Radiation detection gear

[angie_nrs]

Different pens read on different scales...
(Y'all throw the TMI flag when I hit my limit )

Ha, no limit. It's what this thread is for! I'm learning stuff with every post, so thanks for that. For instance, I had no idea that all those pens were different and with different readings. That is a valuable piece of information, especially if you have pens and no manuals.

I have no idea what ranges are dangerous and which ones are considered safe. I assume those ranges are listed in the manuals? Do you have a chart you could post?

I guess I don't even know if it would be worth the risk to throw a pen out and do a check. What if you just wanted to see if you were duped? Or, if you wanted to throw a pen out, and it wasn't a FF, would the risk of contamination be worth it to step out of the basement and throw a pen out the window or door upstairs? I guess that's where the meter itself would come into play, huh? So, if I got that right, I'd use the meter to determine if it was safe to move upstairs while moving upstairs with the meter in front of me. If it remained in the safe range, then I could open the door and toss the pen out, wait and hour, read the pen, and then proceed outdoors if fallout wasn't in a high range on the pen? Is that about how it would go? Forgive all my questions, but radiation is just not my area of expertise at all.

I'm not all that familiar with fallout either, but have been trying to brush up on it. I had not really even considered that you couldn't burn firewood that was contaminated. So, in addition to covering up the garden before sheltering, I'd also throw tarps over the firewood pile too. Wood heat would be extremely valuable in my area after such a horrid event. It makes me wonder how many people would have no idea about eating plants, veges, and using other wood or wildlife after a nuke. I guess that another really good reason to have a dosimeter. The need to test things after the fact would be needed.....for quite some time I would imagine.

 

[Supervisor42]

Ha, no limit. It's what this thread is for! I'm learning stuff with every post, so thanks for that. For instance, I had no idea that all those pens were different and with different readings. That is a valuable piece of information, especially if you have pens and no manuals.

I have no idea what ranges are dangerous and which ones are considered safe. I assume those ranges are listed in the manuals? Do you have a chart you could post?

I guess I don't even know if it would be worth the risk to throw a pen out and do a check. What if you just wanted to see if you were duped? Or, if you wanted to throw a pen out, and it wasn't a FF, would the risk of contamination be worth it to step out of the basement and throw a pen out the window or door upstairs? I guess that's where the meter itself would come into play, huh? So, if I got that right, I'd use the meter to determine if it was safe to move upstairs while moving upstairs with the meter in front of me. If it remained in the safe range, then I could open the door and toss the pen out, wait and hour, read the pen, and then proceed outdoors if fallout wasn't in a high range on the pen? Is that about how it would go? Forgive all my questions, but radiation is just not my area of expertise at all.

I'm not all that familiar with fallout either, but have been trying to brush up on it. I had not really even considered that you couldn't burn firewood that was contaminated. So, in addition to covering up the garden before sheltering, I'd also throw tarps over the firewood pile too. Wood heat would be extremely valuable in my area after such a horrid event. It makes me wonder how many people would have no idea about eating plants, veges, and using other wood or wildlife after a nuke. I guess that another really good reason to have a dosimeter. The need to test things after the fact would be needed.....for quite some time I would imagine.

Well, at least we have you learning about it . Too many people won't until it is too late.
As far as what is "safe" and what is "unsafe", that has been 'hotly' (pun) debated continuously since the cold-war and I'm not gonna touch that subject.
People will jump out of the woodwork and scream that only ZERO radiation is safe.
If you live on the surface of planet Earth, (and not 30' underground) you get radiation every day.
My thoughts on fallout: You will either have a bunch and it will be dangerous outside for 2 weeks, or you will have nearly none.
Knowing the difference is critical.
On the stuff outside that is to be brought into the house, food, people, wood, etc. is where the CDV-700 comes in handy.
It will quickly tell you what is "hot" and what is not. Can't do that with a dosimeter pen.

 

[Magus]

Yes, if it is out there for exactly one hour.
A detector measures the 'hotness' in rads per hour.
A pen left out there for one hour will show the number of rads it soaked up in one hour, which is the same.
Different pens read on different scales...
(Y'all throw the TMI flag when I hit my limit )
CD V-138 Dosimeter
Range 0-200 Milliroentgens
i
Range 0-20 Roentgens
CD V-740 Dosimeter (rare)
Range 0-100 Roentgens
CD V-742 Dosimeter (everywhere)
Range 0-200 Roentgens

Information is power, crank it up!

