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DIY Geiger Counter

Jufran88

Jufran88

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Ok, so I got this free copy of Elektor magazine along with some electronics I ordered and they have this article about how to create your own Geiger counter. I found this interesting and felt like sharing with everyone. I hope this helps some people.

In the article they used a photo-diode as the sensor with some transistors and resistors for the amplifier.

Here is a schematic of the amplifier circuit:
attachment.php


Now, this wouldn't complete the Geiger counter without the ticking sound so they made a circuit using an LM311 to create a pulse and make it audible with a speaker.

Here is the comparator schematic to make the ticking noise:
attachment.php


I included a zip file of the entire article that has all the details of its construction. Feel free to download it!
 

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  • amplifier.jpg
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  • comparator.jpg
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  • DIY geiger counter.zip
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Jufran88

Jufran88

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Jufran88

Jufran88

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Awesome, but scary at the same time! :eek: lol..

I wonder if there are DIY EMF readers? :scared:
 
JBTexas

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Jufran - not so scary - there are a lot of things around that are a little radioactive.

Used to be, those - gas mantle things - from camping lanterns, those braided white cloth things? They contained a small amount of radioactive Thorium. I read about it when I was a teenager (Scientific American or something?). There was a procedure for carefully cooking the mantle with a flame, until it was reduced to just grey ash. And you had a little bit of radioactive ash. (There WAS a warning in the article, as I recall, against breathing it in). I did that... I had already built a homemade Geiger Counter from a project in Popular Electronics.

I don't know if those mantles still contain thorium.

-----
EMF readers? I know that ham radio types (I am one) are occasionally interested in such. We are concerned about intereference. I KNOW that I've seen schematics... somewhere... you could google.

Unless you are talking about Elecromagnetic Pulse? (from nukes?)

Thing is, IF that phenomenon REALLY exists, the EMP would probably burn out the EMP detector before you could detect it. And by then, the presence of EMP would be moot anyway, or rather obvious from other things.
:cryyy:
 
lasersbee

lasersbee

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Jufran88 said:
Ok, so I got this free copy of Elektor magazine along with some electronics I ordered and they have this article about how to create your own Geiger counter. I found this interesting and felt like sharing with everyone. I hope this helps some people.

In the article they used a photo-diode as the sensor with some transistors and resistors for the amplifier.

Here is a schematic of the amplifier circuit:
attachment.php


Now, this wouldn't complete the Geiger counter without the ticking sound so they made a circuit using an LM311 to create a pulse and make it audible with a speaker.

Here is the comparator schematic to make the ticking noise:
attachment.php


I included a zip file of the entire article that has all the details of its construction. Feel free to download it!
Click to expand...

Is there any way you can show a copy of the article...?

I just built the circuit and it does not detect the radiation
from a radioactive sample I have that my Muller Tube Geiger
Counter picks up easily...

I'm wondering why a Solar cell should detect radioactive
particles... Maybe the article will explain it...


Jerry
 
jeffreythe00

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Hmm I suppose I will watch this thread. if this actually works.. I will actually be building one or maybe two... or even a few. (alot of my friends will want one I'm sure)

Thanks OP for the info :)
 
Jufran88

Jufran88

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JBTexas said:
Jufran - not so scary - there are a lot of things around that are a little radioactive.

Used to be, those - gas mantle things - from camping lanterns, those braided white cloth things? They contained a small amount of radioactive Thorium. I read about it when I was a teenager (Scientific American or something?). There was a procedure for carefully cooking the mantle with a flame, until it was reduced to just grey ash. And you had a little bit of radioactive ash. (There WAS a warning in the article, as I recall, against breathing it in). I did that... I had already built a homemade Geiger Counter from a project in Popular Electronics.

I don't know if those mantles still contain thorium.

-----
EMF readers? I know that ham radio types (I am one) are occasionally interested in such. We are concerned about intereference. I KNOW that I've seen schematics... somewhere... you could google.

