140G0326Q0048_Technical_Specifications_2.pdf

Technical Specifications for Acoustic Releases & Equipment

All offered items must meet all the salient characteristics for the required items below and must be compatible and fully interoperable with existing USGS equipment: Innovasea VR100, VHTx 69kHz Transponding Hydrophone, and associated release (mooring) lugs.

Acoustic Releases | QUANTITY: 7

Releases must be waterproof rated to at least 400m.

Uses easily accessible user-changeable lithium battery pack for at least 2 year battery life.

Safe workload of at least 200 pounds.

Real-time communicate battery life, tilt, temperature, and depth to the surface transponder when requested.

Upon receiving and verifying an acoustic release command, the device will separate from its mooring.

Communicate through Bluetooth to view battery health and memory usage.

Built-in temperature sensor with accuracy within ±1.5°C and resolution within 0.1°C.

Built in depth sensor with accuracy within ± 1.5°C and resolution within 1 m.

Have a communication (receive) frequency of 81 kHz.

Contains a mooring bracket, for easy attachment of flotation.

Parts and labor warranty of 1 year or greater.

Surface Transponder | QUANTITY: 1

*Transponder, transponding hydrophone, and (above) acoustic releases need to be on the same operating frequency range for compatibility.

Have a receive frequency in the 12 to 307 kHz range.

Have AC and DC power sources.

Able to operate in temperatures from 0°C to 30°C.

Able to communicate with a PC through USB.

Housed in a splash-resistant case.

69kHz Transponding Hydrophone | QUANTITY: 1

Able to communicate with an acoustic release or deployed transponding receiver.

Able to listen and identify tagged animals.

Have an operating mode frequency within 51–84kHz.

Release Lugs for Acoustic Releases | QUANTITY: 80

*This is (typically) an expendable mooring attachment that releases from the acoustic release upon receiving a release command from the surface transponder.

Easily replaceable.

Contains a mooring hole for convenient attachment to a mooring device.

Exterior of the mooring lug shaft must be copper to reduce biofouling.

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION FOR ACQUISITION UNDER THE

SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

1. Contracting Agency and Activity. The Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey,

2. Nature of Action Being Approved. New firm, fixed-price purchase order to Innovasea.

3. Description of Supplies or Services. USGS is conducting fisheries research evaluating juvenile salmon behavior and survival at Cle Elum Dam and Roza Dam within the Upper Yakima Basin, including evaluation of recently constructed downstream fish passage facilities.

These studies rely on remote retrieval of acoustic telemetry gear, that is used to detect Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) transmitters.

To support these studies, USGS requires procurement of seven (7) ASCENT AR Acoustic Releases, one (1) VR100 Surface Transponder and Manual Tracking Acoustic Receiver, one (1) VHTx 69kHz Transponding Hydrophone, eighty (80) Release Lugs for Ascent AR Acoustic Releases, and one (1) Magnetic Activation Probe, including shipping to Cook, Washington.

These acoustic releases are deployed underwater alongside acoustic receivers, minimizing interference with boat navigation and reducing exposure to vandalism or theft. This configuration allows remote release of equipment to the surface for data download and processing—an integral component of the study design.

4. Estimated Dollar Value. NTE

5. Statutory Authority. The proposed action may be awarded on a sole source basis under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) – only one source is reasonably available meeting study design, compatibility, and specifications.

6. Rationale Supporting Use of Citation in No. 5.

USGS requires continued procurement of Innovasea Ascent AR Acoustic Release systems and associated proprietary transponding equipment (VR100, VHTx Transponding Hydrophone, Release Lugs, and Magnetic Activation Probe) because they are the only components compatible with the existing USGS acoustic telemetry network. The VR100 platform and deployed field hardware rely on Innovasea's manufacturer-protected communication protocols and embedded software codes, which can only interface with the Ascent AR release system; software is proprietary. These proprietary elements are integral to equipment already deployed across multiple long-term, federally funded fisheries studies, and no other manufacture's release system can be operated, commanded, or integrated into this network without full system replacement.

7. Other Information. N/A

8. The Efforts to Identify Additional Sources Including the Market Research Conducted.

Market research was conducted and included review of manufacturer capabilities, prior USGS procurements, and Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) records.

Market research found three manufacturers produce acoustic release systems: Innovasea, Teknologic Engineering, and Sonardyne. However, only Innovasea equipment is fully