There was so much to see at SHOT Show 2023 that Police1 coverage still is catching up. In this article, we cover tactical communications, concussion protection, another RDS, storage solutions and more.
Pryme
California-based Pryme has been designing and manufacturing products for professional users of two-way radios for nearly 30 years. Many of Pryme’s microphones and speakers are based on Bluetooth (BT), which allows them to be wireless and discreet. Have a radio that isn’t BT capable? No problem, because Pryme probably makes an adaptor for it that connects in place of the native microphone.
Pryme’s purpose-built surveillance kits offer clear tube earpieces with separate push-to-talk (PTT) units using strong but thin connections. If you need to go into noisy environments, such as firefighting and factory floors, Pryme also has you covered with throat and bone-conduction microphones, bone-conduction and over-the-ear headsets and waterproof PTT that are big enough for a firefighter to use while wearing aluminized Kevlar gloves.
Some of Pryme’s latest products are designed to support the WAVE and ZELLO “PTT over cellular” or PoC mobile communications apps. These apps turn a cellphone into a multi-channel push-to-talk handset letting them connect to existing two-way radio networks. Products include small PTT switches that can be worn like a ring or hung from a keychain.
Because Pryme products are designed and manufactured in-house with strict “your life depends on it” QA, the company can offer customization to your agency’s requirements. Pryme’s products also are not subject to the funding restrictions contained in the 2019 National Defense Administration Act.
Q-Collar
Ever wonder how woodpeckers peck without getting concussions? Because the human brain floats inside the skull, it moves – sometimes with great force – when the head is exposed to an impact. Two doctors discovered that by applying light pressure to the sides of the neck, blood volume in the brain’s venous structures can be increased, reducing the harmful internal movement that causes brain injury – by over 80%. The SWAT study, referenced below, suggests that it doesn’t matter whether the impact is physical or from a blast wave.
Ten years and twenty-five pre-clinical and clinical studies later, the FDA announced that the Q-Collar, a Class 2 medical device (figure 2) safely and effectively “provides an additional piece of protective equipment athletes can wear when playing sports to help protect their brains from the effects of repetitive head impacts.” Some studies suggest that hearing damage also can be mitigated.
Researchers at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) performed a study with SWAT personnel who were exposed to low-level blast exposure during breacher training. Ten participants who wore a Q-Collar and eight who did not, had a baseline functional MRI scan before a breacher training session. The fMRI scan was repeated after the training session. While there was no change in brain activation during the working memory task in the study group (who wore the Q-Collar), the elevation in fMRI activation in the non-collar group was found to correlate significantly with average peak blast amplitude experienced during training. The results suggest that the Q-Collar could reduce the risk and severity of traumatic brain injury from blast waves in addition to collisions.
Q30 has partnered with the United States Army Medical Material Development Activity’s Warfighter Brain Health Project Management Office to evaluate the safety, effectiveness and field suitability of the Q-Collar to help prevent or reduce traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by pressure waves from missiles, ballistics, artillery, IEDs and shoulder-fired weapons.
To learn more or purchase one for yourself, visit q30.com.
Steiner MPS
A year ago, the future was red dot sights. Now the future is enclosed RDS. While still head and shoulders above iron sights, open RDS suffer from dirt or water getting into the emitter and fogging. And first-generation RDS may need to be removed and re-zeroed to replace the battery.
The Aimpoint ACRO, Holosun EPS, Viridian RFX 45 green dot sight and Steiner MPS are some of the latest ERDS on the market. Steiner gave me an MPS at SHOT Show with the proviso I would send it back in 30 days so that it could go to another evaluator.
I mounted it on my SIG P320, sighted it in at 15 yards and put it into the hands of Rangemaster Sargent David Weidner for testing. Without any warmup, Dave started at 5 yards and moved to 10, 15, 20, and 25 yards shooting 6 rounds in under 5 seconds at each distance (figure 1). Besides the one flyer due to his too-early trigger prep, you can see the accuracy of the system – and the operator.
Everyone who has looked through the MPS has commented on how big and clear the glass is, without the edge distortion exhibited by other closed emitter RDS. A key selling point of the MPS is that once mounted, no special tools are needed, a spent shell casing can be used to adjust zero and replace the battery. Other key features are a recessed front window with metal hood, eight brightness settings (two night vision), waterproof/ fogproof to 10m and top-mounted emitter.
I think the best statement I can make about the quality of this sight is that Dave and I each put one on order. For more information about the MPS or other Steiner optics, click here.
Top: Aimpoint ACRO-2 and Steiner MPS from back; MPS top showing battery with multiple retention fingers – the battery cap squeezes the fingers when installed; mounted on a SIG P320. Bottom: ACRO-2 and MPS from front – the starburst is an accidental reflection of my lamp; right side; left side; bottom.
Photos/Ron LaPedis
My Case Builder
Like many of you, I need to drag multiple handguns with their magazines to training classes and I have several laser pistols, Airsoft and blue guns that need to be neatly stored in drawers so that I can get to them easily.
Mycasebuilder has been solving problem one for quite a while and it hit me that their case inserts could be put into some spare filing cabinets that I had in the office. The photo below shows what I did. One benefit is keeping the mags next to the gun so that I don’t need to go digging for them. If you want to do the same, let them know that you want the 5-gun Doro case insert.
Robots and Drones
Can’t decide on the right tool to send into a situation or maybe it’s unsafe to fly your drone into the target location? The ICOR Caliber drone mount will put a BRINC Lemur S on top of your Flex, MK4, MK3, T5, or Mini-Caliber arm. Since the drone is on the arm, you can lift it above obstructions or launch it from inside a structure while the robot stays outside.
Since the robot and drone have separate controls, both can be run by their mission specialists at the same time.
Door Jamm
You’ve entered or exited an area with a security gate or self-locking door and the door closes and locks behind you. Yeah, embarrassing, isn’t it? In an active shooter, explosive, or hazmat situation, it could be deadly, leaving you no exit path.
Two officers at a police department in Los Angeles County became frustrated by constantly having to improvise some way to hold open security doors/gates they encountered throughout their patrol area. This led to the development of DoorJamm, a reliable made-in-USA tool that prevents doors from locking behind first responders.
Door Jamm works by stretching it from one doorknob, across the latch, and to the other knob, preventing the door from locking and at the same time effectively marking it. No doorknob, no problem – you can loop the ribbon around whatever the door has and thread it through one of the holes to secure it. And unlike tape, there is no adhesive to “let go” or mar the finish when it’s removed.
They also are useful around the range where staff can keep self-locking doors closed but accessible during training sessions without giving keys to the students.
Sionyx
I received a Sionyx Opsin evaluation unit just after SHOT Show and was able to test it on a night with a 1% moon. The water-draining MOLLE-compatible pack contains the unit that is designed for mounting on an NVM-compatible tactical helmet with a battery case pouch. The first photo shows the accessories, which are a rechargeable battery, 2-pin power cable, charger, rubber eyecup, swing arm, charger plug adaptors and on-board memory card. The second photo shows the iPhone mount and SpyderCheckr color card I used, while the last photo shows the results. Remembering that these photos were taken on a moonless night at a location that borders on a wilderness area using an iPhone not designed to work with an LED video display, I still think you can get a good sense of the power that an Opsin puts into your hand or on your NVG helmet, or with the Sionyx Aurora, on a rifle.
For more Police1 SHOT Show coverage, check out reviews from my fellow columnist Lindsey Bertomen and visit police1.com/shot-show/.
