ESC/MCK, 50 Griffiss St., Hanscom AFB MA 01731-1620

58 -- TACTICAL UHF SATCOM POWER AMPLIFIER/PREAMPLIFIER POC Contract Specialist: Capt Charles Bayless 781-271-6272; Mr. Joe Zimmerman, Contracting Officer, (781) 271-6279 WEB: ESC Business Opportunities Web Page, http://www.herbb.hanscom.af.mil. E-MAIL: Click Here to E-mail the POC, charles.bayless@hanscom.af.mil. The MILSATCOM Terminals Program Office ESC/MCP, at the Electronics Systems Center, Hanscom AFB, MA is seeking market availability and quotations for a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)/non-developmental item (NDI) UHF SATCOM PA/Preamp for the Air Force ground tactical operations with ultra-high frequency (UHF) satellite communications (SATCOM) terminals. The PA/Preamp shall provide the ability to remote, through a single coaxial cable, a tactical ground UHF SATCOM antenna from the receiver/transmitter (R/T) part of the terminal. The government requires that the PA/Preamp be Jointly Interoperability Test Command (JITC) certified. If however, the required certifications have not been obtained, responses to this market survey should include a plan and schedule to obtain these certifications prior to delivery of production articles. The PA/Preamp should be JITC certified for UHF SATCOM and Demand Assignment Multiple Access (DAMA) operation in accordance with MIL-STD-188-181, MIL-STD-188-182 and MIL-STD-188-183, as used in conjunction with the DAMA compatible terminals including the AN/PSC-5 family of radios, the AN/PRC-117F and LST-5D. The PA/Preamp will provide sufficient radio frequency (RF) gain and power output capability in the transmit mode and a good receive mode noise figure (NF) to support anticipated half duplex SATCOM links, and include diplexer filtering to reject potentially interfering signals. A bypass mode should be available when power to the PA/Preamp is disabled. The UHF ranges of operation are: Transmit, 292 to 318 MHz; Receive, 243 to 270 MHz; and Bypass, 225 to 400 MHz. The medium to high gain performance of ground tactical SATCOM antennas (and associated RF cabling) which could be used with this equipment determine a desirable range of transmit output power between 2 Watts (W) or 3 dBW (decibels relative to 1 Watt) and 20 W (13 dBW). Operator selectable power settings with 2 dB maximum increments are required. Thus, covering the full range, six desirable nominal settings would be availableat 3 dBW, 5 dBW, 7 dBW, 9 dBW, 11 dBW, and 13 dBW. Finer increments, 1 dB for example, represent an objective capability. The receive preamplifier should have a maximum noise figure of 2.5 dB in the receive range, and have adequate gain such that when terminated into a net 16 dB noise figure (remotely located R/T NF plus cable), the system noise figure desirably is degraded minimally from this performance, and not greater than 4.0 dB net. Receive gain downward adjustment capability is desirable to be able to minimize cosite interference if necessary as a tradeoff for net system noise figure. Bypass mode insertion loss should be 1 dB maximum. Other desirable characteristics of the PA/Preamp include: receive band rejection in transmit mode (243 to 270 MHz) of 70 dB minimum, transmit harmonic rejection of 60 dB minimum, out-of-band rejection in receive mode (DC to 230 MHz and 292 to 1000 MHz) of 50 dB minimum, and receive/transmit compatibility with up to 1.5:1 VSWR. The PA/Preamp shall be normally in the receive mode until an adequate transmit drive level is detected at the input. Rated transmit power should be available with a maximum of 1 W (0 dBW) of input drive, and be off (receive) with less than 0.01 W (10 mW). The PA/Preamp shall not be damaged with transmit drive inputs as high as 20 W. The PA/Preamp shall be protected from the potential of high VSWR (including open or short), and over-temperature operation. Operator selection controls shall be clearly discerned at the PA/Preamp. Remote control of operator settings is an objective feature. The PA/Preamp can include a power supply, or be powered from a remote supply, although minimum cable deployment is desired. Responses should state if power supply is integral, supplied as a remotely located configuration, or not supplied. If a remotely located AC/DC supply is used and coupled onto the RF coaxial cabling to achieve only one deployed cable, the power requirements (DC voltage range and current) supplied to the PA/Preamp shall be consistent with the DC resistance (center conductor plus current return path in the shield braid) of up to 300 feet of RG-214/U coaxial cable. Transmit duty cycle, while typically intermittent, should be assumed worst case as continuous to account for lengthy transmissions on dedicated channels. Physical design and manufacture of the PA/Preamp unit shall be weather-tight for exterior mounting in an unprotected environment. PA/Preamp physical volume and weight respectively should be 320 cu. in. and 10 lb. maximum (without power supply) or 550 cu. in. and 20 lb. maximum (with integral power supply) as objectives. Minimum operating temperature range of -20 degrees C to +60 degrees C is desired. Cooling by natural convection is prefered; if forced air cooling is required, the unit shall still be suitable for unprotected exterior mounting. (No conduction-based cooling through mounting provisions should be assumed.) The PA/Preamp must have technical documentation provided with it. Optional technical support for the PA/Preamp, and contractor training, are desired. Other topics of concern are cost, delivery availability, warranty, and maintenance support. The Government is interested in procuring up to 180 units. This CBD does not constitute a solicitation on the part of the Government, although the information provided by prospective vendors could lead to an eventual procurement of these systems. This notice is a MARKET SURVEY ONLY. Interested vendors shall submit in writing, within fifteen (15) working days of publication of this announcement, a statement of interest and shall provide the following: specifications; functional block diagram; operations and maintenance manual; acceptance test procedure; delivery availability schedule, warranty information and statements of certification that the equipment meets. Vendors shall include their capability to provide integrated logistics support including depot level maintenance. The Government will use the information obtained from this market survey to evaluate the capabilities of the marketplace. Thissynopsis does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or an Invitation for Bid (IFB) and is not intended to be construed as a commitment by the Government. Respondents to this survey should identify whether they are a large or small business and provide their company's name, address, telephone number, and a Point of Contact (POC). Any proprietary information submitted should be identified as such. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any cost associated with submission of the information being requested or reimburse expenses incurred to interested parties for responses to this survey. Facsimile (781) 271-6149 or e-mail (baylessc@hanscom.af.mil) responses are acceptable. Responses are to be addressed (via mail) to: ESC/MCK, 50 Griffiss St., Hanscom AFB MA 01731-1620, ATTN: Capt Charles Bayless or (via commercial delivery service) to: The MITRE Corporation, Lobby Bldg. M, 202 Burlington Road, Bedford MA 01730, ATTN: Capt Charles Bayless (ESC/MCK). No telephone responses will be accepted. An Acquisition Ombudsman, Colonel Steven H. Sheldon, Director, Commander's Staff, has been appointed to hear concerns from offerors or potential offerors during proposal development. You should only contact the Ombudsman with issues or problems you cannot satisfactorily resolve with the program manager and/or contracting officer. The Ombudsman role is to hear concerns, issues, and recommendations and communicate these to the appropriate government personnel. The Ombudsman will maintain strict confidentiality if desired. The Ombudsman does not evaluate proposals or participate in source selection. You can contact the Ombudsman at (781) 377-5106. Posted 09/22/99 (D-SN383142). (0265)

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