Random Thoughts....

The radium is enough of a concern still though to be weary of.

Weary of ingestion/absorption, yes. Weary of its radiation without contact, probably not during any reasonable length of exposure.


A quick glance through my reference materials identifies the ex-Civil Defense CD-V700 counter is what you need.

More info: http://www.radmeters4u.com/#3a http://www.radmeters4u.com/#5

Available here, in calibrated form (which you desperately need in this type): http://www.radmeters4u.com/more.htm

A commercial unit of equivalent quality starts at about $1000 and goes north from there.

Isn't a scale of 0-5Sv/h a bit on the large side? If the radiation was that strong I would recommend against handling the stuff at all. For reference, a dose of 100mSv is considered the maximum for emergency personnel when trying to save lives. At 5Sv/h you'd have that dose within just over a minute. Regular people should not be exposed to over 20mSv a year, at 5Sv/h you'd get that dose within about 15 seconds.

PS: Oh, 700 :lol: I guess my anchors failed to skip to the correct one. 500?Sv/h sounds better.
 
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Weary of ingestion/absorption, yes. Weary of its radiation without contact, probably not during any reasonable length of exposure.

I'd be weary of it too, if that stuff was around here all the time. But I'd still be WARY of it. :p


Isn't a scale of 0-5Sv/h a bit on the large side? If the radiation was that strong I would recommend against handling the stuff at all. For reference, a dose of 100mSv is considered the maximum for emergency personnel when trying to save lives. At 5Sv/h you'd have that dose within just over a minute. Regular people should not be exposed to over 20mSv a year, at 5Sv/h you'd get that dose within about 15 seconds.

The unit has three selectable ranges: 0-0.5 mR/hr, 0-5.0 mR/hr and 0-50.0 mR/hr. The last one is useless because it is known to freak out at the higher end of its scale on that setting, to the point where it can give false low readings. Among other reasons.

However, it is known to be quite sensitive at lower ranges and the units are still in use today. He doesn't need the highest range (if he did, he'd be better off with something commercial or a CD-V715/717), he just needs to know when radium's around and where that flake of radium paint just went to.
 
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I'd be weary of it too, if that stuff was around here all the time. But I'd still be WARY of it. :p

Yeah, shame on me for trusting a Texan on English spelling.

The unit has three selectable ranges: 0-0.5 mR/hr, 0-5.0 mR/hr and 0-50.0 mR/hr. The last one is useless because it is known to freak out at the higher end of its scale on that setting, to the point where it can give false low readings. Among other reasons.

However, it is known to be quite sensitive at lower ranges and the units are still in use today. He doesn't need the highest range (if he did, he'd be better off with something commercial or a CD-V715/717), he just needs to know when radium's around and where that flake of radium paint just went to.

:nod: I had initially looked at the OMG SOMEONE SPILLED BARRELS OF GREEN GLOWY STUFF counters going up to 500R/h or 5Sv/h. The 700's range is slightly lower than the digital one I suggested at 0.01?Sv/h-6.5mSv/h, but both should work about equally well.
 
Yeah, shame on me for trusting a Texan on English spelling.

Nabster is from Wyoming. He's here temporarily as a student, because Texas has a watchmaking school. Apparently not a student of English, though. :p A Texan he is not.

:nod: I had initially looked at the OMG SOMEONE SPILLED BARRELS OF GREEN GLOWY STUFF counters going up to 500R/h or 5Sv/h. The 700's range is slightly lower than the digital one I suggested at 0.01?Sv/h-6.5mSv/h, but both should work about equally well.

The former are the "If you are not leaving NOW or wearing radiation armor, you're dead" kind. The digital one is nice looking but frankly I've heard really bad things about the cheap retail ones. I wouldn't trust them, frankly.

The first type are really supposed to be used by people either avoiding nastiness in the wake of a nuclear 'event' or by rad-suited salvage teams.
 
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I think the blizzard has finally stopped. After waking up from a nice nap (brought on by several days' consumption of numerous cough and/or cold meds), it looks like a plow went down our street.

According to the National Weather Service out of the Twin Citites, my town received 13.5 inches of snow. Even that doesn't compare to what some place in Minnesota had.
 
Alright, I'll substitute "Texan" for "American" :tease:


We've had digital ones in school, but they had no scale. All they had was a 7-segment 4-digit counter and a reset button. After all, he does not really care about the real amount of radiation, when looking for spills he could just go by the rate of detection of particles in the Geiger-M?ller tube.
 