 

[viking]

After the Fukushima disaster and due to the Japanese ocean warm current making a straight line to our coast, we bought a Radex Quarta detector/dosimeter, it came with a sheet titled "How much is dangerous", their level of .83 micro Sieverts per hour says ALERT-No need to panic, but try to figure out what is going on, stay out of the rain and avoid unnecessary trips. 1.25 says Real risk of cancer if exposed for a year, 4.17 Real risk of cancer if exposed for 90 days. In addition the list says 100,000 is the Annual limit for Fukushima workers, to my thinking, that sounds like a death sentence.

 

[Supervisor42]

After the Fukushima disaster and due to the Japanese ocean warm current making a straight line to our coast, we bought a Radex Quarta detector/dosimeter, it came with a sheet titled "How much is dangerous", their level of .83 micro Sieverts per hour says ALERT-No need to panic, but try to figure out what is going on, stay out of the rain and avoid unnecessary trips. 1.25 says Real risk of cancer if exposed for a year, 4.17 Real risk of cancer if exposed for 90 days. In addition the list says 100,000 is the Annual limit for Fukushima workers, to my thinking, that sounds like a death sentence.

I can't deal with Sieverts.
There are micro-Sieverts, and milli-Sieverts. Too easy to confuse, and that could be a deadly mistake.
If even 1 Sievert is never used, maybe it is a useless way to measure.
It's like if your measuring tape for carpentry is in millionths of a mile and thousandths of a mile. (micro-mile and milli-mile)
It would be accurate to .063" (1/16"), but useful?

 

[angie_nrs]

As far as what is "safe" and what is "unsafe", that has been 'hotly' (pun) debated continuously since the cold-war and I'm not gonna touch that subject.

I found some paperwork with a unit I bought:

 

[Supervisor42]

I found some paperwork with a unit I bought:
View attachment 98123

That pretty much mirrors the bad words I had to say about the Soviet pens in this post:
https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/radiation-detection-gear.983/post-504417
That first paragraph, and last paragraph in your post really needed to be shared, but I'm too chicken to do it. (note, that they refer to them as "casualties")

 

[angie_nrs]

That first paragraph, and last paragraph in your post really needed to be shared, but I'm too chicken to do it

Why? The picture was from a CD manual. What's the harm in sharing it? What am I missing?

 

[Supervisor42]

Why? The picture was from a CD manual. What's the harm in sharing it? What am I missing?

It scares people.

 

[angie_nrs]

Well, it is a scary topic, but knowlegde is light....and power. I used to think a nuke would be the end all and just never bothered to prepare for it, but folks (like you Sup) on this forum changed my mind on that. I'm not fully prepped for such an event, but I think I would be able to get by if it wasn't a total global nuke war. Even if that happened, I have more knowledge about what that might (or might not) entail than I did before.

It looks like basically it would be supportive care to those affected. Get them out of harms way. Then, test for radiation on their clothes and remove them if necessary and wash them up. Push fluids and keep them as comfortable as possible so that they can rest and allow their body to recover. IV hydration would be great, but most people will not have access to that. Fortunately, I do but my supply is very limited. I would imagine diarrhea and nausea meds might not work well, but still may be worth a try. I have both of those in my med cabinet as well. I would also supplement with liquid electrolyte solutions. I have LOTS of those, mostly in powder form to reconstitute with water b/c they are much easier to store.

I found another Radiation document.

 

[Supervisor42]

Well, it is a scary topic, but knowlegde is light....and power. I used to think a nuke would be the end all and just never bothered to prepare for it, but folks (like you Sup) on this forum changed my mind on that. I'm not fully prepped for such an event, but I think I would be able to get by if it wasn't a total global nuke war. Even if that happened, I have more knowledge about what that might (or might not) entail than I did before.

I found another Radiation document.

Yes, good timeless info.
I hope nobody gets scared.
Most people don't know that there will be thousands of times more fatalities from exposure to radioactive fallout than from the blast of the nukes.
The vast majority of those can be easily avoided. (like knowing how 'hot' it is out there)

 

[Neb]

Yes, good timeless info.
I hope nobody gets scared.
Most people don't know that there will be thousands of times more fatalities from exposure to radioactive fallout than from the blast of the nukes.
The vast majority of those can be easily avoided. (like knowing how 'hot' it is out there)

And...

The damaged infrastructure will lead to millions due to lack of medication, good water, disease due to bad hygiene, ...

And that has nothing to do people behaving badly ... bang bang shoot em up...

So then the stockpiled food runs out with scares heirloom seeds with the grid down... Bad bad bad. Could be 100,000,000 dead in the US.

But please note with the exemption of those dependent on pharmaceuticals... all of those challenges can be overcome with first education of the threats and education how to avoid then action to circumvent those challenges.

In the game of prepping cheating is fair provided the cheating happens before the genesis of the disaster. (Ben circa 2000)

Ben

 

[angie_nrs]

I hope nobody gets scared.

