JOFOC_brand_name_or_equal_sig_doc.pdf

12760419Q0024 Digital Radio Test Set Duechutes NF

CONTRACTING OFFICER'S STATEMENT REGARDING

BRAND NAME JUSTIFICATION

1. Identification of Agency and the Contracting Activity:

The Contracting Activity is the United States Forest Service, Chief Information Office (CIO), United States Forest Service, Chief Information Office (CIO) and the Washington Office Acquisition Management Information Technology (WO-AQM IT) Support Branch, Albuquerque Service Center, 101B Sun Ave NE, Suite 200, Albuquerque, NM 87109.

2. Nature and/or Description of Action Being Approved:

The proposed action is for a brand name or equal firm-fixed-price purchase order to Edmo Distributors, for Aeroflex 3920B communications test set to be able to align and test New KNG P150 series radios.

3. Description of Supplies or Services Required to Meet Agency’s Need Including the Estimated

Value:

The KNG radio is in operating alignment to be useful in the field and to National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) operating parameters. This would allow us to meet the radio auto testing requirements per BK technologies and Motorola radio tuning. This will give us the latest new service monitor from this company.

1. The package needs to be self-contained in one Unit.

2. Unit needs to meet a weight requirement of no more than 20lbs

3. Unit requires minimum of dual display for meters.

4. Generator output level Minimum of -125 db (with no external devices).

5. Receiver must handle a max of 150 watts input power (with no external devices).

6. Spectrum Analyzer operation (250 KHz – 1 GHz). (Full Spectrum not channel).

7. Signal Generator

8. SINAD Meter

9. Distortion Meter

10. Modulation Scope

11. Oscilloscope

12. Frequency Error Meter

13. FM Deviation Meter

14. AM Modulation Meter

15. Receive Signal Strength Meter

16. Broadband and Narrowband Power Meters

17. Audio Counter

18. Audio Generator

19. AC / DC Voltmeters

20. Tracking Generator

21. Cable Fault Locator (with a distance check of greater than 25ft).

22. P25 test mode (needs to work on all NAC codes and formats tx and rx).

23. Up to 5 year service contract on units.

24. Auto tune for new radios.

Proposed Value: $44,778.93

4. Statutory Authority: The statutory authority permitting an exception to fair opportunity is Section 41 U.S.C. 4106(c)(2) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B), entitled “Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized.”

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: This is a brand name justification in accordance with FAR 11.105, Items Peculiar to One Manufacturer. The purpose of this acquisition is to obtain Aeroflex 3920B communications test set to be able to align and test New KNG P150 series radios.

Over the years through trial, error, and testing this particular Forest has fine-tuned its radio system confidentiality, integrity and availability by utilizing the requested Brand-name manufactures critical features only available through them. There are no other known radios that will meet these critical needs. For further information, contact the undersigned CO below for U.S. Forest Service Radio System(s) Background and Premise document.

Viavi whigh now owns Aeroflex test industries and is design and manufacturer of advanced wireless test solutions for communications, avionics and general test and measurement applications. They have introduced new models as the two-way radio communications has moved to the new P25 digital standards. Their equipment is the brand of choice for the unique conditions experienced by Forest Service personnel – versatile, lightweight, as well as durability under harsh field conditions.

My team has tested and checked into other models of communication test sets with other manufacturers. This has revealed results that there are only Two US manufacturers Aeroflex and Freedom communications. Both have pluses and minuses, but Viavi (Aeroflex) features met the advanced and basic needs for our radio systems RF testing. We currently have this manufacturer’s older test equipment and would like to upgrade to the newer more advanced radio test set with added options for free.

Freedom Communications so far has the only portable RF test set that allows direct connection to the Radio equipment without the use of external devices. They have the only full spectrum analyzer. The Cable fault locator works on Lengths of more than 300 ft. The operating system for the units is Windows based with ability to add auto tune and test to the software package easily for radio testing. All present and future updates are easy for the technician to install, as well adding features to the unit. The unit also because of the operating system currently has no limitations as for adding features for that will benefit us. Meaning it will allow us to condense some of the other test equipment into one unit that is light and portable.

This brand name manufacturer and is invoked based on the following critical requirements:

[ X ] This Forests current radio communication system is composed of Relm Radios and Parts

[ X ] This Forests current radio communication system is composed of Midland Radios and Parts

[ _ ] This Forests current radio communication system is dependent on other local, state, and federal agencies radio systems through large business(s) below:

[ X ] Motorola [ _ ] Harris [ _ ] Kenwood [ X ] Daniels Other:__________________

Critical Requirements:

