UP CLOSE Less-Lethal Munitions/Flash-Bangs I PhaZZer Electronics CEW Cartridges
the cartridge to be assigned to, tracked by, individual of- fi cers. Like the Taser cartridges, the PhaZZer cartridges have a fi ve-year functional (shelf) life. T e reason for an expiration after fi ve years has to do with the tiny com- pressed nitrogen cartridges. Over time, all compressed nitrogen cartridges may leak to an unacceptable low pressure level. Cartridges older than fi ve years should be taken out of service and used for training.
Conduct Electricity
Ignition reliability is only part of the process. T e pur- pose of the dart impacts is to conduct electricity. T at means full wire deployment, with no broken wires at the dart or anywhere in the full length of wire. It also means deployment and wire insulation quality where the wires do not short out with one another.
S BOTH THE TASER X26E AND THE TASER X26P (SHOWN) ARE CURRENTLY IN USE. WE FIRED US-MADE PHAZZER CARTRIDGES FROM BOTH TASER DEVICES.
tridges fi red in the Indialantic, Fla. Police test, and the 30 car- tridges used in testing conducted by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy, the dud rate is 0.6 percent for the U.S.-made PhaZZer cartridge. T is is slightly better than the 0.9 percent dud rate for Taser-brand cartridges based on a published NCJRS/NIJ test. T e one U.S.-made PhaZZer cartridge that would not fi re re- sulted in an internal design change at PhaZZer Electronics, who has an ignition rate goal of 100 percent. A continuous improve- ment program company, this design change represents the sixth signifi cant modifi cation. T e ignition rate of the Gen 5 U.S.-made PhaZZer cartridges stands now at 99.4 percent. Watch the pages of LAW and ORDER and Tactical Response for an ignition reliabil- ity test on the Gen 6 U.S.-made cartridges.
In the event of a dud or squib load, do exactly what you would do on most handguns. Keep the device armed at the subject, and put the device on “Safe.” Then with the fingers clear of the blast doors, remove the cartridge and replace it with a new one. Do not try to reuse a “dud” cartridge. Just like Taser’s dud return policy, notify PhaZZer Electronics and provide them with the serial number. PhaZZer cartridges have a one-year, free replacement warranty. All PhaZZer cartridges have a date code in permanent ink on the label at the bottom of the cartridges. T e serial number allows
We tested conductive reliability two ways. First, half of the U.S.-made PhaZZer dart cartridges were fi red into plywood. T is kept the electrical circuit open. We got lots of arcing when 50,000 volts were being exerted to complete the circuit. However, the arcing was back at the device, not between the propelled wires from the PhaZZer cartridge. T at is how the Taser cartridges work, and it is how the new PhaZZer cartridges work.
T e second half of the dart cartridges were fi red into a thin sheet of aluminum. T is completed the electrical circuit. We wanted silence, not arcing, and that is what we got each time: si- lence is success. During every dart deployment from the PhaZZer cartridges, the wires remained connected to both the darts and the cartridge. T ere were no broken or pulled-free wires.
Static Guard
All Taser and PhaZZer cartridges are fired by electricity. Un- expected deployments can be caused by static electricity. All of the PhaZZer cartridges are shipped with a patented cartridge static guard snapped over the cartridge. This guard covers the blast doors and the drive stun probes. The cartridge static guard protects the cartridges from static electricity during land and air transportation.
That said, the same loading precautions for the Taser car- tridges apply to the PhaZZer cartridges. Keep your hands and fingers clear of the blast doors during loading. The PhaZZer cartridge can be installed in the CEW device with the guards in place. Be sure to remove the guards before or immediately after loading the device.
Like the Taser cartridge, the PhaZZer cartridge has terminals for a drive stun built right into the cartridge. T e PhaZZer cartridge drive stun feature works exactly the same way as the Taser cartridge
48 Tactical Response Fall 2015
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