Anyone Know What Happened to Noptel?

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Gwhite
Posts: 3230
Joined: Sat Sep 04, 2004 6:04 pm
Location: Massachusetts

Anyone Know What Happened to Noptel?

Post by Gwhite »

I have been a very happy user of Noptel electronic training systems for many years. I actually have three (one for my rifle, one for my wife's rifle, and one for pistol). I've snagged a couple more off eBay over the years for members of my rifle team.

A month or two ago, it occurred to me that I hadn't checked for software updates in quite a while, and I tried to access their website. Noptel still exists, but there is NO mention anywhere of their shooting products, either their line of military training gear, or their sport shooting products.

I sent a query to two different US dealers that used to sell them, and never got a reply from either one.

I fear the worse, and that they have folded up shop completely. I figure there is a small chance that they spun off or sold their shooting equipment division, and the shooting stuff might still be around under a different name. I would have hoped that they would have had a link to the shooting products if that were the case.

The big draw for me was that I didn't need cables like the SCATT system available at the time (about 10 years ago). It's quite likely that the newer SCATT units with the camera based sensor had given them more competition than they could handle.

The good news is that they have been absolutely reliable and I've never had any issues with them. The two on our rifles get used for a few months every spring, and I use the third system for free pistol in the summer. The seasons overlap a bit, and it makes life easier if I don't have to keep mounting & unmounting them all the time.

Does anyone have any concrete info on what happened to them?

Thanks!
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m1963
Posts: 577
Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2010 9:13 am
Location: Ohio

Re: Anyone Know What Happened to Noptel?

Post by m1963 »

FN Herstal bought Noptel in 2011. Now they make fire control systems for heavy weaponry, LPR (License Plate Readers), and other laser ranging, optical systems. It sure seemed to me like Noptel phased out their Sport Shooting line, after that.

https://fnherstal.com/en/news/fn-hersta ... portfolio/
Gwhite
Posts: 3230
Joined: Sat Sep 04, 2004 6:04 pm
Location: Massachusetts

Re: Anyone Know What Happened to Noptel?

Post by Gwhite »

Interesting! I bought my first system new around 2013, and this is the first I've heard that FN Herstal bought them well before that.

I was in communication with Noptel about some software issues with a new Windows laptop as recently as April of 2020. Other than dealing with the beginnings of COVID, all was well. There was no mention that they were shutting down.
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m1963
Posts: 577
Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2010 9:13 am
Location: Ohio

Re: Anyone Know What Happened to Noptel?

Post by m1963 »

There is a contact form for FN, at the end of this industry related article. Maybe it will help you...

https://www.police1.com/police-products ... M13aVrDta/
Gwhite
Posts: 3230
Joined: Sat Sep 04, 2004 6:04 pm
Location: Massachusetts

Re: Anyone Know What Happened to Noptel?

Post by Gwhite »

Thanks! I was planning on using that if no one on the forum had any additional info.
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