SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- AMPEX 3000 SERIES TAPE DRIVE SPECIALIZED VENDOR SUPPORT
- Notice Date
- 7/9/2018
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541690
— Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- USGS NATIONAL ACQUISITION BRANCH 205 NATIONAL CENTER 12201 SUNRISE VALLEY DRIVE RESTON VA 20192 US
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- 140G0118Q0317
- Response Due
- 7/20/2018
- Archive Date
- 7/21/2018
- Point of Contact
- Demby, Nicole
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Ampex 3000 Series Tape Drive Specialized Vendor Support for the Landsat Global Archive Consolidation (LGAC) Initiative. The US Geological Survey (USGS) needs to assess industry interest and capabilities for assisting in the LGAC initiative in obtaining a copy of the complete historical Landsat archives of unique data downlinked to international ground stations since the inception of the Landsat Program over 45 years ago. In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.215-3, Request for Information for Solicitation and Planning Purposes (October 1997) and 10.002(b)2)(i) and (iii), this notice is issued solely for information, planning and market research purposes. This Request for Information (RFI) does not constitute a Solicitation or an indication the Government will contract for the products or services contained in this notice. This notice is not to be construed as an acquisition Request for Proposal (RFP) or Request for Quotation (RFQ), nor is any commitment on the part of the Government to award a contract implied, nor does the Government intend to pay for any cost associated with submission of the information being requested or reimburse expenses incurred to interested parties for responses to this notice. Any response received will not be used as a proposal. Please ensure that any sensitive or protected information is marked as such and the government will ensure this information is not released externally. The intent of this RFI is to obtain capability statements from interested parties that can provide Ampex 3000 Series tape drive specialized vendor support for the Landsat Global Archive Consolidation (LGAC) Initiative. The USGS is searching for small business concerns, i.e., 8(a) businesses, HUBZone businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, woman-owned small businesses, veteran-owned small businesses or service-disable veteran owned small businesses capable of providing the described products or services. Large businesses are also encouraged to respond to this RFI. The USGS is also requesting confirmation whether the requested products/services can be obtained through an existing GSA schedules contract or through open market means. The resultant contract, if there is such, is anticipated to be firm fixed price. The procurement is anticipated to occur in FY18. RFI REQUIREMENTS: USGS EROS requires Ampex 3000 Series tape drive specialized vendor support for the Landsat Global Archive Consolidation (LGAC) Initiative. In short, the LGAC initiative attempts to obtain a copy of the complete historical Landsat archive of unique data downlinked to international ground stations since the inception of the Landsat Program over 45 years ago. Over the last approximately 7 years, the LGAC initiative has been tremendously successful in recovering over 5 million previously unavailable Landsat scenes. However, many of the most difficult scenes to recover now remain. The LGAC initiative requires working Ampex 3000 Series tape drives to be able to attempt to read and ingest High Density Tapes (HDTs). EROS currently has (1) FR-3025 and (3) HBR-3000 series drives that were once used in support of the Wideband Video (WBV) tape transcription project. However, these drives are over 15 years out of production, and Ampex has stopped vendor servicing of these drives. Additionally, the reproduce heads used in them are no longer produced or being supported by the manufacturer Spin Physics. At this time, it is unknown how much head life (hours) is left on the heads currently installed in the (4) 3000 Series tape drives. Also, (4) shelf spare Spin Physics reproduce heads exist that have unknown life, and it's not real clear if the reproduce heads are interchangeable between the FR-3025 and the HBR-3000 drives. The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) unit of the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation has around 875 High Density Tapes (HDT) Ampex tapes containing TM and MSS data on them from 1980's that need to be read and ingested in support of the LGAC initiative. Therefore, the USGS requires highly specialized vendor support from an experienced Ampex tape drive expert with knowledge of Ampex hardware and firmware to support the following major activities: 1. Assessment: Assess the operational capability of the multiple Ampex 3000 Series tape drives currently at EROS 2. Operational Roadmap: Provide technical consultation support to EROS staff to develop a roadmap resulting in the old Wide Band Video (WBV) System (consisting of Ampex 3000 Series tape drives, Tape Interface Unit (TIU), and a Capture & Transfer System (CTS)) to be stood-up and resulting in as many operational Ampex 3000 Series tape drives to the extent possible 3. Sustainment Plan: Provide