Addendum_2.pdf

Purchasing Services 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way

Building C, Room 303 Viera, Florida 32940

PUBLIC SAFETY BI-DIRECTIONAL AMPLIFIER (BDA) SYSTEM AND INSTALLATION

B-4-25-46

April 17, 2025

ADDENDUM 2

TO ALL PROSPECTIVE BIDDERS

This is an Addendum to and shall be considered as part of the original bid package for the above-mentioned bid. Please acknowledge receipt of Addendum 2 in space provided on Price Sheet. Bidders are requested to acknowledge receipt of this addendum with their bid. This Addendum was posted along with Attachments E and F. Please be sure you have reviewed both attachments when acknowledging receipt of the addenda on your price sheet.

SCOPE OF SERVICES CLARIFICATION:

The awarded Contractor is responsible for the design, permitting, installation, testing, and final acceptance of the BDA system. This includes, but is not limited to, any additional electrical requirements. The awarded Contractor shall coordinate with the County and the County’s contractors for fire alarm integration and roof penetrations. County-approved contracted services by the County’s contractors for fire alarm integration and roof penetrations are the responsibility of the County, not the awarded Contractor. The new BDA system shall be designed and installed per the NFPA 1225, 2022 Edition, Chapter 18.

CLARIFICATION TO QUESTIONS RECEIVED:

Question 1: Can we use ADRF or Westell manufacturer for BDA system? there is no mention about any manufacturer on specification.

Answer 1: Brevard County 800 MHz division approves Signal boosters that comply with NFPA requirements and are approved by the FCC for operation under the US Code of Federal Regulations / Title 47/ Part 90 for Public Safety Land Mobile Radio.

Please Note: The BDA System shall be non-proprietary equipment and system that must be able to be serviced by the County or the County’s maintenance contractors, including replacement parts.

Question 2: Do the plans being provided show the fire breaks in each building?

Answer 2: No

Question 3: Please confirm if the buildings are interconnected with underground conduit and which rooms have this access.

Answer 3: Yes, the IT rooms have this access. The existing fiber originates from Building C, 2nd floor IT room and is connected to an IT room located in each of the other four buildings. If design and engineering warrant, the County prefers the headend to be located in Building C.

Question 4: If Roof penetration is needed, coordinating with Brevard County representative will be done ahead of time and I want to confirm we will not be held responsible financially for the repair.

Answer 4: Correct

Question 5: Please confirm design of BDA system from RF Engineer for Brevard County as too many BDAs in one location closely together will cause oscillation issues that can cause feedback loops and co-channel interference. If this happens, the radio systems will shut down and we will be violating FCC and local codes

Answer 5: Developments with multiple buildings should use only one donor antenna for the entire complex. In a campus configuration, a fiber DAS solution is desirable to prevent multipath issues, oscillation, and interference.

It is recommended to design the system with a donor antenna having a maximum gain of 10 dBi unless the installing contractor can demonstrate that a higher gain donor antenna is necessary for the design. Donor antenna should never be aimed across the roof of the building to which they are attached. All Distributed Antenna System (DAS) antennas must be placed on the backside of the donor antenna’s radiating pattern.

The isolation of the antenna system must be 20 dB greater than the maximum gain of the master unit (BDA) used. In a fiber DAS solution, a test for isolation at the master unit will validate the system's isolation.

Using inline attenuators or pads on the donor antenna to improve antenna isolation will not be an acceptable method for correcting poor isolation results.

Brevard County ERCES requirements and general information can be found at Public Safety Radion Signal Boosters.

https://www.brevardfl.gov/EmergencyManagement/PublicSafetyRadio/SignalBoosters

Question 6: What manufacturer BDA system is in place in BLDG E?

Answer 6: COMBA TELECOM NETWORK SYSTEMS RX78V3-B2727 PO-51

Question 7: Will existing fire alarm contractor be responsible for hooking up BDAs for supervisory on existing systems?

Answer 7: The awarded Contractor (BDA system) shall be required to supply six (6) outputs within 3’ from the BDA headend for the County’s fire alarm contractor to connect to. It is the awarded Contractor’s responsibility to coordinate and ensure the system works properly.

Question 8: As discussed at the Pre-bid Walk-thru, we would like to see if the County can review with the AHJ/Fire/Communications of the 4 systems add or one system main BDA with remote BDA units on the additional buildings. The concern is that 4 separate systems would cause issues due to the close proximity.

