SOURCES SOUGHT
58 -- Automated Tracking and Telemetry System for Transportable Repeaters
- Notice Date
- 11/3/2009
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 334210
— Telephone Apparatus Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Interagency Fire Center, 3833 S. Development Avenue, Jack F. Wilson Bldg., Boise, Idaho, 83705-5354
- ZIP Code
- 83705-5354
- Solicitation Number
- SN-2010-02
- Archive Date
- 12/4/2009
- Point of Contact
- Matthew D. Olson, Phone: 208-387-5835
- E-Mail Address
-
mdolson@fs.fed.us
(mdolson@fs.fed.us)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This Request for Information (RFI) is for planning purposes only and shall not be considered as an obligation by the Government to acquire any products or services. BACKGROUND The National Interagency Incident Communications Division (NIICD) manages a national resource of deployable Land Mobile Radio (LMR) equipment used in response to major incidents. NIICD has approximately 250 transportable repeater assets which include VHF and UHF repeaters, linked repeaters, and cross band repeaters, to provide wide area push to talk radio coverage over an incident. The equipment is self powered with solar or disposable batteries and generally deployed on remote mountain tops with limited accessibility in order to optimize radio coverage. Technicians assigned to each incident deploy and maintain the equipment. A Communications Duty Officer (CDO) located in Boise manages equipment resources and frequency allocations across all incidents. By tracking the location and operating frequency of every repeater the CDO is able to determine areas for frequency reuse and minimize interference which greatly increases the efficient utilization of limited frequency resources. One challenge with deployable systems is the need for ongoing maintenance of the repeaters which are battery or solar operated. Typical battery life is from five to seven days depending on usage and most incidents have multiple repeaters deployed in locations that are difficult and time consuming to access. Even when powered with solar panels, technicians must periodically monitor battery levels to insure solar panels are charging effectively under adverse conditions such as during periods of inversions or overcast skies. Currently there is no way to remotely monitor battery levels so technicians must periodically travel to each repeater location to check battery voltages and establish a battery replacement schedule based on the observed rate of discharge of the batteries. Location information of deployed repeaters are recorded by the incident technician using a handheld GPS and relayed to the CDO (by email, fax or telephone). The CDO manually enters this location information into mapping software and the data is used by the CDO to track repeater locations, mitigate interference issues and plan for special frequency requests to deal with congestion from multiple incidents in the same area. Over the course of the fire season many changes are implemented and it can be challenging to maintain accurate location information as equipment is redeployed and personnel are rotated in and out. Occasionally the CDO must be able to exchange location information with regional communication coordinators who maintain their own databases. Updates must be manually propagated between the databases and it can be difficult to insure data is consistent and everyone is working with the latest information. The NIICD is issuing this request for information to seek comments from industry on how NIRSC should proceed to implement an automated location based tracking system for transportable repeaters. The system should also incorporate telemetry capabilities to provide the servicing technician the ability to remotely query parameters such as battery voltage and temperature to reduce the number of trips to the repeater. An integrated system is preferred but solutions that can provide only one or the other of these core capabilities will be considered. Functional requirements: 1). Automated location tracking 2). Capability to remotely query telemetry information 3). Average current draw (<100 mA) 4). Operate in temperatures -30 to 60 deg C. 5). Ability to integrate into existing enclosure (not larger than 2” depth x 10” x 10”). 6). Ability to interface to other map software. Respondents are requested to provide information on products that address the above requirements. Include the following information in your responses: 1). White papers or product literature describing proposed solution. 2). Technical / performance specifications. 3). References and contact information of customers that currently utilize the technology. 5). If modifications are necessary to existing equipment/programs, describe the level of modifications necessary. Responses will be used to determine if the Forest Service will proceed with a Request for Proposal. Only written responses will be evaluated. Any questions must be submitted in writing or via e-mail. Voicemails and telephone calls will not be permitted and may not be answered.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USDA/FS/024B/SN-2010-02/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: To Be Determined, Boise, Idaho, 83705, United States
- Zip Code: 83705
- Zip Code: 83705
- Record
- SN01996772-W 20091105/091103234542-023b81aba789199647f3f984d4381640 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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