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STROBE MODE
We found, that with a slow or changing strobe, the opponent was able to (slowly) move their hands without being detected. The strobe is still very disorienting from the slower 5hz to 12hz and even higher, but the effect seems to get less when going much faster than 24hz.
We worked the strobe up to around 18hz to 20hz and that problem (noticing movements)was tackled. At 18hz to 20hz, the strobe was still extremely disorientating and the opponent could not move a finger without detection.
So, strobes at 8hz, 10hz, 12hz etc ARE very disorienting, but could have unwanted negative side effects for the LED.
Thats why we chose for the 18hz to 20hz, less unwanted side effects.
Best result on a tactical level is a beam as tight as possible. With this tight beam, all the light is concentrated in the eyes of the opponent. This way you’re partner can approach the opponent undetected up to touching, and do the things you were trained for. (working in low/no light conditions)
Flood lights are for searching and should not be used in a dedicated TL. You’ll shine on your partner and make him an easy target. Working with lights that had a flood beam, especially in teams, we found that a big part of the flood was increasing the light level on the hole working place, up to the level that the blinding "tunnel" effect was greatly diminished.
Students found it impossible to estimate distances under the right strobe. They could not tell if the distance was 3 feet or 10 feet. That is a very worthy tactical advantage when approaching an aggressive person.
Many times the students made a flinch movement and automatically brought their hand/arm between the TL and eyes (easy to grab) Or they even closed their eyes, (what better opponent then a blind opponent )
Aggressive drunken persons had a harder time to stay upright. They had a tendency to stumble/fall before they could make their attack. Most students learned to use the TL strobe on aggressive persons with mental disorder. In Holland we train to hold back on OC/ Pepper spray when dealing with these sorts of persons.
They are more patients then criminals. So blinding them for a short period is as effective as spray, but does them no harm. We learned that it is better to use TL strobe indoors or in busses/trains etc.
Less chance of getting sprayed them selves.
On the firing range we found that this type of strobe did not diminish the results of shooting targets. Being strobed at, makes it very hard to shoot back effectively. To sighed your target You must look directly in that strobe, which is extremely difficult. (ehh yes, we shoot at each other with special non-lethal training ammo called simunition, it hurts thou )
Apart from the strobe there are lots of other requirements to rebuild a light to a dedicated TL for our profession.
In the end, that dedicated Police TL, was not build by any manufacturer. They build what they THINK is good for us, not what we need.
So we had to make/design it ourselves. We approached many manufacturers, only 1 was innovative enough to take up the challenge.
The TL we now have, can even be used in lots of useful other ways. It can be turned 360 degrees in its holster, for hands free working. With 1 hand You can detach it form you belt and put the complete set somewhere to light a room.
To make this text not longer than needed, I’ll make a list of our findings with short explanations.
When is a TL a dedicated TL for police duty (for the situation in European country's)?
1. 1-handed quick draw, of course not weapon hand. (a device is only tactical if it can be used instantly without searching for it.)
2. Carry the TL in a special dedicated holster, upside down, attached to belt or holster with a short spiral cord. (not to weak that it breaks easily, but not to strong that it can be used to strangle a person)
3. Thump operated momentary rear switch ONLY. (Absolutely NO side switches, NO turn switches and NO double switches. Those are not usable under stress when sometimes half a second is too much. Study’s proof, that it is almost impossible to make use of your fine motoric skills under higher levels of stress. What you can do, is just press your thumb and hold it or release it. With enough training you can learn to improve this just marginally)
4. ALWAYS starts up in strobe mode, after that it can be made to switch to other modes. This mode sequence may not be made changeable. (Police officers are 100% human; the majority is practical and NOT tactical in nature. So when it IS changeable, many will try to reset the mode to what they use a normal light mainly for. . . .read a driver’s license or to write something. Then it becomes a normal light and not a the tactical devise it was designed to be)
5. At least 250lm throw type beam at up to 2 hours. Higher lumens (read lux) is possible, but no less. (The effects of blinding and disorientation are optimal enough on that intensity. On lower lm the effect is less and not optimal.)
Technically this is a challenge. Small head, much throw, high lumens. In 2013 we ended up with the choice for the XP-G R5 LED. In that small 32mm head it has less flood then the XM-L’s, and has a better power efficiency. For our findings, it still could be less spill, but that technical hurdle was to high at this technical level.
6.It has to be small enough for daily belt carriage. Max 140mm long, head wide max 32mm, body size about 1 x 18650 battery, weight max 400gr. Incl. TL/battery/holder etc. (when it is to large, LEO’s tend to leave it in the car or at the station and what is tactical about a light You don’t have on you when you need it.)
7. 100 % reliable under heavy duty. (hand to hand combat tests, drop tests and water tests should be of standard required level)
8. Cost effective, so rechargeable batteries and chargers. (Due to size and battery life the protected 18650 size is our preferred power source. We work with these batteries for the last 3 years and have had zero defects or problems with them.)
9. In Holland there are strict regulations about what weapons a police officer may carry. Metal rods with “strike bezels” are NOT one of those weapons. So our TL’s are NOT equipped with a strike bezel or sharp rims “to see if the light is turned on ?” . (we never put a burning TL with it's head standing on a surface and we don’t like the idea of making bloody wounds by ripping the flesh of someone’s skin during an arrest. A special hardend point to shatter a car window is an other thing, thats already on my key chain.)
Keep in mind,
a. This concept developed more into a tactical device (complete concept), that can also be used as a light. Not in the sense that the standard lights most people have and “more or less” can be used tactically in some situations.
b. Forget the word “tactical” in the sense that the sales market is using it. That is not tactical in any way but a tactical financial way.
With this article I hope to have given you some new info on the subjects of Strobe and Tactical Lights. Apart from a dedicated TL for regular LEO’s, we also developed dedicated lights for other specialized departments in the Police force. I can’t elaborate on that, but it is a work in progress.
Oh yes, forgot to mention that it takes practice to use the tactical advantages of a dedicated TL. You'll need a good trainer that is informed of the latest info and training methods. Even most Police trainers are not up to date in this knowledge.
That’s normal, we all have our specialty's. You can't know all.
Excuses for translational mishaps, I am Dutch so English is not my native tongue. I don't use translation programs, lots of language misses are not found by them anyway.
Friendly regards
K. vd Linden
反正我是没看懂
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发表于 2014-4-24 06:56
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