REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) REPLACEMENT FOR INTERMEDIATE FREQUENCY DIGITIZER/RECEIVER (IFDR) FOR WSR-88D NEXT GENERATION WEATHER RADAR (NEXRAD)

This RFI is issued solely for information and market research planning purposes; it does not constitute a solicitation or a promise to issue a solicitation or Request for Proposals (RFP). This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service. The Government does not intend either to award a contract based on this RFI or to pay for the information that is submitted. This RFI is intended solely for informational and planning purposes as a part of NWS market research. No solicitation, statement of work, specification, or requirements package exists at this time. Respondents are advised that the National Weather Service (NWS) is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of information received, or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted under this RFI. Any information that the vendor considers proprietary should be clearly marked as such. Clearly marked responses to this RFI indicating that information therein is proprietary or represents confidential business information will be received and held in confidence for U.S. Government use only. The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. All submissions become the property of the Federal Government, and will not be returned. Purpose of this RFI: The NWS, Radar Operations Center (ROC) WSR-88D NEXRAD Radar Program located in Norman, OK is conducting market research seeking information regarding future development of the INTERMEDIATE FREQUENCY DIGITIZER/RECEIVER (IFDR); herein called IFDR, Agency Stock Number Reference Identification R400-4/104A38, that is used within the WSR-88D NEXRAD Doppler Radar transmitter/receiver. The NWS is seeking to gather ideas; recommendations, and best practices from industry on how to advance and/or redesign the IFDR to meet future technology advancements. Background: The NWS ROC NEXRAD Program is responsible for the life cycle support of the WSR-88D NEXRAD Radar and related systems. There are 159 operational radars located within the continental United States and selected sites overseas. Each radar system consists of three parts; Radar Data Acquisition (RDA), Radar Product Generator (RPG), and various end product display systems. The ROC utilizes the IFDR within the receiver cabinet of the RDA to send/receive horizontal and vertical electromagnetic signals from the receiver/transmitter through a feedhorn via the RDA Antenna Array Assembly out to its maximum instrument transmission range. Once these signals intercept scatters in the atmosphere, they return to the radar via the feedhorn of the RDA Antenna Array Assembly and are then processed by the IFDR within the receiver/transmitter cabinet. The current digital receiver used in the WSR-88D is the Vaisala RVP901 IFDR (Intermediate Frequency Digital Receiver). The Source Control Document is ROC Drawing 2210089-201 (attached to this RFI SS). This drawing establishes the WSR-88D requirements for the IFDR. The IFDR is located in the WSR-88D Receiver Cabinet, housed within the WSR-88D RDA Shelter. In all, the IFDR accepts four IF inputs from the WSR-88D: Horizontal and Vertical returns from the WSR-88D Receiver front-end A reference clock signal from the WSR-88D RF Signal Generator An sample of the transmitted pulse from the WSR-88D Transmitter The IFDR applies a digital matched filter to the IF analog inputs and then down-converts these signals to baseband digital �In-Phase� and �Quadrature� data. Prior to delivery to the WSR-88D Data Processor, the IFDR corrects the phase of the baseband I and Q data using the transmitted pulse sample. The WSR-88D Data Processor then processes the received baseband I and Q data and generates the six WSR-88D Base Products. The IFDR also sends digital triggers to the WSR-88D RF Signal Generator and Transmitter to generate the transmitted pulse, to control the Transmitter pulse width, and to regulate the Transmitter�s modulator pulse generator. Lastly, the IFDR receives fault outputs from the WSR-88D RF Signal Generator to be routed to the WSR-88D Data Processor. Discussion: The current IFDR unit is expected to reach end-of-life (EOL) approximately by the year 2028 with end-of-support by 2030. The NWS is looking to ensure that a digital receiver is available in the future which will be compatible for use within the NWS ROC WSR-88D NEXRAD Doppler Radar. It is therefore anticipated that the unit chosen would require efforts to include hardware and software redesign. Requirements Any future IFDR units will require the following minimum hardware and software technical aspects for digital receivers to be used within the NWS WSR-88D NEXRAD Doppler radar: A. Electrical: Each unit shall: Provide baseband 16-bit floating point In-phase and Quadrature data products to the WSR-88D RDA Data Processor using, at a minimum, Gigabit Ethernet Provide 16-bit raw IF samples from any input to the WSR-88D RDA Data Processor using, at a minimum, Gigabit Ethernet Provide unit status and fault signals shall be sent to the WSR-88D RDA Data Processor using, at a minimum, Gigabit Ethernet