Geiger counters, radiation detectors, lets see 'em

127.0.0.1

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natural disasters + human error or design flaw + radioactive piles = difficult or impossible-to-contain radionuclides

You have a flashlight or 20 for 'when the 'stroid hits in Dec 2012' but what about knowing if
there are new beta or gamma emitters in your environment ?

---
I have finally dropped coin on a detector, and was wondering what other peeps are using,
or if other peeps are even considering adding one to the toybox ?

I ordered a GQ GMC-300, which will be all the detector needed if the prevailing winds become
soured with ionizing radiation...also good for rockhounding....

When I get it, I will post up pics. Anyone else ?

It makes total sense to own one, Fukushima disaster is still getting worse not better,
and well yes I am actually worried I may come across recycled metal or
other stuff that might be a lot higher than background radiation, and I'd like to know about it,
so I can decide to make distance, or at least know the radioisotopes are around me.
 
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archimedes

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Marathon ADANAC Gamma Master II ( GRD3000 / WW194017 ) ... supposedly "coming soon" ??? - :) ... ( a websearch should easily point out a link )
 
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Wrend

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Yeah, I agree. That's a pretty neat watch. I can just imagine trying to explain to non-geeky civilians that your watch detects gamma radiation and that they should clear out of the area because its alarm just went off... :D
 

Lynx_Arc

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Yeah, I agree. That's a pretty neat watch. I can just imagine trying to explain to non-geeky civilians that your watch detects gamma radiation and that they should clear out of the area because its alarm just went off... :D
just dangle a tritium fob next to the watch and they will freak out :D
 

127.0.0.1

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just dangle a tritium fob next to the watch and they will freak out :D

really ? they supposedly do not emit ionizing radiation outside the glass.

when my GMC 300 comes in, I will put 9 trits right on the tube, and post up the counts per minute vs no trits
 

DisrupTer911

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how much did you spend?

I see Geiger meters at army navy surplus shops all the time, are they actually still accurate and worth the money?
 

127.0.0.1

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how much did you spend?

I see Geiger meters at army navy surplus shops all the time, are they actually still accurate and worth the money?

who knows...with a calibrated source, and a new tube, you can use any old detector,
all it has to do it count CPM. ionizing radiation is ionizing radiation no matter which source

if you are in the nuclear industry then you might want
something else that can be programmed with type of source material to get more accurate Sieverts
or something with a mica window that can read alpha emissions

I am buying a new one with new Müller tube, look up GQ GMC-300
 
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Lynx_Arc

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really ? they supposedly do not emit ionizing radiation outside the glass.

when my GMC 300 comes in, I will put 9 trits right on the tube, and post up the counts per minute vs no trits
I'm not sure if they would be detected or not come to think about it but they do emit radiation of some sort but in such low amounts it is negligible. I had a tritium backlit watch in the 70s (still have it but the backlight doesn't work now) and I was told that if you took about 300 of the tritium modules and smashed them in a phone booth it would be about the same amount of radiation you get out in the sun for about 8 hours.
 

EZO

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A tritium watch will not trigger a Geiger counter. We've tried it and nothing happened. That was in 1986 around the time of the Chernobyl disaster. A week or so later a friend stopped by the studio wet from a rainstorm and the meter lit up when her rain gear was scanned. Nothing really dangerous, but WAY above background.
 

127.0.0.1

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it just came in, I will post pics soon.

yup, have all my trits around it and if anything, I am getting less
background radiation. trits do zero to the CPM... as knew they wouldn't

EDIT: 9 mini 5mm bare trits in fact DO increase the CPM from 16/25 background average
to 50-60, and if I throw all my trits on the tube (3 more big 22mm ones), it goes to above 130CPM steady.


I am getting 16/25 background, sometimes zero..

http://radiationnetwork.com/


 
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Illum

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if you want to check the sensitivity of that monitor, buy some bananas :)
On the side note, I consider the aspect of monitoring radiation an exercise in futility... even if you know its presence, what could you do? Radiation contamination is very seldom regional, it "goes with the wind" per se. Knowing it and not knowing what to do after you know it is probably no better than not knowing.
 

127.0.0.1

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OK, not so fast !
---
I am finding with the unit closed, I cannot detect any additional ionizing radiation from trits

But if I open the unit and put the trits right up to the tube, it increases. In the pics below
I have nothing, a piece of paper with 9 loose trits and CPM goes up, then paper only.

