01. AVIANO AB Giant Voice System Replacement – Questions and Answers FV.docx

AVIANO AB Giant Voice System Replacement 28 August 2023 Site Visit Questions and Answers

1. Question. Would the government be able to provide the specific GPS coordinates for the 3 central control stations (Primary Command Post – Bldg. 1360, Alternate Command Post – Bldg. 1135, and Radio Shop – Bldg. 1442)?

Answer. 46°01'40.5"N, 12°36'19.6"E (Primary) 46°01'29.6"N, 12°34'53.4"E (Alternate) 46°01'38.6"N, 12°36'13.9"E (Radio Shop).

2. Question. Could you verify/confirm there is existing AC power at the 10 GV poles and it is providing 220 VAC 50Hz?

3. Question. When is the requirement considered to be technically met for those two poles without AC?

Answer. The offeror is required to submit, in the PWS, a technical remedy to address such a lack. Providing AC capability to those two poles is not an option and is out of the scope of the SOO, therefore the offered remedy will be technically evaluated to determine how well the impact of AC lack will be reduced, addressing effectively and efficiently the Government requirement.

4. Question. Can the pictures of existing 10 poles be made available?

Answer. Enclosed to this document are the pictures required. However, not all of them can be provided since some poles (CL306, CL217, CL196, and CL567) are in restricted areas.

5. Question. During the site visit we acknowledged that some poles must have the red light on the top. Could you specify which poles have the red light and if those red lights are currently in working conditions?

Answer. As stated in the SOO, para. 3.3.2: “The contractor shall install five (5) new obstruction lights on top of five poles (CL306, CL196, CL217, CL037 and CL230). Obstruction lights must be incandescent and comply with ETL 11-29.”

6. Question. Which is the height of the 10 existing outdoor Giant Voice poles?

Answer. 40 ft (+/-).

7. Question. About the 3 central control stations (Command Post, Alternate Command Post, and Radio Shop) can we be provided with blueprints of the rooms? Additionally, is it required that all the control stations be provided with LIVE and TEST capability?

Answer. Blueprints / floor plans will be made available after contract award. It is required that the control stations at Command Post and Alt Command Post have LIVE and TEST capabilities. The Radio Shop is only required to have TEST capabilities.

8. Question: Is it beneficial to Aviano AB and USAFE-AFAFRICA to use the existing USAFE-AFAFRICA ELMR Integrated voice and date Network as a primary or alternate transport method for control and audio messages between the giant voice poles and main controllers?

Supporting Information: As Aviano AB has a secure (encrypted), P25 Trunked LMR network with redundant power sources and fault tolerant architecture, Motorola recommends that 38 ES/ENII require that the Giant Voice Replacement system also be a secure P25 LMR solution. This approach would secure (encrypt) messages with AES-256, FIPS 140-3 encryption. All subscribers and fixed stations should have MC4EB certifications (J/F-12, SPS) with Host Nation Approval.

Answer: The base position is not to integrate the GV into the ELMR. New Radios may require Host Nation approval. GV system shall be a stand-alone system and not integrated with ELMR; see para 3.3.4.6.

9. Question. Shall the new giant voice system use existing analog VHF Low Band frequencies (non-supported) and infrastructure, or shall the new giant voice system align with spectrum, protocols, and capabilities of the ELMR network at Aviano AB? Supporting Information: This statement appears to conflict with the overall requirement to replace the system. The current system is based on an analog, conventional, clear voice (non-secure), non-spectrum supported solution. The requirement for a digital P25 based, Secure AES-256 FIPS-140-3 is quite clearly stated in DODI-4650.10 which is also spectrum supportable as stated in DODI-4650.01.

Answer. Clarification provided with verbiage added in SOO para 3.3., specifying the contractor to provide "end to end 256-bit AES encryption" for the GV system replacement.

10. Question. Could you provide approved frequency to allow proper selection of antenna and radio components?

Answer. VHF 165.25 MHz

11. Question. Does the existing wireless VHF radio infrastructure include base station and/or repeater equipment? Or does the VHF radio infrastructure transmit directly from the control station to poles without a base station and/or repeater?

Answer. There are no repeaters. Control stations communicate with the GV poles via the RF.

12. Question. Does the VHF infrastructure exist or does the contract require the vendor to EDFI&T a VHF RF communications infrastructure? This contradicts SOO line 2.1. Is this a complete removal and replace with new infrastructure or are we to reuse RF Equipment?

Answer. Contractor provides the VHF infrastructure that supports the new GV system replacement. This project requires a new GV system and the necessary/ancillary equipment to support that. All equipment shall be new, not refurbished, nor re-used (unless specifically stated in the SOO).

13. Question. Are all the sirens located on ground poles or some are installed atop buildings?

Answer. All outdoor GV siren arrays are on individual poles, none are on top of buildings.

14. Question. Can the attendee list be provided for the site visit?

Answer. The following companies attended the site visit on 28 Aug 2023:

· Acoustic Technology, INC (ATI Systems);

· US International Development Consortium INC (USIDC);

· Alertus Technologies LLC;

· IMLCORP, LLC;

15. Question. What is included in referenced existing wireless VHF infrastructure, equipment type, output power, and frequency?

Answer. Main components consist of Base station, transmitters/receivers, antennas & protections, associated cabling, GV system frequency.

16. Question. Sections 1.0 and 3.1.2 conflict. Can the government update the SOO to make the requirement consistent (reuse vs. new)?

Answer. All shall be new unless otherwise specified. The only items to be re-used are the ten metal GV poles and the VHF frequency the GV system operates on.

17. Question. As Aviano AB is in an area that has frequent severe weather, Shall the speakers have XXXX rating to support weather survivability such as wind and hail damage?

Answer. Yes, speakers shall be weatherproof for the potential weather conditions at this site; Contractor shall propose their technical solution for this topic.

18. Question. Shall the GV enclosures also a Lightning Arrestor for the AC line voltage such as a gas discharge type of device that provides a low resistance path, to ground, for high voltage transients?

Answer. Contractor may propose what they feel is necessary to fulfill the requirements of this task order.

19. Question. Shall the battery charger, on the GV system be equipped with a line filter and transient protection circuit that exceeds IEC801 requirements?

Answer. Contractor may propose what they feel is necessary to fulfill the requirements of this task order.

20. Question. Can the government adjust the figure to show the directional speakers proposed area of coverage?

Answer. See the blue arrows in the updated Figure enclosed; also refer to the Pictures (Photos) of the GV poles. Not all the speakers’ directional info are provided. The missing ones will be made available after contract award.

21. Question. Will we be able to reuse any existing AC disconnects, or will they all need to be new?

Answer. Because we do not know what the new equipment will require in terms of AC power connections, we think that no, we should not reuse existing AC connections.

22. Question. Is this replacing a live system? If so, assuming we need to get each pole 100% functional before moving on to the next.

Answer. Yes. The current giant voice system is active.

23. Question. On Base, is Eu standard power/ containment is acceptable?

Answer. Yes. Base power is 220v 50hz.