US Army CECOM, CECOM Acquisition Center, Ft. Monmouth, NJ 07703-5008

61 -- MARKET SURVEY FOR RADIO ACCESS UNIT (RAU) RANGE EXTENSION PROGRAM POC Walter Grudus, Engineer, (908) 532-8489 E-MAIL: RAU Range Extension Program, defazioj@doim6.monmouth.army.mil. Project Manager, Joint Tactical Area Communications is considering a product improvement program for the Mobile Subscriber Equipment (MSE) RAU shelter assemblage AN/TRC-191 to enhance it's radio area coverage. The RAU contains eight RT-1539 transceivers which are coupled to a single antenna via a multicoupler. This market survey is therefore seeking information regarding industry's capability to apply the latest technology to maximize the RAU's effective radiated power with the goal of doubling it's communication range provide the RAU's transceivers operate in the VHF frequency range. The RAU provides the MSE with a mobile radio subsystem with a full duplex operation using a high-band, low-band concept to separate the transmit and receive frequencies. The transceivers at the RAU use the high band to transmit and the low band to receive. The MSE mobile subsystem was designed to operate in two frequency modes referred to as CONUS and OCONUS. In the CONUS mode the low-band frequency is 30 to 35 MHz, and the high band frequency is 40 to 50 MHz. In the more commonly used OCONUS mode the low-band frequency is 30 to 51 MHz and the high-band frequency is 59 to 88 MHz. A separate diplexer is used for each frequency mode and the selection of the frequency mode is done by operation of a front panel switch on the multicoupler. The multicoupler connects the RT-1539's to a mast mounted antenna when the shelter is in the RAU mode. It connects the 8th radio to a shelter mounted whip antenna when the shelter is in the Mobile Subscriber Radiotelephone Terminal (MSRT) mode which is normally used when the RAU is in motion. The capability to change between the RAU and MSRT mode is also provided by a front panel switch on the multicoupler. General Interfaces are described by the following: Radio Transmit Ports -- The transmit ports of up to eight radios are interfaced to the multicoupler at 50 ohms with a maximum RF power of 16 watts per radio transmitter. Radio Receive Ports -- The receive ports of up to eight radios areinterfaced to the multicoupler at 50 ohms. Multicoupler Antenna Port (Mast Antenna) -- The multicoupler interfaces to the Mast Mounted Antenna at 50 ohms. At this port, the multicoupler outputs transmitted RF power to the antenna and accepts received RF signals from the antenna. Multicoupler Antenna Port (Whip Antenna) -- The multicoupler interfaces to the shelter mounted whip antenna and the eighth radio transmit port when the RAU is in the MSRT mode. Multicoupler VSWR Alarm Interface -- The multicoupler includes internal sensing of forward and reflected RF power with respect to the antenna port. These sensed voltages are fed to the VSWR ALARM connector for interfacing to the RAU's Group Logic Units, LG-1/M2. An alarm trips in this latter unit when the VSWR at the multicoupler antenna port exceed 4 to 1. Multicoupler RF Port Impedance -- VSWR at any one of the eight transmission or eight reception ports with all other RF ports terminated in 50 ohms, is less than 2 to 1. Multicoupler Port to PortIsolation -- The isolation between any two transmit ports is no less than 18db with all other RF ports terminated in 50 ohms. The isolation between any transmit port and any receive port is no less than 60 db with all other RF ports terminated in 50 ohms at any frequency in the transmit band. General Constraint and Limitations -- If the existing multicoupler is replaced in any proposed improvement(s), the following information provides the space that would be made available in the RAU shelter. Additional operational conditions are also described. Physical Characteristics: (a) Weight -- Shall not exceed 50 lb. (b) Size -- Shall not exceed the following: Width 20.25", Depth 14.17", Height 8.07" (c) Environmental Typical military conditions encountered in a non-environmental controlled shelter mounted on a HMMWV. (d) Reliability -- Shall achieve a Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) of 2,500 hours, while operating in a ground mobile environment at an ambient temperature of 25 degrees C. (e) Maintainability -- Shall achieve a Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) of 15 minutes or less at the unit level of maintenance. (f) Transportability -- Must withstand the shock and vibration caused by transportation within vehicles, aircraft and equipment shelters in which it is properly installed or packaged for shipment. Shock and vibration conditions will include those associated with loading, unloading and shipment by rail, water or air, as well as those conditions associated with mobile operation in tactical radio communication service. (g) Must be electromagnetically compatible with the other equipment contained in the RAU shelter nor violate the MSE Tempest requirements. No safety or hazardous conditions shall be introduced into the RAU shelter. (h) If power is required, approximately 500 watts @26.5 VDC could be made available. No degradation in performance or damage should occur if the voltage source varies from 20 to 30 Volts DC. Response -- If it is determined that a commercial procurement would best mess the needs of the government, Request for Proposal will be issued. Interested parties are invited to submit a written response to this market survey within 30 days. Responses should include, as a minimum, the following:(1) Detailed technical description of the capabilities satisfying this requirements, (2) Available test data verifying operational characteristics, (3) Provide general cost information to include most economical order quantities (lots of 10, 100 and greater), (4) Technical and Managerial Qualifications (experience, facilities, staffing, etc.), (5) Past Performance on government contracts of like or similar nature, (6) Whether your company plans on bidding as a prime or subcontractor, (7) The size and status of your company (based on SIC Code 3699 and the related small business size standard of 750 employees), (8) Point of contact for any additional inquiries if necessary. All responses and question concerning this announcement be addressed to: OPM JTACS, ATTN: SFAE-C3S-JTC-ITI (W. GRUDUS), Ft. Monmouth, NJ., 07703-5506, Telephone (908) 532-84889 or 3525. This announcement does not constitute a request for proposal, but is solely for the purpose of planning by surveying the market for qualified sources interested in the above requirement. No formal solicitation is available a this time. (0057)

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