SETI League Press Release
LITTLE FERRY, NJ.., November 26, 1997 -- The SETI League, Inc., grass-roots leader in the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI), has just received a major equipment grant from Texas Instruments, Inc. The semiconductor manufacturer has contributed one complete TMS320C6x Digital Signal Processing Developer's Kit to the nonprofit science group, for use in their design of the next generation of advanced signal analyzers. The kit, consisting of the 'C6x processor itself, an evaluation circuit board, a PC interface, and a complete suite of software development tools, will help The SETI League to expand its receiver capabilities from a few thousand to perhaps a million simultaneous channels.
The donation was engineered by Henry Wiechman at TI's DSP Group in Houston, TX. The idea of supporting SETI was embraced by TI and many of its employees - a list of whom would be too long to mention. In late November, SETI League president Richard Factor accepted the hardware and software from TI Technical Sales Representative
Tricia Chambers at the science group's New Jersey headquarters. "Currently the most powerful
SETI receivers in the world are those developed by our friends at the California-based SETI Institute, remnants of
the NASA SETI program canceled four years ago," notes Factor. "Although our volunteer efforts may never match
the accomplishments of our professional colleagues, the TI gift will help our members to achieve performance on a
par with the best systems developed by industry and government." Factor is currently evaluating the 'C6x
environment for possible use in The SETI League's miniMETA receiver design initiative, announced last year and
dedicated to the memory of the late Dr. Carl Sagan.
SETI scientists seek to determine through microwave and optical measurements whether humankind is alone in the universe. Since Congress terminated NASA's SETI funding in 1993, The SETI League and other scientific groups have been attempting to privatize the research. Experimenters interested in participating in the search for intelligent alien life, or citizens wishing to help support it, should email to join_at_setileague_dot_org, check the SETI League Web site at http://www.setileague.org/, send a fax to +1 (201) 641-1771, or contact The SETI League, Inc. membership hotline at +1 (800) TAU-SETI. Be sure to provide us with a postal address to which we will mail further information. The SETI League, Inc. is a membership-supported, non-profit [501(c)(3)], educational and scientific corporation dedicated to the electromagnetic Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence.
P.S. Tearsheets are always appreciated. Thank you.
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