technical guidance and consultation for development of a multi-year hardware sustainment plan by EROS staff. If necessary, research and recommend Ampex components 4. Ongoing Vendor Support: After the initial support of standing up of the new system, assessment of the Ampex drives and the operational capability has been restored, provide residual level of ongoing vendor support as needed Key Activities (Visit #1): - Travel to USGS/EROS for a 5-day on-site visit to work with TSSC staff (2 partial days for traveling (arrive on Monday and leave on Friday and 3 full days on-site) - Provide technical expertise on interfacing the Ampex 3000 Series drives with Tape Interface Unit (TIU) and Capture & Transfer System (CTS) - Provide technical expertise on Ampex 3000 Series tape drives - Assess (4) spare reproduce heads and determine tape drive compatibility - Provide guidance on standard operating procedures to do alignments of Ampex 3000 Series drives - Provide technical recommendation and roadmap for preventative maintenance on Ampex 3000 Series drives - Develop test procedures for performing loop tests with Ampex 3000 Series drives - Assist with set up with the interface protocol to command and control the drives - Provide technical recommendation for hardware logistics and/or tools such as special test tapes or tools required to sustain the drives - Assess sample tapes received from Brazil and determine if tapes (recorded on Ampex FR-1928) can be read (ingested) on any of the Ampex 3000 Series drives - Participate in an operational test of reading tapes and provide any technical recommendations on tuning drives to get consistent results from these drives - Provide technical expertise and recommendations on ways to extend reproduce head life in Ampex 3000 Series drives - Following the on-site visit, provide reach-back vendor support via phone or e-mail through the duration of the Period of Performance Key Deliverables (Visit #1): - Provide guidance on standard operating procedures to perform alignments of the Ampex 3000 Series tape drives - Provide technical recommendations and a roadmap for preventative maintenance of the Ampex Series tape drives - Develop test procedures for performing loop tests with the Ampex 3000 Series tape drives - Provide technical recommendations for hardware logistics and/or tools such as special test tapes or tools required to sustain drives - Provide technical recommendations on tuning drives to get consistent results from the Ampex 3000 Series tape drives - Provide technical recommendations on ways to extend reproduce head life in Ampex 3000 Series drives Key Activities (Visit #2): - Travel to USGS/EROS for a 5-day on-site visit to work with TSSC staff (2 partial days for traveling (arrive on Monday and leave on Friday and 3 full days on-site) - Assess Ampex tapes received from Thailand and determine if tapes (originally recorded on 14-track Bell & Howell tape recorder) can be read (ingested) on 28-track Ampex 3000 Series drives - Provide technical expertise on reading 14-track Ampex HDTs recorded on a Bell & Howell tape recorder using the 28-track Ampex 3000 Series drives - Provide technical expertise on Ampex 3000 Series tape drives and any adjustments required to read a 14-track tape on 28-track drives - Provide guidance on standard operating procedures to do alignments of Ampex 3000 Series drives to read tapes - Participate in an operational test of reading tapes and provide any technical recommendations on tuning drives to get consistent results from these drives - Following the on-site visit, provide reach-back vendor support via phone or e-mail through the duration of the Period of Performance Key Deliverables (Visit #2): - Provide guidance on standard operating procedures to perform alignments of the Ampex 3000 Series tape drives - Provide technical recommendations on tuning drives to get consistent results from the Ampex 3000 Series tape drives - Provide technical recommendations on reading 14-track Ampex HDTs recorded on a Bell & Howell tape recorder using the 28-track Ampex 3000 Series drives ACTION: Interested vendors who believe they have the capability to provide the required product/services as defined are invited to submit a Capability Statement, not to exceed 5 pages including attachments, exhibits, etc. Response should include the following information: 1. Company name, address, point of contact, email address, and business type (i.e. 8(a), HUBZone, veteran-owned small business, etc.). 2. Capabilities Statement. 3. Approximate cost information (i.e. rough order of magnitude). 4. Past performance information should be submitted for similar projects conducted within the last three (3) years. If possible, three (3) past performance examples are desired. 5. Do not provide only general brochures or generic information. USGS will not accept unsolicited proposals related to the subject of this notice. Interested vendors must provide their response via email to the Contract Specialist, Nicole Demby, ndemby@usgs.gov with the subject line reading "USGS Ampex 3000 Series Specialized Vendor Support". Responses are due via email to ndemby@usgs.gov by 2:00 PM ET, Friday, July 20, 2018. The response must be specific to the RFI requirements/qualifications listed above.
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