Ah, I woudln't worry too much about that on this forum. I think most folks here probably view it as I do........something to look into and get prepared for as much as possible. IF someone is scared, that should serve as motivation to get ahead of it before it happens. That's the only way to squash the fear. There's really nothing more we can do besides pray.

So then the stockpiled food runs out with scares heirloom seeds with the grid down... Bad bad bad. Could be 100,000,000 dead in the US.

I agree. The panic will make people do stupid and ignorant things. Many won't know what to do or what to expect, which just amplifies the fear and panic. That's why I'm trying to brush up on the topic and get my nuke kit in order. I don't trust the evil NWO folks to keep a lid on nukes. I'm beefing up my medical cabinet and trying to learn and purchase things that may be invaluable if a bomb hits. Because, if that happens.....there will be no way to get any supplies, including a docimeter or medicine. Even knowledge at that point will be scarce (especially without internet), so I'm glad to have my old 1960's CD manuals and a couple of other books on the matter. It'll give me something to read while I park it in my basement for 2 weeks.

A big thanks to Supervisor42! If not for you, I probably wouldn't have purcased the charger, pens, and docimeter like you posted. Even though they are old, they are EMP proof, so I like having those around. I'm leaving a pen at work and one in the car as well b/c you just never know when things might happen. I also got the digital docimeter as a backup. IF a nuke hit, I'm sure they'd all be pulled out of kits and used immediately. I also bought fresh 10 packs of D batteries (and rechargables) that are kept in packages next to that equipment. I'm almost certain I know of nobody (friends or family) that has these tools. So, having several (like you do) is a smart thing.

Please keep the tips coming.....I feel like I learn something more every time I revisit this thread.

 

[Supervisor42]

Please keep the tips coming.....I feel like I learn something more every time I revisit this thread.

Fishing with a dosimeter pen in your backyard to measure radiation level.
Just additional info.
Let's say the pen you have only measures a max of 50r or 200r and you reel it back in after an hour and the needle is pegged out.
You need to know exactly how 'hot' it is out there, so what do you do?
You re-zero the pen on the charger and toss it out for 15 minutes.
When you reel it back in, the reading on it will be exactly 1/4 of the rads/per hour a meter would show.
Knowing if it 220r, or 400r can be very important.
*The previous is certainly not professional advice, just a suggestion.

 

[Bacpacker]

Fishing with a dosimeter pen in your backyard to measure radiation level.
Just additional info.
Let's say the pen you have only measures a max of 50r or 200r and you reel it back in after an hour and the needle is pegged out.
You need to know exactly how 'hot' it is out there, so what do you do?
You re-zero the pen on the charger and toss it out for 15 minutes.
When you reel it back in, the reading on it will be exactly 1/4 of the rads/per hour a meter would show.
Knowing if it 220r, or 400r can be very important.
*The previous is certainly not professional advice, just a suggestion.

100% agree with this method

 

[Hardcalibres]

If you need to dangle a dosimeter outside your shelter to conduct measurements, seal it up in a close fitting plastic bag (or even a similar sized plastic food storage container).

You want to measure the radiation without contaminating your meter.

If you let fallout get into your meter, it just measures the radiation being emitted by the dust and not what is actually present in the environment during later measurements.

 

[angie_nrs]

Fishing with a dosimeter pen in your backyard to measure radiation level.
Just additional info.
Let's say the pen you have only measures a max of 50r or 200r and you reel it back in after an hour and the needle is pegged out.
You need to know exactly how 'hot' it is out there, so what do you do?
You re-zero the pen on the charger and toss it out for 15 minutes.
When you reel it back in, the reading on it will be exactly 1/4 of the rads/per hour a meter would show.
Knowing if it 220r, or 400r can be very important.
*The previous is certainly not professional advice, just a suggestion.

So, how would you know if it was safe enough to throw that pen out there (in a plastic bag)? We would have to come upstairs and open a door in order to throw a pen out. How do you know it's safe enough to do that?

 

[Hardcalibres]

So, how would you know if it was safe enough to throw that pen out there (in a plastic bag)? We would have to come upstairs ane open a door in order to throw a pen out. How do you know it's safe enough to do that?

You can't.

So setup your shelter with a straight pipe with a cap on the shelter end, so that you can slide the meter outside, keep it there for an hour or whatever and then reel it back in.

 

[Supervisor42]

So, how would you know if it was safe enough to throw that pen out there (in a plastic bag)? We would have to come upstairs and open a door in order to throw a pen out. How do you know it's safe enough to do that?