[ _ ] Interface- push button controls [ _ ] Control Dial - Must have a channel knob for ease of operation [ _ ] AMBE +2 Vocoder for improved digital voice [ _ ] Must turn on/off with accessory power from the vehicle and retains memory [ _ ] Must be environmentally protected to IP-54 protection against dust, water and blowing rain [ _ ] Environmentally protected to IP-67 standards (Immersion in 1 meter of water for a minimum of 30 minutes.), intrinsically safe, and batteries are operational in hazardous atmospheres [ _ ] Must be field programmable [ _ ] Internal speaker (Limited or no space in newer vehicles for an external speaker) [ X] Keypad Interface [ _ ] Must transmit 6 watts or greater for maximum range [ _ ] Must be able to operate the radio with standard PPE (i.e. gloves) [ _ ] Trunking – compatible with current system and type approved by the Forest [ _ ] Dual Band backward compatible [ _ ] Technical and user Training and Support based on Regional or Forest specific radio communication system [X ] Accessory compatibility with current stock [ _ ] Cell Phone Charging Adapter [ _ ] Dual Band [ _ ] SmartNet/Smartzone [ _ ] Cross communication technology [ _ ] FSM 5300 Chapter 5380 Law Enforcement Equipment para 5385.6 requires that all field going officers possess the same type standard radio.

[ _ ] Mixed Hybrid of compatible old/new radio equipment being phased out at end-of-lifecycle [ _ ] OEM Proprietary Replacement\Spare Parts or Equipment – Sole Manufacturer no substitute [ _ ] Configuration compatibility with current radio system (cables, cards, equipment, parts) [ _ ] Replacement for unrepair able part or equipment within the existing radio system.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: In reviewing the technical requirements and compatibility constraints of this project, the primary hurdles that limit these efforts to obtain competition are derived from the technology solely possessed by Freedom Communications as the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).

7. Actions to Increase Competition: Pursuant to FAR 12.6, this proposed contract action will be posted to Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) as a combined synopsis/solicitation. By providing industry the opportunity to respond to this requirement with any possible “or equals” the barriers will continue to be tested.

8. Market Research: The market research for this requirement is based on a recent RFQ issued June 2019 on eBuy to determine if more than one vendor could provide the Aeroflex 3920B communications test set to be able to align and test New KNG P150 series radios. There was one (1) response, however a survey of the open market revealed at least three (3) more vendors would be able to respond to an open market brand-name or equal combined sol/syn

9. Interested Sources:

EDMO DISTRIBUTORS, INCORPORATED -

DISTRIBUTOR Open Market

TECHNICAL COMMUNITIES, INC. – RESELLER GS-24F-0066M

ALSTER COMMUNICATIONS-RESELLER Open Market

PARKER SALES AND MARKETING, INC. -

RESELLER Open Market

10. Other Facts: N/A

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION:

The Program Office signature below provides evidence that any supporting data that is the responsibility of technical or requirements personnel and which form a basis for the justification have been certified as complete and accurate by the technical or requirements personnel.

SUBMITTED:

DENNIS BRIGANTE DATE

Supervisory Electronics Technician

11. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. Normal acquisition procedures will be followed to determine that the contract price is fair and reasonable. Items are commercial, therefore certified cost and pricing data will not be obtained pursuant to FAR 15.403-1(b) (3).

APPROVED:

DATE

DATE

A KAY STEFFEY

Contracting Officer

CONCUR

LORINE CARABAJAL

Contracting Officer

U.S. Forest Service Radio System(s) Background and Premise

The Forest Service and partnering public safety personnel require secure, dependable communications at all times. That’s why the Forest Service’s mission critical systems are designed from the ground up to deliver an extraordinary level of resilience and availability. For the end users, continuity of operations boils down to a simple statement: whenever I need my radio it works. Continuity of operations is dependent on system availability as well as maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of the network.

Confidentiality, integrity and availability all work together to provide a highly resilient and always available solution.

There are many considerations for maximizing radio communication availability to Forest Service personnel and various public safety partners. Availability measures the percentage of time when calls are successfully completed and is thee critical requirement of each Forest. Several parameters must be taken to maximize availability:

Interface – The system should be able to connect the call immediately even during events that involve large numbers of personnel. The personnel can quickly utilize the common user interface.

Coverage – The end-user will be able to access the system where needed. Other manufactures radios do not operate as well within the same coverage area as the Brand-name radio being requested as stated in “Reliability” below.

Reliability – Needs to be built-in to deliver critical voice communications. The many components involved in making the call, from the user’s radio to the repeater site, transport, infrastructure, and receiving radio are designed as an integrated part of the system design. Not all manufactures radios are able to communicate reliably with other manufactures radios. Compatibility issues exist between the various manufactures and are based on manufactures specific standards, design, engineering, components, and manufacturing methods. Standing in the same coverage spot side-by-side with another manufactures radio doesn’t yield the same positive results and is a result of these product differences.

Redundancy – Redundancy configurations should be available for key hardware and software elements in the system. An example of this is cloning of radio banks between radios and immediate availability of available bench stock or parts.

Recoverability – Failure scenarios must be understood and recovery processes put in place to be quickly executed without impacting the user such as cloning mentioned above or Spares listed below. When a radio fails to work, it is critical that it can be recovered and placed back into service.

