When you’re a police drone operator with a craft in the air, there are at least two very good reasons to keep your full attention on that and that alone.
One, even a brief interruption can risk losing a target and jeopardizing a mission. And two, police department drones are both important and pricey, and no department wants to replace one that gets damaged through an operator’s distraction.
Yet amid difficult and dangerous operations, drone operators remain part of a team, and ongoing communication is a necessity.
This dilemma gave Ruben Scheimberg an idea.
“It just occurred to me one night that where drone pilots are using radios, they generally have to remove their hands from their controllers to talk,” said Scheimberg, founder and owner of Earphone Connection, a major provider of radio accessories like earpieces and microphones to law enforcement. “Drones are really popular in fields like real estate for photography and surveying, but in real estate you don’t have to communicate with anyone. So police have a need other drone users don’t.”
Their jobs would be easier and safer, Scheimberg realized, if those operators could keep their hands on the sticks and not have to repeatedly remove one to press their talk button. The solution he came up with adapted Earphone Connection’s popular Air Pro Wireless Combo Kit into its new Phoenix Wireless Push-to-Talk Kit for drone controllers.
“I think we found a niche,” added Scheimberg. “Other companies in the two-way radio space can deploy headsets to a radio, but you still have to push to talk on the cable. There’s no wireless button.” With the Phoenix kit, that button attaches directly to the drone controller for easy operation with one finger.
Velcro attachment allows movement, comfort and placement options
Compatible with popular police radios like those from Motorola Solutions and L3Harris, the Air Pro Wireless Kit consists of a Bluetooth adapter and remote push-to-talk switch designed to allow a standard two-way radio to work with wireless earbuds or Bluetooth headsets. It works with users’ choice of TWS earbuds, including Airpods, Beats and Shokz, and the switch is typically mounted on a finger strap, steering wheel, handlebars, etc. “These are two pieces we’ve been selling like crazy,” noted Scheimberg.
The Phoenix Wireless PTT Drone Kit comes with a lightweight wired headset with inline push-to-talk, a Bluetooth radio adapter and a wireless Velcro-mounted PTT button that can go anywhere on a controller. The switch is easily paired to the adapter to operate the radio. It’s conveniently affixed with Velcro, allowing it to be moved for the operator’s comfort (e.g., left- vs. right-handed).
The Phoenix kit also works with users’ earbuds and other wired and wireless headsets, but the provided headset includes a noise-canceling boom microphone suited for loud environments, with a powerful speaker that plugs into the adapter on the radio. This headset is designed for long-term wear and provides the wireless controller option with a backup wired system that never needs to be charged. “If the wireless button gives out for any reason, you can still push to talk on the cable,” Scheimberg said.
The PTT switch, adapter, headset and connecting Velcro pieces come in a dedicated case. The Phoenix kit is currently available for Motorola Solutions’ APX, NEXT and XPR radios. A wireless headset for it, developed for extended operations, is coming soon.
Switch provides an ‘a-ha!’ moment
To vet his idea with law enforcement users, Scheimberg turned to some longtime colleagues in nearby Ventura County. Having worked together previously, they had an established rapport.
“One day I asked them, ‘Do you guys fly drones?’ and my main contact told me he was a drone pilot,” Scheimberg recalled. “The next day I came back with the PTT switch and Velcro and put it on their controller. I told them, ‘Here’s the concept. What do you think?’ They brought in some other people for their opinions, and it was like an ‘a-ha!’ moment.”
“This setup shines in the field, but it’s just as valuable inside of a real-time crime center with DFR [drone as first responder] operations,” observed Texas-based public safety UAS expert Rob Robertson in a short video on the Phoenix kit. “Open-ear comms keep operators tied into radio traffic while still staying synced with the team around them … For DFR, this is seriously a game-changer.”
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Scheimberg then joined Ventura deputies for training, and their convincing was complete. The department is now on the short list to obtain Phoenix kits as they become available. The collaboration has also helped lead to a growing multiagency drone community among the law enforcement of California’s south-central coast.
Other potential users have been enthusiastic too. “This setup shines in the field, but it’s just as valuable inside of a real-time crime center with DFR [drone as first responder] operations,” observed Texas-based public safety UAS expert Rob Robertson in a short video on the Phoenix kit. “Open-ear comms keep operators tied into radio traffic while still staying synced with the team around them … For DFR, this is seriously a game-changer.”
In some circumstances it may even turn a two-person job into a solo task – a key gain in this era of personnel shortages and difficult recruitment.
While important police drone operations can be done by a single officer, many agencies still prefer multiperson teams consisting of a pilot and an observer or spotter. Under FAA Part 107 regulations, single operators must be able to maintain visual line of sight, monitor the airspace, manage the craft and payload, and ensure safe operations. That’s a lot to manage but plausible for basic purposes like accident photos and mapping, traffic monitoring and routine patrol assists. Modern drones also have automated flight modes and obstacle avoidance that help make solo flights safer.
Simplifying the communication task to allow keeping hands on the controller may help single flyers better meet those FAA safety mandates.
“The spotter is there to tell the pilot not only about where the drone is but also about the surroundings. He’s also hearing on the radio where they need that drone to go,” noted Scheimberg. “In something like a foot pursuit, the team may be communicating through the spotter while the pilot has control. With the Phoenix kit, you could almost take the spotter out of it and make it a one-man team. That could be an effective strategy for budget reasons and keep the pilot more in control of the situation.”
For solo drone operators, the compatibility of the Bluetooth adapter with other Earphone Connection products means they can complete their flight mission, plug in something like the company’s Hawk lapel microphone, and return immediately to other duties.
“Cops flying drones are still cops – they still have a job to do,” said Scheimberg. “By plugging into the same adapter, they can go from piloting a drone right back to patrol or tactical or plainclothes operations. It really gives them the opportunity to keep on using their setup to go back to their day-to-day job.”
Benefits include situational awareness, clear comms
In 2017, according to the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College in New York, just 347 state and local public safety units in the U.S. fielded drones. By 2020, the center’s third report on public safety drones counted 1,578 agencies with them – an increase of about 355% in just three years. Around 70% of those operators were law enforcement. And with the continued expansion of police drone use through 2025, the number is likely even higher now.
From advanced laser sights for handguns to holsters that can trigger body-worn cameras when a weapon is drawn, wisely chosen accessories can boost the effectiveness of many of law enforcement’s most critical tools. Given how important drones can be to assessing situations and apprehending criminals, adding wireless push-to-talk to controllers could be a valuable enhancement.
The Phoenix Wireless Push-to-Talk Kit “really makes operations much better,” said Ventura County Deputy Patrick Maynard in a video for the product.
“I can hear very clearly thanks to the microphone and the noise-cancelling features. The individuals on the other end can actually hear me very clearly. That just helps us maintain good situational awareness and clear communication at all times.”
For more information, visit Earphone Connection.
