GENERAL INFORMATION This is a Request for Information (RFI) only, as defined in FAR 15.201 (e), to obtain information about pricing, delivery, and other market information or capabilities for planning purposes. This RFI is not a request for competitive proposals; therefore, responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Companies that respond will not be paid for the information submitted. No telephone calls will be accepted requesting a bid package or solicitation. There is no bid package or solicitation at this time. In order to protect the integrity of any future procurement, additional information will not be given and no appointments for presentations will be made in reference to this RFI. All information received shall be safeguarded from unauthorized disclosure. Please do not submit any proprietary or classified information. All responsible sources may submit information in response to this RFI that shall be considered by the agency. Responses to this RFI are due no later than 29 February 2008. If late information is received, it may be considered by the Government Evaluation Team, depending on agency time constraints. All routine communications regarding this announcement should be directed to the contractual point of contact listed below. Please note: the Government is not required to provide feedback to RFI responders. Direct all inquiries to the Contracting Point of Contact: Carey Marlow at
contact@example.gov Note: There is no guarantee that any submitted topic will become a project and responders to this RFI will have no competitive advantage in receiving awards related to the submitted topic area. The information submitted in all responses may be utilized to help the Government further define its requirements. If the Government develops a project that addresses any submitted or similar topic, the resulting procurement will address technology and business specific requirements as defined by the Government. SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTATION Documentation shall be delivered to the Contracting Office at the address below: Department of Commerce, NOAA Central Region Acquisitions Division ATTN: Carey Marlow Room 1756, 601 E. 12th Street Kansas City, MO 64106 INTRODUCTION The National Weather Service (NWS) provides weather, hydrologic, and climate forecasts and warnings for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters and ocean areas, for the protection of life and property and the enhancement of the national economy. NWS data and products form a national information database and infrastructure which can be used by other governmental agencies, the private sector, the public, and the global community. BACKGROUND The NWS has been operating numerous Data Collection Platforms (DCPs) in support of the Upper Colorado data network for over 20 years. These DCPs have been recording temperature and precipitation. Many of these platforms are co-located with river staging equipment owned and maintained by various partner agencies, primarily the Bureau of Reclamation, and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). This critical weather and stage data is utilized by NWS forecast offices, as well as multiple U.S. State and local government agencies, as well as Mexico. The current DCPs and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) transmission equipment in the network requires upgrading and/or replacing for the following reasons: 1) DCP Equipment reliability due to age. 2) Lack of spare parts left to repair/replace broken DCP equipment. 3) Interfacing the DCPs will soon be impossible due to laptop compatibility with very antiquated DOS programs. 4) The current network transmits hourly via GOES transmission equipment at a rate of 100 bits per second. All owners of low data rate data transmission equipment (100 bits per second) have been mandated by National Environmental Satellite Data Information Service (NESDIS) to upgrade to high data rate (300 bits per second) data transmission within a few years. Therefore the low data rate GOES transmission equipment (100 bits per second) will need to be upgraded to GPS self timed high data rate capable data transmission equipment (300 bits per second). DESCRIPTION Using DCPs that can easily read and/or transmit weather data from precipitation sensors that are already on-site is critical. Each Upper Colorado site is equipped with Fischer-Porter model #: 35-1559EAXXXX1 precipitation accumulation gauge. The DCP must be compatible with this Fischer-Porter precipitation accumulation gauge. This ensures that there will be no loss of winter precipitation data by relying on a non-heated tipping gauge. The DCPs must be able to interface with the existing BEI shaft encoder model #: L25F-F48-1000-ABC-4469-LED-SM14-S, as well as a Synergenics model 503 shaft encoder. If this is not possible we will need information as to what is required to allow these DCP?s to be compatible, or information on an acceptable, compliant replacement for the shaft encoder models mentioned. There are approximately 70 DCP sites in the current network. These sites communicate by using GPS (Global Positioning System) self timed GOES satellite up link. The existing GOES transmitters will not transmit high data rate (300 bits per second). Therefore, the GOES transmission equipment will need to be updated in order to support the new high data rate transmission speed of 300 bits per second, as well as maintain compatibility with the new DCPs. Information on GOES transmission equipment, as well as data rate certification standards should be included in response to this request. There are no utilities available at the DCP locations. Therefore the entire network will need to rely on solar power, in a variety of extreme weather conditions. Information supporting the DCPs ability to operate in this configuration, as well as information on any specific hardware necessary to support this requirement should be included in response to this request. The temperature sensor currently installed at each site is Weathertronics model #: 4480, and we are not sure if it is compatible with new DCP technology. Therefore, we will need to know if the temperature sensor equipment will need to be updated in order to maintain compatibility with the new DCPs, or if the new DCP will interface with the existing sensor. If the sensor is not compatible with the new DCP, we will need to acquire information on acceptable compatible replacements for these sensors. Information on any associated radiation shielding and cabling should also be included in response to this request. These DCPs will need the ability to accept additional data collection sensor or devices. The DCP will need to have a minimum of 8 ports in order to support this potential expansion. Training will need to be provided in order for the NWS to effectively install and maintain this network. We need to acquire information on available training, and the locations where these training sessions are available. We require information as to the length of manufacturers? warranty. This equipment must be commercial off the shelf (COTS) product that will continue to be manufactured throughout the duration of the deployment of this network, and supported for a period of no less than 15 years after purchase. All software, interface hardware, repair and training support must also remain in place for the expected life of this network. Please include with your response: Descriptive Literature Performance Specifications Technical Specifications Commitment to follow-on support Limited pricing information including GSA schedule pricing and contract number Product Availability Past Performance Information Business Size REQUIRED RESPONSES Limit RFI responses to 25 pages. Responses must be unclassified and contain no proprietary information. Responses are preferred in the following format: TITLE: Upper Colorado River DCP Replacement Project. SUBMITTER INFORMATION: Responses should include the company name, location of planned production facility, and the title, telephone number, and mail and e-mail addresses of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss the submission. GOVERNMENT CUSTOMERS/INTERESTED ORGANIZATIONS: Identify the government customer organizations or suggested other government organizations cognizant of the technology/production issues and challenges. This should be the organizations/agencies that have the technical or programmatic expertise for assessing the values of the project to potential government customers. Identify the appropriate government programs (and/or point of contact), including organization, mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone and FAX numbers. Points of contact that can provide additional information useful to the project review should be included in an Appendix. (Pages in the Appendix do not count in the page limitation.) Letters from current or potential government customers expressing an interest in addressing the challenges are encouraged. Such letters may be included in the Appendix, again without impacting the page limitation.
