Jack Plug Geiger Counter for iOS & Android

[osiixy]

Has anybody came across with this gadget
(and have some professional opinion about it)?



https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Newest-Geiger-Counter-Nuclear-Checker-to-detect-X-ray-Nuclear-Radiation-Gamma-Works-with-Smart-Phone/32297459661.html

I do not know but I can see some potential in it.
(Maybe I would give it a try with a Raspberry Pi Zero
or what the hack probably even a esp8266 is enough
to count and there you have it an IOT Geiger Counter)

[crazyguy]

mentioned in the product description it cannot measure background radiation, not so sensitive, it is just a toy

background radiation ~ 0.2uSv/hr

[osiixy]

I am an idiot.
Thanks.

[borjam]

An actual working Geiger detector kit is sold, for example, by Cooking Hacks. It works with Arduino or, using a "shield" to "hat" adapter card, with Raspberry Pi.

But it's much more expensive than the Aliexpress toy.

The Cooking Hacks circuit works, it measures background radiation and I have tried it with several radioactive sources (Thoriated TIG electrodes, pieces of Fiestaware pottery, an old light mantle...) and it indeed reacts

[crazyguy]

An actual working Geiger detector kit is sold, for example, by Cooking Hacks. It works with Arduino or, using a "shield" to "hat" adapter card, with Raspberry Pi.

But it's much more expensive than the Aliexpress toy.

The Cooking Hacks circuit works, it measures background radiation and I have tried it with several radioactive sources (Thoriated TIG electrodes, pieces of Fiestaware pottery, an old light mantle...) and it indeed reacts

you need a known source such as Cs-137 with certificate and proper set-up to calibrate the GM kit, otherwise the reading is meaningless.

[mikerj]

It says "Geiger" but I'm pretty sure it will actually be using a PIN diode.  Much simpler and cheaper but also lower sensitivity and would mean it's only useful for gamma radiation and x-rays.

[borjam]

you need a known source such as Cs-137 with certificate and proper set-up to calibrate the GM kit, otherwise the reading is meaningless.

Indeed. The calibration is a complex issue and it depends on the purpose for which you are doing it in the first place. I think that
this kind of kits should not display any purported measurement unit like µS/h, just counts per minute. So you know that a piece of pottery gives a much higher CPM count than the usual background level you see, but there's no potentially misleading µS/h value.

What I mean is that the detector works (not that using a Geiger tube is rocket science), it shows a roughly meaninfgful value for background radiation, and it indeed reacts when you place a radioactive source (beta or gamma) close to the tube.

The tube included with the circuit does not detect alpha particles, but they give you instructions to try different tubes. I have purchased a SBM-9 which should detect alphas as well. I'll try it one of these days.

[Emo]

It would be interesting to know what kind of detector they are actually using. From the same company

http://www.ebay.nl/itm/Smart-Geiger-Pro-SGP-001-Nuclear-Radiation-Detector-Counter-For-Smartphone-iOS-/381593861398?hash=item58d8c43d16:g:Uk0AAOSwSzdXBVAZ

It says ten times more sensitive. Probably just a little bit.....

[crazyguy]

It would be interesting to know what kind of detector they are actually using. From the same company

http://www.ebay.nl/itm/Smart-Geiger-Pro-SGP-001-Nuclear-Radiation-Detector-Counter-For-Smartphone-iOS-/381593861398?hash=item58d8c43d16:g:Uk0AAOSwSzdXBVAZ

It says ten times more sensitive. Probably just a little bit.....

not GM-tube with scintillation detector, the spec already said it is semiconductor type detector

[osiixy]

Yeah, a kit or this would be better:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Geiger-Counter-Radiation-Dosimeter-Nuclear-Radiation-Checker-Check-the-backgroup-radiation-free-shipping/32550304596.html

[osiixy]

you need a known source such as Cs-137 with certificate and proper set-up to calibrate the GM kit, otherwise the reading is meaningless.

Indeed. The calibration is a complex issue and it depends on the purpose for which you are doing it in the first place. I think that
this kind of kits should not display any purported measurement unit like µS/h, just counts per minute. So you know that a piece of pottery gives a much higher CPM count than the usual background level you see, but there's no potentially misleading µS/h value.

What I mean is that the detector works (not that using a Geiger tube is rocket science), it shows a roughly meaninfgful value for background radiation, and it indeed reacts when you place a radioactive source (beta or gamma) close to the tube.

The tube included with the circuit does not detect alpha particles, but they give you instructions to try different tubes. I have purchased a SBM-9 which should detect alphas as well. I'll try it one of these days.

Sorry SBM-9 or SBT-9?
I am only able to find infos for later one.
http://www.pocketmagic.net/tube-sbt-9-end-window-geiger-tube/

[borjam]

What I mean is that the detector works (not that using a Geiger tube is rocket science), it shows a roughly meaninfgful value for background radiation, and it indeed reacts when you place a radioactive source (beta or gamma) close to the tube.

The tube included with the circuit does not detect alpha particles, but they give you instructions to try different tubes. I have purchased a SBM-9 which should detect alphas as well. I'll try it one of these days.

Sorry SBM-9 or SBT-9?
I am only able to find infos for later one.
http://www.pocketmagic.net/tube-sbt-9-end-window-geiger-tube/

Silly me, sorry!

It's a SBT-9. I somewhat mixed up SBT-9 and SBM-20.

[osiixy]

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14209
http://www.radiation-watch.org/2011/05/professional.html#emb

For $69.95 seems promising.

https://youtu.be/OPVvBvlg6bI