I'm suggesting you try what you believe the output of the formula would be. So - something like: https://[server]/dor/OCG/_vti_bin/ListData.svc/Equipment_federal?$filter=substringof('Whatever the value of the Equipment Search field would be',DESCR) eq true
I'm sorry that I'm not explaining this in a way you can understand, but I don't know how else to explain it. I suggest you review some online tutorials for using SharePoint REST queries in InfoPath - maybe follow one precisely until you feel you understand the concept before trying to implement it in your specific form?