59 -- Battery Test Equipment

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation is hereby amended to extend the response date to May 2, 2005 at 12:00 pm (EST), and to answer the following contractor questions:1.) Items 1) d) and 2) d) the accuracy is stated as 0.02 FSR. Is 0.02 2% or is it 0.02%? Answer: 1.d.1)d) and 1.d.3)d) both contain typographic omissions. They should read: "0.02% FSR". If the FSR is 10 amps; the measurement accuracy requirement would be (0.0002)(10A) = 0.002A = 2mA. 2.) Also what do you mean by FSR? I assume it is Full Scale Range; however, what is Full Scale Range of a 2 A channel? Is it 2 A or 4 Amps (-2 Amps to +2 Amps)? Answer: "FSR" means Full Scale Range. The FSR for a two-amp channel is two amps magnitude (absolute value), but the channel must be capable of measuring from two amps positive (+2A) to two amps negative (-2A) as with a common digital multimeter. The digital range is two amps and polarity is indicated separately. 3.) Does the equipment need to be off the shelf or will a custom solution be acceptable? Answer: The desired equipment is expected to be a custom combination of identifiable "off the shelf" modules that have been proven in other applications. "Off the shelf" modules of a design that has provided reliable service in previously built equipment will have a record of performance and reliability. The time permitted for delivery of the desired equipment is not sufficient to prove the reliability of a completely custom design. A modular design will also better facilitate maintenance and repair. In a modular design, if one channel requires repair, it should not force the entire piece of equipment to be idle until repairs are completed 4.) Do you have a price history for subject item? Answer: No 5.) Has this item been manufactured before? Answer: Yes and No. Yes, battery test equipment which will perform all of the functions specified for the subject equipment has been manufactured before. No, not all of the desired functions are available in one existing unit as presently known to the Government. Some existing battery test equipment can perform some of the functions of the desired equipment; other existing test equipment can perform other functions. We are not aware of any battery test equipment which performs all of the desired functions and which has been built as one unit. For example, battery test equipment is available which can charge and measure the capacity of lead acid, nickel cadmium, and nickel metal hydride batteries, but it does not handle smart batteries and it cannot monitor the performance of an external charger. Other battery test equipment has been built to perform tests on many different kinds (battery technologies), but a special holder for each technology (or even size --AAA, AA, D, coin, etc.) may be required and the data cannot be ported to a spread sheet program such as Excel for plotting as charging and discharging curves. The desired system is intended for testing as wide a variety of batteries as possible at a reasonable cost, for teaching FDA regulatory staff about battery technology, and for conducting research in battery, fuel cell, and super capacitor applications to medical devices.