Mr. Smith goes to Ottawa (on 'camera' batteries)

I was only able to view (on-line) a part of the testimony by Smith and Palmer. I'll be looking for the transcript or (hopefully) a complete video download.

UPDATE: It took a while, but the minutes are out. [LINK] Other SECU Minutes and Evidence are available on here [LINK].

One quote from today's meeting (found on-line) is as follows:

Smith, “I think some people are surprised to learn that the energy source for the Taser, the batteries that power it are the same batteries that are in most digital cameras.”

First of all, there isn't any such thing as "the Taser". There is the M26, and there is the X26, and there are others. It is misleading to lump them all together to cherry-pick the most favourable details to make the best argument (constantly switching back and forth).

Let's discuss the batteries in the X26 model.

I'm quite familiar with the CR123A camera batteries as used in the X26 taser. These are powerful batteries with a very low internal impedance. If you were to short out this type of battery you would see just how powerful they are. The math is this: 3.0 volts over just the 0.25 ohm internal resistance (a dead short) would result in a current of about 12 amperes (probably a conservative estimate). That's a lot. It could probably melt a paper clip placed across the terminals (NOT RECOMMENDED!!). These are very powerful batteries that can last for thousands of pictures, easily an entire vacation, in a modern digital camera.

But the X26 taser draws so much current from the two 'camera' batteries that if the taser is used continuously, the lifespan of the batteries is rated by Taser as only about 16 minutes, and then they're dead.

(Taser specification sheet for the X26 states "195" five-second shots which is just 16 minutes and 15 seconds).

The X26 taser current consumption is so high that the battery specification sheet doesn't even go that high. The electrical current consumption of the X26 taser is literally off-the-scale (of the battery specification sheet).

So I hope you can see that this is exactly the sort of propaganda that Smith and Taser specialize in. They'll happily tell you that the taser only uses a wee little harmless camera battery. But you have to come here to find out the other side of the story, which sheds an entirely different light on this little detail.

More later.

Ref: Link= Duracell Specification Sheet (.pdf format)

Ref: Taser spec sheet for the X26, Link= LG-STND-TECDBEC-001 (.pdf format)