A. If it is determined one system with remotes is permissible and acceptable, and potentially fiber fed throughout the interducts (Single Mode Fiber), would it be possible to tie it into building E, so as not to have intermodulation similar to what 4 added systems might cause?

Answer 8: Please see the answer to question 5. Yes, the BDA in Building E can be utilized as the master unit. Contractors can propose the relocation of that unit to Building C.

Question 9: Can we review the make and model of the unit installed in building E? This may help in a complementary design and/or ensure we can install a system that is compatible with that unit.

Answer 9: Yes, please see the answer to question 6. Please see attached photos of the Building E BDA system and antenna.

Question 10: Since all Fire Alarm, Roof Penetrations and electrical will be on the integrator selected for this RFP is there a specific Company and contact for each scope that is currently contracted to reach out to regarding pricing of those scopes?

Answer 10: Fire Alarm – World Electronics & Consulting, Inc.

Paul Chinaris 321-636-9951 World230@aol.com

Roofing Contracting - Tech Systems, Inc.

Tommy Camp 321-259-2246 tommy.camp@techsystemsflorida.com

Electrical subcontracting shall be the responsibility of the awarded Contractor.

Question 11: Just to confirm, no RF studies have been performed on any of the existing buildings?

Answer 11: An RF study has been performed, and the report is included in the Addendum.

Question 12: Do you have the BDA installation information from Building E?

Answer 12: Yes, please see the answer to question 6.

Question 13: Will Brevard county allow a Fiber DAS, all building connected using remote BDA in each building with one Headend and one donor as 5 building with that close of proximity mailto:World230@aol.com mailto:tommy.camp@techsystemsflorida.com each with a Donor Antenna will most likely cause Oscillation and communication issues for Brevard County

Answer 13: In a campus configuration, a fiber DAS solution is desirable to prevent multipath issues, oscillation, and interference. Please see the answer to question 5.

Question 14: If Fiber DAS is available, does Brevard County know if all the buildings are connected through existing fiber

Answer 14: Yes, and it is available for this project.

Question 15: Can we get the building envelopes so we can determine if dragon cable will be required when running the necessary wire for the BDA systems? We would need to know the fire walls and what they are rated for.

Answer 15: The awarded Contractor is to use plenum-rated materials, and all wall, roof, and floor penetrations shall be properly sealed to meet code.

Question 16: Is there an existing heat map from a survey? If not, our design/estimate will be based on a worst-case scenario

Answer 16: No, but the County has completed an RF Study, and the report is included in the Addendum.

Question 17: Best practices show the design for buildings located adjacent to each other should have a single donor antenna with networking between buildings to alleviate the potential for cross-talk/interference. The specification calls for separate systems for each building. Is there sufficient capacity to assure there won't be any interference issues? Might there be fiber in conduit between buildings already?

Answer 17: Please see the answer to question 5. Yes, there is fiber between buildings.

Please see the answer to question 3.

Question 18: Attachment to the fire alarm and monitoring is usually done by the incumbent fire alarm provider to avoid any potential for warranty issues. We have excluded this from our proposal. Is it reasonable to assume the incumbent can provide the interface and connection?

Answer 18: The awarded Contractor will leave six (6) inputs within 3’ from the BDA headend for the County’s fire alarm contractor to connect to.

Question 19: The head end of a BDA system must be housed in a 2-hour room or enclosure.

Typically, there is an existing systems room that provides this protection since there are other critical systems installed. Is it safe to assume there is room in an existing MDF/IDF for our head end in each building?

Answer 19: Equipment for the new BDA System will be in the IT rooms.

Question 20: Is there an existing roof penetration system that we can use?

Answer 20: Yes, but if a new penetration is needed, it will be coordinated between the awarded Contractor and the County’s roofing contractor.

A additional pre-bid meeting/site visit has been scheduled for Tuesday, April 22, 2025 @ 9:00 AM at 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Building A South Entrance (Near Reflecting Pool), Viera, FL 32940.

Please note that the bid opening date and time remains Tuesday, April 29, 2025 @ 10:00 AM.

All other terms and conditions remain unchanged.

Sincerely, Mary Bowers Purchasing Manager

END OF ADDENDUM 2