Spares - Supporting accessories and parts on a radio fail over time and at a quicker rate than the radio itself. Having an immediately available bench stock of spares that are compatible within the existing radio systems is a critical requirement. Bench stock is not readily available for other manufactures radios on this particular Forest, other than the Brand name radio requested in this JOFOC, and would thus not allow for a quickly executed recovery as stated above.

The current radio backbone for the entire Forest Service is Daniels Electronics system. There are 9 distinct and different Regions within the Forest Service which operate on various handheld, mobile and dash mounted radio communications systems within the Daniels Radio communication backbone infrastructure. Other areas of consideration are Microwave radios systems by Harris radios and console systems from Moducom which are an integral part of this radio back-bone system. Each region has specific manufacture brand name needs based on critical manufacturer specifications and specific Forest system needs. The other consideration besides Regional differences is the service area wide maintenance standard that must be complied with.

A system as defined by Merriam-Webster’s is:

“1) a regularly interacting or interdependent group of items forming a unified whole. d. a group of devices or artificial objects or an organization forming a network especially for distributing something or serving a common purpose (a telephone system, a heating system, a highway system, a computer system)”.

A radio communication system sends signals by radio. Types of radio communication systems deployed depend on technology, standards, regulations, radio spectrum allocation, user requirements, service positioning, and investment.

The radio equipment involved in communication systems includes a transmitter and a receiver, each having an antenna and appropriate terminal equipment such as a microphone at the transmitter and a loudspeaker at the receiver in the case of a voice-communication system.

Each Forest has a regularly interacting and interdependent group of Radio items forming a unified whole or system. The parts to these systems are brand name specific antennas, batteries, chargers, mounting brackets, cables, mobile radios, portable radios, and dash mounted radios. These parts are all interchangeable within the system. For example: the batteries are all interchangeable with the specific brand name manufacture portable radios; that same battery is also compatible with specific brand name manufacture charging station; the portable radio antennas are also interchangeable with all of the same brand name manufacture portable radios. No other manufactures batteries, charging stations, cables, belt clips, mounting brackets, antennas, are compatible with that specific brand name manufactures radios (with the exception of a few aftermarket parts).

The bench stock for a given Forest only supports that specific brand name radio equipment used on that Forest. Typically, radios are ordered to replace existing non-serviceable radio equipment of like manufacture within a Forest. The supporting equipment like batteries, antennas, and charging stations are placed back into bench stock or placed on the new replacement radio when acquired. For Radio the radio system backbone this would include spare modules, cards, transmitters, receivers, and the like.

These back-bones parts and equipment are highly specialized, patented, and proprietary to a specific manufacturer and there are no “or equals”.

Another significant consideration is other local and state agencies which operate on their own radio backbone systems which are different from the Forest Service Daniels back-bone. They support specific radio manufactures as a part of their independent system. The Forest Service has partnered with these agencies and thus requires brand name specific radios that aren’t typically purchased by the Forest Service such as Motorola, Kenwood, and Harris in order to utilize the partnering agencies radio systems.

Typically this is needed to communicate on an ongoing basis in a localized geographical area that the Forest Service doesn’t cover or support but radio communication is required.

LINE

ITEM

DESCRIPTION

UNIT

OF ISSUE

QTY UNIT

PRICE

TOTAL

PRICE

1 DIGITAL RADIO TEST SET 1MHZ - 1 GHZ 3920B EA 1

2 TRACKING GENERATOR OPTION 390XOPT061 EA 1

3 P25 CONVENTIONAL OPERATION 390XOPT200 EA 1

4 AUTOTEST II FOR P25 RADIO SYSTEMS 390XOPT218 EA 1

5 KNG COMMAND SERIES

AUTOTEST/ALIGNMENT

390XOPT627 EA 1

6 EXTENDED STANDARD WARRANTY

60 MONTHS

W390X/205 EA 1

BRAND NAME OR EQUAL (AUG 1999)

1. (a) If an item in this solicitation is identified as “brand name or equal,” the purchase description reflects the characteristics and level of quality that will satisfy the Government’s needs. The salient physical, functional, or performance characteristics that “equal” products must meet are specified in the solicitation.

2. (b) To be considered for award, offers of “equal” products, including “equal” products of the brand name manufacturer, must-

a. (1) Meet the salient physical, functional, or performance characteristic specified in this solicitation;

b. (2) Clearly identify the item by-

i. (i) Brand name, if any; and

ii. (ii) Make or model number;

c. (3) Include descriptive literature such as illustrations, drawings, or a clear reference to previously furnished descriptive data or information available to the Contracting Officer; and

d. (4) Clearly describe any modifications the offeror plans to make in a product to make it conform to the solicitation requirements. Mark any descriptive material to clearly show the modifications.

3. (c) The Contracting Officer will evaluate “equal” products on the basis of information furnished by the offeror or identified in the offer and reasonably available to the Contracting Officer. The Contracting Officer is not responsible for locating or obtaining any information not identified in the offer.

4. (d) Unless the offeror clearly indicates in its offer that the product being offered is an “equal” product, the offeror shall provide the brand name product referenced in the solicitation.