Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20591, ASU-330

70 -- FLIGHT DATA INPUT/OUTPUT IFDIO) PERIPHERAL KEYBOARD RELACEMENT SOL DTFA01-96-R-18495 DUE 012197 POC Susan Thomas, 202/366-5641, Contracting Officer, Mark C. Brady, 202/366-5917 In accordance with the Federal Aviation Administration Acquisition Management System (FAAAMS), Section 3.2.1.3.12, industry is hereby informed that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has a requirement valued at over $50,000. The purpose of this Screening Information Request (SIR) is to perform a Market Survey and solicit information from interested and capable companies who want to participate in this procurement. The FAA has a requirement to provide air traffic control towers with the capability to exchange flight plan information with the associated air route traffic control center (ARTCC) host computer. This capability is currently provided by the Flight Data Input/Output (FDIO) system. To meet this requirement the FAA plans to replace the FDIO peripheral keyboards currently in service at Air Traffic Control Facilities nationwide. The FAA anticipates procuring 1800-2000 keyboards and engineering services for the FDIO project. Specifications -- The following requirements shall be met with commercially available off-the-shelf hardware, with custom keycaps and modified software or firmware. The serial keyboard interface shall include the following: EIA RS-449 balanced operation as specified in EIA RS-422; a full-duplex interface capable of operating at 2400 Baud; each character shall comprise of eleven bits consisting of eight (8) data bits, one (1) start bit, one (1) parity bit, and one (1) stop bit; odd parity checking; parity errors communicated across the serial interface; the pin out of the DB25S connector shall be as follows -- pin 1 is frame ground, pin 7 is signal ground, pin 15 is negative input, pin 17 is positive input, pin 19 is negative transmit, and pin 25 is positive transmit; and the keyboard shall be equipped with repeat-key functionality. Modifications -- The keyboard shall be modified from a standard commercially available keyboard in the following manner: a minimum of seventy-two (72) keys shall be available for custom keycaps, extending less than half an inch from the keyboard frame, including the space bar and irregular sized keycaps such as Shift, Control and/or Enter; all keys shall be programmable for up to three hexidecimal codes each (normal, shift, control); keycaps shall be engraved as per Table 1 (Call contact point to receive a fax copy of Table 1); a prototype keyboard shall be provided in a layout similar to Figure 1 (Call contact point to receive a fax copy of Figure 1), with the understanding that this may be modified; the hexidecimal coding of the keys shall be as shown in Table 1 and Figure 1; any excess keys shall be left blank and disabled, or preferably removed; if an AC power switch is provided, it shall be located behind the keyboard; and there shall be a visible indicator, such as a green LED, when the keyboard is powered on. Configuration -- The keyboard shall be available in two configurations: a keyboard assembled with standard non-illuminated keys and a keyboard configured with backlighting. Backlit Specifications -- The backlit keyboard shall differ from the standard non-illuminated keyboard by adhering to the additional specifications: all keycaps shall be self-illuminated by conventional methods, either the keycap shall be lit contrasting with dark alphanumerics/symbols, or the keycap shall be dark with lit alphanumerics/symbols; the keyboard shall have an adjustable instrument such as a knob that controls the backlighting intensity; and the consumable lighting source or bulb for the backlit keys shall be commercially available and replaceable with no special tools or requirements. Keyboard characteristics -- The keyboard shall include the following equipment characteristics: the keyboard shall operate on 120 volt +/- 10%, 60 Hz power; the keyboard shall consume less than 250 watts in the specified voltage range; and the mean time between failures shall be greater than or equal to 8,000 operating hours. Physical characteristics: the keyboard shall weigh less than 10 lbs.; the keyboard shall be contained in the following dimensions -- 2.5 inches high, 20 inches wide, 9 inches long; the power supply shall be contained within the following dimensions -- 4" x 4" x 5"; and the power supply and the cable connecting the keyboard with the power supply shall be commercially available from multiple vendors for various lengths up to fifteen feet. Environmental conditions -- the keyboard shall operate in the following environments: temperature 50(F to 104(F; relative humidity 20% to 80% non-condensing; altitude up to 8000 feet; maximum temperature gradient of 15(F per hour; and the keyboard shall accommodate shipping and storage temperature ranges from -20(F to 140(F. Safety: the keyboard shall be approved by Underwriter's Laboratory and the keyboard shall comply with FAA Class A Radio Frequency Interference Regulations. Host Computer Interface (the host computer interface is described in further detail in the Software Interface Control Document [SCID]. Note the acronyms RFSP and FSP refer to the printer, [replacement] flightstrip printer). The keyboard shall use the following status sequence: the keyboard shall accept the following status request from the HOST; ESC[xETX. The keyboard shall respond to the status request as follows: X-OFF (maximum response time of 3.0 seconds); ACK/NAK (maximum response time 0.9 seconds)[the keyboard will respond with an ACK if it receives the request for status message correctly and is able to respond with a correct status byte. An ACK is the correct response, even if the returned status byte indicates that an error condition exists, assuming the keyboard is able to correctly return the status byte. If the request for status message is received with a parity error, or the status byte cannot be successfully returned, the keyboard will return a NAK.]; STATUS BYTE (maximum response time 0.01 seconds)[If a NAK is returned, indicating some sort of error condition, the status byte may or may not accompany the response.]; Bits 0-2 -- Device Code (Keyboard Device Code is 1, or 01 Hex); Bit 3 -- On line (always set to default, 1); Bit 4 -- Character Parity Error (set to 1 for bad parity); Bit 5 -- Not Used (Default=0); Bit 6 -- Device Fault (Default=0); Bit 7 Not Used (Default=0); and X-ON (maximum response time 0.01 seconds). Bit 0 is the least significant bit (LSB), and bit 7 is the most significant bit (MSB). The keyboard shall respond to a diagnostic request, ESC[c ETX, with an X-ON. The keyboard shall initiate an X-ON upon power up. It is requested that all interested offerors submit a detailed description of what they have commercially available today that meets, or could be easily modified to meet the keyboard hardware specifications contained herein. Special attention should be paid to the specification on the RS-422 interface and the backlit specifications. There are 11 special keycaps required. Include with your description a matrix tying the specifications outlined herein with your documentation. Offerors should also include a non-binding quote on costs, segregating start-up costs from unit production costs. Offerors should indicate if they have ISO 9000 certification. Responses should include the following: description of similar modified keyboard efforts; copies of commercial literature; pictures/specifications; past performance on similar efforts within the past three years; point of contact listing name, address, phone no., FAX no., and Internet address; and capability to deliver the required supplies/services. Companies interested in responding to this market survey should submit their written response no later than January 21, 1997, to Federal Aviation Administration, Attn: Mark C. Brady, Contracting Officer, ASU-330E, 800 Independence Ave., SW, Room 406, Washington, DC 20591. All responses must be marked with the SIR number DTFA01-96-R-18495. This is not a request for proposals. No unsolicited proposals are desired and none will be accepted. The FAA is not liable for costs associated with the preparation or submittals of inquiries or responses and shall not reimburse firms for any costs incurred in responding to this market survey. (0352)

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