Naval Air Systems Command, Aircraft Division, is seeking vendors to provide options on how best to meet the EC-130J Airborne Psychological Operations (PSYOPS) 10 kilowatt TV analog broadcast mission. The Government is interested in extending the capability to support broadcast of a digital TV mission. The modulation type of the digital TV mission would be at a minimum DVB-T (COFDM modulation) and possibly also ATSC (8VSB or Enhanced 8VSB digital modulation). NAVAIR would seek a replacement to the TV driver function which would/could allow the conventional Rhode-Schwartz analog TV modulator to be swapped with a digital DVB-T TV modulator or a digital ATSC modulator. The on-ground reception range of the digital TV broadcast must be comparable to the current analog system reception range.

Existing TV broadcast antennas must be retained in any potential solution.



THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. It is a market research tool being used to determine the best value solution for partial replacement, complete replacement, or enhancement of the existing TV-8022 mission system. All interested parties are encouraged to respond with recommendations and capability statements. The Government is not obligated to and will not pay for any information received from potential sources as a result of this synopsis. The Government is not obligated in any way to award a contract based on information received from potential sources.



CURRENT SYSTEM:



The current TV-8022 driver function is essentially the initial 300 to 500 watt RF amplification stage that accepts input from the conventional Rhode-Schwartz TV analog modulator (exciter).



The TV-8022 High Power Amplifier (HPA) has a TV channel tuning band of basically channel 2 thru TV channel 69 worldwide. It is composed of three high power amplifier cavities: (1) a 47-88 MHz cavity which amplifies a nominal 350 watt low-level diplexed input drive signal to the full rated 10 KW peak sync video output power which consists of a single tube stage with a manually tuned plate load impedance matching network; tuning is accomplished using front panel controls and by physically adding or removing tube cavity straps, (2) a 170 to 230 MHz cavity which amplifies the nominal 350 watt diplexed input drive signal to the full rated 10 KW peak sync video output power which consists of a single tube stage; the VHFH cavity is identical in operation to the VHFL cavity except that tuning is accomplished completely by front panel controls, and (3) a 470 to 860 MHz frequency range cavity which amplifies a nominal 350 watt low-level diplexed input drive signal to the full rated 10 KW peak sync video output power. This UHF amplifier is a single tube stage with a manually tuned plate load impedance matching network with tuning accomplished by removing the UHF cavity compartment covers and moving tuning slides, by physically adding or removing fixed capacitance to the cavity anode plate circuit when changing frequency from a low/mid UHF channel (470-650MHz) to a high UHF channel (642-1000MHz).



The TV-8022 HPA is manually tuned to provide a nominal 14.5 dB of gain across its tuning range and still allow the required channel bandwidths (6 to 8 MHz) for worldwide TV standards and must provide amplifier class A linearity to meet intermodulation and spurious requirements..



The 14.5 dB gain in RF power (input to output ratio of approximately 1 to 28) does not always apply to the UHF cavity which often achieves ONLY a 13 dB gain (factor of 1 to 20) after being maximum gain tuned.



The TV-8022 is designed with input (level) and output (VSWR) protection that necessitates an external Automatic Gain Control (AGC) active at the low-level exciter and/or driver stages to affect overall wideband system gain for changing environmental conditions (cabin pressure, temperature, etc.).



The system currently employs AGC RF coupling from the TV-8022 output back to the level detection circuitry of the Rhode-Schwartz TV Modulator (exciter). The detected level is used to increase or decrease the low-level IF output of the modulator as necessary to maintain the desired final output which in the current system is normally 10 KW peak of sync.



REQUIREMENTS:



If recommending modification of the existing TV-8022 system, the TV driver must



A. Provide a wideband (6 – 8 MHz) VHF or UHF TV channel output across the channel range of channel 2 through channel 69 (basically 50 thru 860 MHz) at a nominal RF power level from 300 to 500 Watts peak of sync as determined by the final amplifiers gain characteristic and AGC,



B. Have an output with NO induced distortions (Class A linear) and meet or exceed the TV-8022 requirement for intermodulation distortions, spurious products and harmonics, and



C. Have RF input and output impedances for a matched RF 50 ohm standard with the output ability to load into a maximum mismatch of 2:1 (tuned input of TV-8022 is a nominal 1.5:1 or better).





SUBMITTAL INFORMATION



It is requested that all interested sources submit to the contracting office, a brief recommendation(s) and capabilities statement package (no more than 20 pages in length, single spaced, 12 point font minimum) demonstrating why the recommendation(s) results in the best value to the government, and vendor’s ability to provide the recommended solution(s). This documentation must address, at a minimum, the following: (1) prior/current corporate experience performing efforts of similar size and scope within the last three years, including contract number, organization supported, indication of whether as a prime or subcontractor, contract values, a brief description of how the contract referenced relates to the requirements described herein; (2) company profile to include number of employees, annual revenue history, office location(s), DUNS number, and a statement regarding current small business status; (3) personnel resources available to be assigned to tasks under this effort; (4) technical approach to providing the recommendation(s). All responses must include the following information: Company Name; Company Address; Company Business Size; and Point-of-Contact (POC) name, phone, fax number, and e-mail address. Responses should be sent by e-mail to Kelly.Chism@navy.mil, or by mail to the following address:



Naval Air Systems Command

Naval Air Warfare Center – Aircraft Division

ATTN Kelly Chism AIR 2.51.4.4.4

21983 Bundy Road, Bldg 441

Patuxent River, MD 20670



Submissions must be received at the office cited no later than 3:00pm Eastern Time on 31 May 2006. Questions or comments regarding this notice may be addressed to Kelly Chism at the aforementioned e-mail address.