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I recently picked this up at private auction for about $22 and although it works, it is missing a probe and headphones.
Would anyone know where I can find the specific parts for this model so that I can get it back to its former glory....Where does a person go to buy things like this today?
The needle is slammed to the right in the last photo because I have it on "battery" mode to check that its functioning....
 IMG_7827 by rescueme1060, on Flickr
 IMG_7828 by rescueme1060, on Flickr
http://www.flickr....rescueme1060/sets/
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I think there are a few tech fix-it "camps" in the bay area. I forgot the names though. Basically volunteer engineers, repairmen etc show up to help people fix/restore/upcycle things. There's one in Palo Alto or mountian View, like every 2 months, or maybe even once a month.
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But will they have a probe that goes with this Geiger counter? Probably not. I wonder if I could bring it by Stanford and ask them for parts..
http://www.flickr....rescueme1060/sets/
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I'm guessing if you're going to find people who know where to look, it would be there. or ebay
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eBay has this exact model, Victoreen 493, with probe for $249,
listed as non-functioning / parts
http://www.flickr....rescueme1060/sets/
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The probe is a glass tube inside a metal housing. The tube is pressurized with argon gas and has a voltage applied to it. When a radioactive particle enters the tube, it ionizes the gas which in turn emits a pulse called a count.
The meter reads in CPM (counts per minute).
The output amplitude of the tube is constant. It can't measure the intensity if the radiation, only the approximate number of particles that enter the tube.
The electronics part is fairly simple. The tubes tend to leak and render the whole gizmo useless.
In order to use your head, you have to go out of your mind. |
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Just curious, would a Geiger counter pick up natural uranium dust in the air? The Colorado urbex community is thinking of investing in one because a lot of the mines in the western half of the state are old uranium claims.
"Sorry, I didn't know I'm not supposed to be here," he said, knowing full well he wasn't supposed to be there.
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This is stupid cool!!! Ive always wanted a geiger counter to take with me on explorations in factories and industrial facilities. Not bad out of radiation fear per say, but out of pure curiosity
~Beauty in the Abandoned, Beast in the Occupied~ |
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The search continues for a probe, insert joke here..... if anyone has any leads
http://www.flickr....rescueme1060/sets/
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Relevant anecdote.
When I was in school I was engaging in one of my favorite pastimes, poking around in the ancient basements full of forgotten old science crap.
I found a metal box and opened it up, wondering why the box and its lid were so damn heavy. Inside were a bunch of black plastic pucks, with labels disintegrated by time. I spent a while looking closely trying to figure out what they were, and then it struck me: They were radioisotope sources! The box was so heavy because it was shielded.
It looked frighteningly like this highly radioactive "scary object".
I dropped it in horror and went to go find a physicist to lend me a Geiger counter, and surprisingly secured one with a minimum of questioning.
Much to my relief I found that the source pucks were completely dead, whatever isotopes they contained had decayed away decades ago (so whatever they contained clearly wasn't Radium).
I do have a handheld Geiger counter now, but I don't carry it exploring because it's not really worth the bulk. It was only that one time that it would have actually been useful.
No leads on a probe for you. Just save a search on ebay and play the waiting game.
Post by Aran
would a Geiger counter pick up natural uranium dust in the air? |
It probably wouldn't be able to distinguish between airborne dust and elevated background radiation in the mines, but it would still be neat to see.
I come and go like a comet; we are wanderers.
Reports of our eradication have been somewhat exaggerated. |
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Handy device to have for a number of locations globally these days... Hopefully, the short-list will stay just that; short!
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Ethics