Unless you are talking about Elecromagnetic Pulse? (from nukes?)

Thing is, IF that phenomenon REALLY exists, the EMP would probably burn out the EMP detector before you could detect it. And by then, the presence of EMP would be moot anyway, or rather obvious from other things.
:cryyy:
Click to expand...

Well, if the Geiger counter was ticking off the charts that would be pretty scary to me. Would glow in the dark materials make the Geiger tick much or just produce moderate ticks?

As for the EMF reader, Electro Magnetic Fields, I was refering to those used in paranormal investigations. I am somewhat a believer in those things. I didn't know ham radio folks use EMF readers, that's interesting. :tinfoil:

An EMP pulse would be pretty devastating to anything electronic. Yikes!

bobhaha said:
This is awesome! Cheers!

I might try this out one day... downloaded.

-----

In regards to the EMF reader... check this video out

YouTube - ‪Arduino EMF detector‬‏
Click to expand...

:thanks:

I might try that EMF reader some time!

lasersbee said:
Is there any way you can show a copy of the article...?

I just built the circuit and it does not detect the radiation
from a radioactive sample I have that my Muller Tube Geiger
Counter picks up easily...

I'm wondering why a Solar cell should detect radioactive
particles... Maybe the article will explain it...


Jerry
Click to expand...

The whole article is contained in a zip file along with the OP. I hope that helps and there are links in post #3 that go along with the article about the research.

jeffreythe00 said:
Hmm I suppose I will watch this thread. if this actually works.. I will actually be building one or maybe two... or even a few. (alot of my friends will want one I'm sure)

Thanks OP for the info :)
Click to expand...

:thanks:
 
Benm

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lasersbee said:
I just built the circuit and it does not detect the radiation
from a radioactive sample I have that my Muller Tube Geiger
Counter picks up easily...
Click to expand...

This seems like an odd contraption really. The photodiode could be activated by incoming gamma or beta radiation, but i think it would be very insensitive due to its small collecting area.

Perhaps the original idea is different: You could immerse a photodector in a volume of scintillation liquid. This is very common practice to count radioactivity of a sample that is mixed with the scintillation fluid, but there is no reason it would not work with external radiation as long as it penetrates the container. For gamma and higher energy beta radiation a thin plastic vial would pose little limitation.

Would glow in the dark materials make the Geiger tick much or just produce moderate ticks?
Click to expand...

Modern self lighting materials work on either phosphorescense (no radiation at all) or are powered by tritium, which is so low in energy that its beta radiation would be able to pass through a piece of paper.

Older self-lighting objects are a different story however. Radium paint was used very frequently in the past on things like clock hands, and that would be detectable by a geiger counter easily, possible indicating many impacts per second if measured up close.
 
lasersbee

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Well I read the text and as I supected there was
important info in there that this will get a second
test tomorrow when I'm back in the Shop...
Now that I understand the reasoning and functioning
it makes more sense...

Jerry
 
Benm

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I guess you need to get a test source too. One of the better sources to use would be a ceasium-137 since that output both gamma and beta radiation with reasonably high energies, and has a decent half life (30 years).
 
Tech_Junkie

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lasersbee said:
Well I read the text and as I supected there was
important info in there that this will get a second
test tomorrow when I'm back in the Shop...
Now that I understand the reasoning and functioning
it makes more sense...

Jerry
Click to expand...

Did you get it working Jerry???
 
lasersbee

lasersbee

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Tech_Junkie said:
Did you get it working Jerry???
Click to expand...

After reading the article...the thing I was missing in my 1st
try was shielding the sensor with the grounded aluminum
foil...

I added the shield but I still can't detect the particles emitted
by any of my three Radioactive samples that my Muller Tube
Geiger Counter detects with no problem...
Maybe my samples are emitting at too low a level...:undecided:
My samples come from 3 different makes of smoke detectors..


BTW... are you still up or did you just get up an hour ago like me....:thinking:


Jerry
 
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