Vector signal transceiver (VST) instrument

Tampere University Foundation sr (Tampere University, TAU) is about to execute a direct award procurement of 'Vector signal transceiver (VST) instrument'. Contracting authority estimates that price range of procurement is €110 000 - 115 000.

According to the section 40 of the Act on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts (1397/2016) a contracting entity may opt for direct procurement if only a certain supplier can implement the procurement for a technical reason, or for a reason related to protecting an exclusive right. It shall be a further condition that there are no reasonable alternatives or substitute solutions, and that the absence of competition is not due to an artificial narrowing of the terms and conditions of the procurement. Contracting authority conducted market survey based on combination of mandatory criteria as follows (in the following it is acknowledged that ‘VST’ refers to National Instrument’s (NI) PXIe chassis containing the actual VST module): 1. Possibility to upgrade a previously procured VST to improve its capability. By procuring technically compatible chassis with enhanced Timing and Synchronization features. 2. Possibility to have at least the same functionality and performance that the previously procured VST has. The existing VST is very highly utilized by several research groups. There is a clear need to have another similar and interchangeable instrument that operates with the same scripts that have been developed by our research groups over the years for the existing VST. 3. The existing VST provides capability to perform 1-channel measurements (RF in+out) and there is a need to extend its capabilities to 2-channel measurements. The new VST to be procured must be technically fully compatible with the existing one to enable 2-channel measurements with hardware integrated into a single chassis. Furthermore, a synchronization source integrated into the same VST chassis ensures that the 2-channel operations operate as intended and our existing fine-tuned control scripts can be utilized. Conclusion is that only National Instruments’ (NI) VST fulfills the combination of these criteria. CN Rood is official European distributor for NI.