U.S. Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/OFA/AGFS/AMD -- OFA51, 1305 East West Highway -- Station 7604, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910

66 -- REPLACE PAPER TAPE PUN CH MECHANISM IN THE FISCHER&PORTER/BELFORT (F&P) RAIN GAUGES WITH INSTRUMENTATION SOL 52-DGNW-0-90036 DUE 072800 POC Eleanor E. Kaul, Contract Specialist, 301/713-0823 x142, fax 301/713-0806 or email Eleanor.E.Kaul@agf.noaa.gov WEB: Click here to download the solicitation., http://www.rdc.noaa.gov/~adm/SOLINDEX.HTML. E-MAIL: Click here to contact the Contract Specialist via, Eleanor.E.Kaul@agf.noaa.gov. The Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Weather Service (NWS) desires to replace the paper tape punch mechanism in the Fischer and Porter/Belfort (F&P) rain gauges with instrumentation that will interface with the F&P gauge, display the current readings, and store the precipitation accumulation data on a removable storage device for manual pickup and delivery. The NWS also wishes to acquire an optional wireless display and communications unit for remote display of the data and for telephone modem transmission of the data to a remote data collection computer. The instrumentation, when installed in an F&P (models 35-1558 and 35-1559) precipitation gauge, shall be capable of measuring and reporting accumulated precipitation for a range of 0 to 19.9 inches at an accuracy of 0.1" with a resolution of 0.01". In order to retain the weighing characteristics of the gauge, the weighing mechanism will remain unmodified. The sensor shall be interfaced to the existing weighting mechanism to provide the desired measurement. The weighing mechanism is a parallel arm, spring balanced assembly that moves about 1.24" vertically for no-load to full-load conditions. The sensor shall use the movement of existing mechanical assemblies to sense the captured precipitation. The instrumentation shall automatically collect measurements from sensors (the F&P upgrade sensor and others) and manual event notations from the observer, log and tag all data, and store the data on a removable data media for transport to a local Weather Forecast Office. The instrumentation shall communicate over a wireless link to the optional display and communications unit located nearby. The system shall be able to retain 100 days of data and operate for 30 days on battery alone in the event of power failures. The equipment shall operate over the whole range of environmental conditions as experienced by any location in the United States and its territories, and shall meet the conditions defined in the Specification. The Government intends to procure the instrumentation and optionally, the remote units, as defined in the Statement Of Work (SOW) and the Specification. The Government initially will procure a small number of these systems, up to 24, for evaluation in support of the procurement for an additional 1,800 units. Copies of the Specifications will be available on or about June 23, 2000, at http://www.rdc.noaa.gov/~adm/SOLINDEX.HTML or by contacting Eleanor Kaul on 301/713-0823 x142 or via fax on 301/713-0806 or via email at Eleanor.E.Kaul@agf.noaa.gov. Award will be made by firm fixed price, Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ), negotiated contract. Posted 05/30/00 (W-SN459795). (0151)

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