake beginning training in the first half of 1999. On completion, the UK-based Upholder-class trainers will be transferred to Halifax. Once in Canada, the submarines will enter an as yet unnamed east-coast shipyard for a programme of combat system modifications before they are introduced to operational service. This will include changes to the weapon-handling and discharge system in order to take onboard the Mk 48 Mod 4 heavyweight torpedo instead of the RN's Mk 24 Mod 2 Tigerfish weapon. There are no plans to fit the UGM-84 Sub-Harpoon anti-ship missile. Cdr Rick Payne, DND project manager for the Upholder acquisition, said: "Rather than buy the British torpedo with the submarine, we prefer to hang on to our own inventory which we've already paid for. Therefore, the cheapest option was to transplant the [Lockheed Martin Librascope] fire-control system in the Oberons into the Upholders so that we can continue to use the Mk 48." The Upholders' existing Outfit DCC tactical data-handling and fire-control system will be stripped out. In its place, the four boats will receive the command display consoles (CDCs), weapon data converters (WDCs) and UYK-20 central processors associated with the SFCS Mk 1 Mod C suite in the three Oberons and the Submarine Operator Trainer (SOTT). In addition, 11 new multifunction fire-control consoles will be ordered from Lockheed Martin Federal Systems in Manassass: two for each submarine; two for the SOTT; and one for the shore-based Software Development Facility. According to Cdr Payne, the SOTT will then be equipped with two new fire-control consoles, and a functional CDC comprising "bits and pieces" without a cabinet. "The SOTT will lose its WDC," Payne added. "What we will do there is buy an emulator to emulate the WDC for the SOTT." Maritime Command will also install its own communications and cryptographic equipment. "It's pretty generic stuff - UHF radios and WSC-3," said Cdr Payne. "We're able to muster eight sets - two per Upholder - taken from our Oberons and from other ships that are decommissioning. "Then there's the crypto gear. By and large, it's using existing assets from the Oberons and other ships in the navy." The Upholders' existing sonar suite - comprising bow, flank, intercept and towed sensors - will be retained. One minor modification will be the retrofit of the Canadian-developed SUBTASS tail, which uses a Hermes Electronics acoustic array, currently fitted to the Oberons. "The Sonar 2046 Build Standard 2, which is the [towed-array] sonar we're getting with the deal, works very easily with our towed array," said Cdr Payne. "Its processor is adaptable to our towed array. There'll be some slight modification required to the wet-end interface." As yet, no decision has been made on the electronic support measures (ESM) fit for the Upholders. Options under study include the transplant of the Guardian Star sets fitted to the Oberons, acquisition of the Outfit UAP(2) ESM equipments previously used by the Royal Navy, or recourse to an off-the-shelf purchase. The first Upholder should be in operational service with Maritime Command by the end of 2000. It is planned to keep three vessels on the east coast and one on the west (the latter being manned on a dual-crew roulement). For the future, the DND research branch is working with Ballard Power Systems on the development of an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system using fuel-cell technology. This system would greatly extend submerged endurance and allow for under-ice operations in the Arctic. GRAPHIC: Photograph 1, HMCS Onodaga; Photograph 2, The Upholders (HMS Ursula, left) will receive command and fire-control systems transplanted from the Oberons (right) (Photos: H Steele/Jane's); *Photograph 3, The DND and Ballard Power Systems are studying the potential of a fuel-cell generator retrofit (Source: Ballard Power Systems)*

To: marketbrief.com who wrote (2849)	6/28/1998 10:04:00 PM
From: rbarsom	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5827

Hey marketbrief, as a frequent avid trader ;-) and a mild contributor to your site(which I think is very good) (1964 handle). I must say that your TA analysis is quite flawed (In my humble opinion). The daily is not anything to write home about. Could be a downtrend to 28 maybe 22. But it does not look like a bearish flag. If anything it is a bull flag on the weekly. That bounce around 28 could mean if we break 36 that would mean we are going through 40 to 52. Real fast.Look at the spu8 flag on the daily. Plus this stock just feels like a bear trap.