Even if it was 600r/hr level outside, (lethal for being out in it for an hour), if you only open the door for 5 minutes to toss it out, and 5 minutes to reel it in, you would only receive 100r (easily survivable), which is far better than when someone races out screaming: "I gotta go to the store!!!"
Instead of having a pipe to toss a dosimeter pen out of your shelter, just after the SHTF, unwind and connect the coax cable to the bottom half of your CD V-717 meter and put the bottom half in your backyard. (Like I will)
Dive into your shelter and monitor the level on the meter from in there.

Edit: Correction, the cable is tri-ax, not coax and 25-feet long.

 

[Magus]

If you need to dangle a dosimeter outside your shelter to conduct measurements, seal it up in a close fitting plastic bag (or even a similar sized plastic food storage container).

You want to measure the radiation without contaminating your meter.

If you let fallout get into your meter, it just measures the radiation being emitted by the dust and not what is actually present in the environment during later measurements.

I'd put it in a mason jar on a string.

 

[angie_nrs]

Dive into your shelter and monitor the level on the meter from in there.

Edit: Correction, the cable is tri-ax, not coax and 25-feet long.

Is the unit already set up for that? Or, is that something you rigged up?
If it's already set up that way, where did you get the cable?

To do that, I'd have hubby punch a hole through the flooring and run the cable out through an upstairs window. It could be done quickly if there was warning. I'd definitely do that as it just so happens.....I have one of those meters too.

 

[Supervisor42]

Is the unit already set up for that? Or, is that something you rigged up?
If it's already set up that way, where did you get the cable?

To do that, I'd have hubby punch a hole through the flooring and run the cable out through an upstairs window. However, it could be done quickly if there was warning. I'd definitely do that as it just so happens.....I have one of those meters too.

The CD V-717 has two bottom sections (note, 2 latches). The spool with the cable is in the lower one. Notice the big empty space where the spool was taken out:

TMI = HERE

 

[viking]

Badges are 'dosimeters' which only tell you how much radiation you have 'soaked up' so far. Not 'how hot' it is where you are.

We had those black round badges that were dosimeters, all the while I was in the Air Force, presently we have a Radex Quarta, it runs off of two AAA batteries, I don't remember how much we paid for it but it wasn't too expensive, by the readings we get around here we seem to be in a relatively safe area.

 

[Supervisor42]

Well after years of listening to me chirp about radiation detection, our best buddy down here finally got him a unit.
Things have changed a bunch in the past decades . His is a 3-in-1, low level meter, high level meter, and dosimeter, all in one unit.
It was pretty pricey, but tested great.
Here it is sitting on some of my 'hot rocks':

When he got here, I told I had made a fun game of hide & seek, just for him, by hiding my hot rocks in their clamshell container inside one of the 3 curio cabinets. (they are 1/4th as 'hot' inside their container).
It was up to him to 'sniff' them out.
He easily did.
https://www.amazon.com/Geiger-Counter-Radiation-Dosimeter-Monitoring/dp/B0BG7PLQNR?th=1

 

[Bacpacker]

Ill have to dig into that one a little. 3 in 1 sounds good

 

[Supervisor42]

Ill have to dig into that one a little. 3 in 1 sounds good

The link I posted includes the test source and waterproof case (which they overcharge for ) and may not be needed for a shelter.
Without them, it is only $169.

 

[Cascadian]

Well after years of listening to me chirp about radiation detection, our best buddy down here finally got him a unit.
Things have changed a bunch in the past decades . His is a 3-in-1, low level meter, high level meter, and dosimeter, all in one unit.
It was pretty pricey, but tested great.
Here it is sitting on some of my 'hot rocks':
View attachment 124731
When he got here, I told I had made a fun game of hide & seek, just for him, by hiding my hot rocks in their clamshell container inside one of the 3 curio cabinets. (they are 1/4th as 'hot' inside their container).
It was up to him to 'sniff' them out.
He easily did.
https://www.amazon.com/Geiger-Counter-Radiation-Dosimeter-Monitoring/dp/B0BG7PLQNR?th=1

@Supervisor42 thanks for the info and review. They went up in price a bit but still cheaper than a concert ticket. We mostly do the country healthy food and clean living thing. Nuclear fallout was pretty far down the list. Especially in western Oregon. We are upwind and away from any likely targets. However these days it might not be a bad investment. We may end up checking incoming supplies or something. Kinda like free blankets.

 

[Frodo]

I know a guy that tried to trade me a Geiger counter. I think that is what it is called. If interested. Holler

 

[Supervisor42]

I know a guy that tried to trade me a Geiger counter. I think that is what it is called. If interested. Holler

What model is it?
If it is a CDV-700 in good condition, I would gladly give it a new home .

 

[Cascadian]

I don't know enough about them to be comfortable with a used one. Thanks for the offer.