AP

Cos. Offer Powerful Speakers for Katrina

Friday September 2, 3:17 pm ET

By Matthew Fordahl, AP Technology Writer

Companies Offer Powerful Equipment That Can Project Sound Over Long Distances for Katrina Zone

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- In an effort to help shore up communications in areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, two California companies are offering powerful equipment that can project focused sound over long distances.

Costa Mesa-based HPV has been trying to contact the Federal Emergency Management Agency to donate its technology but its calls have not been returned. The devices range in price from $35,000 to $75,000 each.

The units are based on a technology called planar magnetics. Unlike cone-shaped speakers, the HPV speakers vibrate flat panels on the speaker. The combination significantly multiplies the strength of the speaker.

Another company, American Technology Corp. has donated some of its equipment to a Marine Corps military police unit that`s headed to the Gulf Coast, according to a report in the Long Beach Press-Telegram.