I've just been designated "Official Bartender" of my friends' New Year's party. It is...quite the honor.
 
Alright, I'll substitute "Texan" for "American" :tease:


We've had digital ones in school, but they had no scale. All they had was a 7-segment 4-digit counter and a reset button. After all, he does not really care about the real amount of radiation, when looking for spills he could just go by the rate of detection of particles in the Geiger-M?ller tube.

True, but many of those were cheaply made and can go out with no warning. I wouldn't waste the money, not if I knew there was radium about.
 
Etiquette has just flown out of the door when it comes to my generation. I was at a party last night and they were doing speeches but they were kept being interrupted because people were talking throughout them. FFS, you came to the party for a reason, at least show some courtesy for the person you're celebrating the birthday with.
 
So what you need is a laboratory or low-range unit, calibrated for smaller samples and lower levels as opposed to my "OH F**K THERE WAS A BIG EXPLOSION AND NOW SOME STUFF'S STARTED GLOWING" unit. Which is actually useful when prospecting for uranium. :p

oookay. Jag, Uranium, Guns. Giant orbital ion cannon (uncalibrated), Bacon canon, deer chasing cat.

I think you check all marks for Evil Mr. Spectre, please allow 6-8 weeks before your evil certificate arrives.
 
Etiquette has just flown out of the door when it comes to my generation. I was at a party last night and they were doing speeches but they were kept being interrupted because people were talking throughout them. FFS, you came to the party for a reason, at least show some courtesy for the person you're celebrating the birthday with.

Well to be honest I don't think anyone goes to parties anymore to actually celebrate something. They go for the free piss.
 
Seems a lot of parties happened last night.

Such as the wankers across the road from me blaring Bon Jovi til 3am.
 
I think the blizzard has finally stopped. After waking up from a nice nap (brought on by several days' consumption of numerous cough and/or cold meds), it looks like a plow went down our street.

According to the National Weather Service out of the Twin Citites, my town received 13.5 inches of snow. Even that doesn't compare to what some place in Minnesota had.

Not sure what we got but it is probably similar. Oh well, too drunk to go anywhere.
 
I need to go to parties and be less lame

Same, but judging by the way its 5am on a Sunday and I spent all day watching anime and making cheese toasties it ain't gonna' happen! :lol:

In other news, I really need to see a doctor because my knee is fucked. God knows why but I can feel the joints rubbing together and it starts to ache if I walk for more than a few mins, I now have a pretty pronounced limp...
 
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I step away from here for 30 minutes to make some snickerdoodles and I get a big todo about Geiger counters. Sheesh. :lol:

First, to clarify, with old watches there is a surprising amount of radium. It's not the most dangerous stuff out there, but as things are now it's dry and flaky, and it will go everywhere inside a watch and then everywhere when that watch is opened if it isn't taken care of properly. Radium Girls, for those who are unaware. It does present a hazard, especially if ingested as in that case, but with little flakes of the stuff getting everywhere that hazard does exist, hence my need of a decent enough unit to detect the stuff. It's not uncommon for government organizations to have interest in radiation levels of watch repair places because of radium.

Perhaps for fun I'll take it out back in Wyoming in my spare time and look for some uranium, we do have the largest uranium ore reserves of any US state.

Now, I wonder how far off calibration those CDV700 units get over time, ebay has them available for ~50. Seems like it would be possible to get a calibration sample and calibrate it myself for the sort of loose accuracy I need, though I'm not an expert in this business.
 
Same, but judging by the way its 5am on a Sunday and I spent all day watching anime and making cheese toasties it ain't gonna' happen! :lol:
That is ok I am lame too

In other news, I really need to see a doctor because my knee is fucked. God knows why but I can feel the joints rubbing together and it starts to ache if I walk for more than a few mins, I now have a pretty pronounced limp...

Buy a stylish cane.
 
Now, I wonder how far off calibration those CDV700 units get over time, ebay has them available for ~50. Seems like it would be possible to get a calibration sample and calibrate it myself for the sort of loose accuracy I need, though I'm not an expert in this business.

Pretty bad. I had a CD-V700 that could barely see its built-in check spot (something the cheapie digital meters don't have, either.) They needed periodic maintenance, too.
 
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