Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138-1516

59 -- SINGLE BOARD COMPUTERS FOR CONTROL OF ANTENNAS, CORRELATOR AND IF/LO ASSEMBLIES SOL RFO-BF5651 DUE 120399 POC EJ Dotts, 617-496-7562, edotts@cfa.harvard.edu/Contracting Officer, Priscilla O. Waltner, 617-495-7401, pwaltner@cfa.harvard.edu This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This procurement will be conducted in accordance with Simplified Acquisition Procedures. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation number RFO-BF5651 is issued as a Request for Offer (RFO). The incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through FAC 97-14. The applicable SIC is 5045 with a size standard of 500. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) intends to purchase the following: Line item #1 -- P/N MVME2700-3331, Motorola PowerPC VME Single Board Computers (SBC), 266 MHz CPU, 32 Mbytes RAM, and MVME761-style I/O -- quantity 22. Line Item #2 -- P/N MVME761-001, Transition module for MVME2700-3331 -- quantity 22. The Submillimeter Array (SMA) project has standardized on these parts to control virtually all of the automated equipment. The SMA is now in full production of antennas, correlator crates and IF/LO assemblies. These SBCs are needed to control this equipment. No other parts will be considered acceptable for the following reasons: 1) these computers will be embedded within the equipment they control. The boards have specific computational and I/O capabilities which are needed to control the array; 2) wiring harnesses have been produced that assume the control computers will have exactly the pinouts of these boards. If other boards were purchased there would be a significant amount of re-wiring required. 3) Software has already been written for these boards. Acquiring a different part would necessitate rewriting the software and maintaining two sets of software as we already have 8 sets of these boards in service. Delivery shall be as follows: 10 of each line item in early January 2000 and the remaining quantity in late June 2000. F.O.B. point shall be destination. The provision at 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial, applies to this acquisition. The provision at 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items applies to this item and the specific evaluation criteria will be as follows: price and past performance. Offerors shall provide information regarding past performance on similar efforts. At a minimum, this information must contain references and a brief description of the equipment provided. Offerors shall include a completed copy of the provision at FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items, with its offer. This clause may be found on the Internet at the following site: http://www.arnet.gov/far/. Clause 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. Addendum to FAR 5212-4: (d) Disputes. This paragraph is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following: (1) Except as otherwise provided in this contract, any dispute concerning a question of fact arising under this contract which is not disposed of by agreement shall be decided by the Contracting Officer, who shall mail or otherwise furnish a copy thereof to the contractor. This decision shall be final and conclusive unless, within 30 days from the date of receipt of such copy, the Contractor mails or otherwise furnishes to the Contracting Officer a written appeal addressed to the Secretary of the Institution. The decision of the Secretary of the Institution or his/her duly authorized representative for the determination of such appeals shall be final and conclusive unless determined to have been fraudulent, or capricious, or arbitrary, or so grossly erroneous necessarily to imply bad faith, or not supported by substantial evidence. The Contractor shall be afforded an opportunity to be heard and to offer evidence in support of its appeal. Pending final decision of a dispute hereunder, the Contractor shall proceed diligently with the performance of the contract and in accordance with Contracting Officer's decision. (2) The "Disputes" clause does not preclude consideration of law questions in connection with decisions provided for in (1) above, provided that nothing in this contract shall be construed as making final the decision of any administrative official, representative, or board on a question of law; (g) Invoice. Delete the following sentence: "Invoices will be handled in accordance with the Prompt Payment Act (31 U.S.C. 3903) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-125, Prompt Payment"; (i) Payment. This paragraph is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following: Payment shall be made for items accepted by the Government that have been delivered to the delivery destinations set forth in this contract. If the Government makes payment by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), see 52.212-5(b) for the appropriate EFT clause. In connection with any discount offered for early payment, time shall be computed from the date of the invoice. For the purpose of computing the discount earned, payment shall be considered to have been made on the date which appears on the payment check or the specified payment date if an electronic funds transfer payment is made. The clause at 52.215-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items is incorporated by reference, however, for paragraph (b) only the following clauses apply to this acquisition as follows: FAR 52.203-6, Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government, with Alternate I; FAR 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns; FAR 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities; FAR 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity; FAR 52.222-35, Affirmative Action for Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era; FAR 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities; FAR 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era; FAR 52.225-18, European Union Sanction for End Products (E.O. 12849); FAR 52.225-21, Buy American Act-North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act-Balance of Payments Program; FAR 52.232-34, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-Other than Central Contractor Registration; and FAR 52.247-64, Preference for Privately Owned U.S.-Flag Commercial Vessels. Any references to the "Government" in the above provisions and clauses shall be deemed to mean the Smithsonian Institution. In addition, the following clause shall be included in any resultant contract: USE OF THE SMITHSONIAN NAME -- The name "Smithsonian Institution" is a registered trademark. Except as may be otherwise provided herein, the contractor shall not refer to the Smithsonian Institution or to any of its museums, organizations, or facilities in any manner or through any medium, whether written, oral, or visual, for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to, advertising, marketing, promotion, publicity, or solicitation, without the prior written approval of the Contracting Officer. DUE DATE FOR OFFERS IS 3 DECEMBER 1999, 1500 local time. An original and 1 copy of each offer shall be submitted to the following address: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street M/S 22, Cambridge, MA 02138-1516, ATTN: EJ Dotts. No facsimile offers will be accepted. All offers must be marked with the RFO number. All qualified responsible sources may submit an offer, which shall be considered by the agency. Questions or comments may be directed to EJ Dotts at 617-496-7562 or via email at edotts@cfa.harvard.edu. Posted 11/19/99 (W-SN402258). (0323)

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