I let each mode sit for a while before the pics. So, trits are weak, but not zero emissions.

(I also laid additional 22mm trits plus the 9 loose ones on there and the CPM went steadily above 100 !)

Nothing different with one loose trit under the tube (little white vertical dash on lower left)
psMMK.jpg

9 loose trits
VHiBS.jpg

Trits removed
6b0p5.jpg

The paper (in case this was the cause)
ezegF.jpg



On neat thing I did not realize is, if you flip this unit upside down, the display
also flips. Plus it comes with datalogger software for the computer. Not bad
for 150 bucks when most detectors using these same tubes are $400+.

I am not worried about the trits I carry in the slightest, but I wouldn't eat one either

they emit some beta which is mostly blocked by plastic, but loose trits close to a Geiger–Müller tube can be detected
 
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127.0.0.1

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if you want to check the sensitivity of that monitor, buy some bananas :)
On the side note, I consider the aspect of monitoring radiation an exercise in futility... even if you know its presence, what could you do? Radiation contamination is very seldom regional, it "goes with the wind" per se. Knowing it and not knowing what to do after you know it is probably no better than not knowing.

what can you do ? make distance and move away from it.

it is not futility, it is understanding the environment that much better,
exactly what flashlights allow you to do. I buy a lot of weird items and travel
the globe quite a bit, and what I am actually afraid of is contaminated recycled metals,
because scrap metal thievery has become the non-drug way to get quick cash

every year, hundreds of devices containing radiation sources are lost, stolen, or otherwise
drop out of the system for tracking them. For example, a factory that has gone out of business
may contain one or more such devices. As the building structure is being dismantled, these
forgotten devices often are considered as scrap metal, or someone may think they have value and try to sell them.

here in Mass every state trooper has a super-sensitive detector in his/her trunk, there is not going to
be any stumbling into something radioactive in my safe little corner...but who knows
what goes on around the planet in 3rd worlds where rules don't really apply.

that, plus anything else I am no longer blind to...like darkness to the flashaholic, I am no longer blind

it is a fun toy, don't forget that. I am not that freaked out, if I was I'd have several $4000.00 units with
different types of probes and calibrated samples and whatnot...but hey Fukushima is a cold slap back to reality
that danger is everywhere... it is only a matter of 'time and mistakes and a catastrophe' to meet up at the
same time and place and.......this is an interesting toy.
 
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seanspotatobusiness

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Be advised that different radiation detectors are designed to detect different energies of radiation. Something that's good for alpha and beta won't be useful for gamma. Apart from that, I've forgotten all my training on the subject :S
 

hoffmyster86

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i see people wandering how accurate a geigers counting to for the WTSHTF sinario..trust me, you dont need to see the number accuratly lolol!! it'll blow off the scale when them babies go off, after, waiting for that 'safe leval' is inthe millions of years, so when it bottoms at what ever number thats about the best you can hope fore.

long turm? ermmm too late lol. get as little as you can basically, in the 'bigger scale of things.


but yes i'd like one..not seen one i could afford to date though.
 

moshow9

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I have been thinking about picking up a SOEKS due to their affordability, if anything just to get a sense of readings (locally and during work travel) and out of curiousity.

I also came across a couple of EDCable-size detectors during my search, does anybody own or have any experience with either the Dositec K8 or Nukealert Keychain?
 

CrazyIvan2011

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I was thinking about getting the watch mentioned on here...just for 'kicks' so to speak (I collect watches anyway). But as some one mentioned above...these detectors in practice would be, em difficult to use to use to any real effect I guess. I work in radiation physics, and we have to calibrate our instruments twice a day (day/night shift), and you also need counting efficiencies for accuracy. You need different instruments, or probes for alpha...then beta/gamma, and neutron separate.

Just think people may get worried, as we get high readings, low reading from day to day...background varies a lot with location, and after it rains etc (radon). Dont get me wrong, they maybe good, and from my gadget loving side I would get one :p but by the time you would pick up meaningful radiation readings, you would probably already be in trouble. Unless you are near 'sources' quite a lot?

Saying that, some of our gear is...retro to say the least :)
 

Frijid

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I've got an old CD (civil defense) survey meter from the 50's or the 60's. if anyone cares to see it, reply back and let me know
 
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