Provide configuration and control commands from the WSR-88D RDA Data Processor using, at a minimum, Gigabit Ethernet Contain an Internal oscillator/clock generator. Minimum requirements are:Must be able to lock to external clock reference provided by WSR-88DExternal clock reference from WSR-88D Power level: At least +6 dBm Frequency: 57.5491 MHz +/- 0.0005% (+/- 287 Hz) Stability: 0.001 ppm/sec Drift is less than 3.45 Hz every minute Internal oscillator(s) and/or clock generators should have the minimum performance across the above operating temperature Frequency: 35 to 100 MHz Jitter: Less than 1.0 ps Stability: 1 ppm/sec Contain analog, anti-alias band-pass filters. At a minimum must provide: Unit shall have at least three (3) anti-alias band-pass filters with the following characteristics Center frequency: 57.5 MHz 0.5 dB bandwidth: 8 MHz minimum 3 dB bandwidth: 15 MHz maximum 20 dB minimum rejection after +/- 9 MHz from center frequency 35 dB minimum rejection after +/- 10 MHz from center frequency Provide IF Input Signals and Power Levels Indication (after the anti-alias bandpass filters). At a minimum provide:Intermediate Frequency Inputs at 57.5 MHzUnit shall accept at least three (3) IF inputs with saturation power of +8 dBm and an absolute maximum of at least +20 dBm without damage Horizontal Receive Vertical Receive Transmitter Output Sample Used as reference phase for receive data Unit shall accept at least one (1) clock reference input with input power of at least +6 dBm without distortion Clock reference input must be used by internal oscillators/clock generators as a timing reference Provide Analog-to-Digital Converter Performance. At a minimum each unit:Sample all IF inputs with the following characteristics Resolution: No less than 16 bits Sample rate: No less than 35 MHz and up to at least 100 MHz Can be fixed by manufacturer or software defined Dynamic Range: minimum 93 dB; preferred 95 dB or better Linearity: +/- 0.50 dB Differential Linearity between any two (2) inputs: +/- 0.05 dB Unit shall support a user-configurable digital finite-impulse response (FIR) matched filter. At a minimum: Provide matched filter length shall be configurable to at least 8 usec Provide matched filter BW shall be configurable down to 150 kHz Provide Digital Inputs/Outputs. At a minimum:Must be able to produce TTL or CMOS RS-422 (balanced) outputsShall provide Triggers for pulsed radar (PRF range 100 to 1600 Hz), derived from internal clock generatorShall be able to support at least three (3) trigger patterns corresponding to WSR-88D Transmitter Pulse Width and Range Spacing One with range spacing of 250 meters One with range spacing of 500 meters One with range spacing of 50 meters Shall be able to generate at least eight (8) output triggers that are user configurable For example, the existing WSR-88D Transmitter requires eight (8) total, active low triggers. Seven (7) of the triggers must have a configurable pulse length up to two (2) microseconds. One (1) of the triggers must be configurable up to 10 microseconds Shall provide at least two (2) pulse-width control signals Shall provide provide serial data containing phase control bits and �pulse-rate interval� bits Phase control is 7 bits Pulse Rate Interval is 3 bits Must be able to accept TTL or CMOS unbalanced inputs Shall receive at least four (4) fault signals delivered by WSR-88D RDA Data Processor. These faults are then provided the to WSR-88D RDA Data Processor through the Ethernet connection, along with any other status/fault signals produced by the digital receiver B. Control Software PC control software shall work on a 64-bit Linux-based operating system C. Power 120 VAC, 60 Hz, 1.8 A supplied by WSR-88D AC-to-DC power supply, if switching, shall not interfere with digital receiver or existing WSR-88D equipment D .Environmental Temperature Operating Temperature: 0 to +50 deg C Storage Temperature: -55 to +125 deg C Altitude Shall operate without fail up to at least 3300 meters above sea level Humidity Operating: 15 to 80% Storage: 5 to 100% E. Reliability MTBF of at least 50,000 hours; preferred 100,000 hours Administration Interested parties are requested to provide an information package addressing their approach to meeting the requirements listed in sections 2 through 4. All information submitted in support of this announcement is voluntary; the United States Government will not pay for information requested nor will it compensate respondents for any costs incurred in developing information provided to the United States Government. The response date for this RFI is November 30, 2022. No phone calls or collect calls will be accepted. All responses to this RFI may be sent to the technical contact Mr. Daniel Hoffman, email daniel.t.hoffman@noaa.gov with courtesy copy to the Contracting Officer Mr. Nicholas DeGuire. NOTE: Ensure that all responses have �NEXRADIFDR00001� in the title of the email. Avoid providing proprietary information in your responses or questions as our intent is to post all questions and answers to the Federal Business Opportunities website. Submission of questions will be deemed permission to post the question with a response at https://www.SAM.gov/.