Geiger Counter Nuclear Radiation Detector - FNIRSI Radiation Dosimeter with LCD Display, Portable Handheld Beta Gamma X-ray Rechargeable Radiation Monitor Meter, 5 Dosage Units Switched

15 years ago I woked as a Forester in Northern WI. I got the opportunity to work inside the Enterprise Radioactive Forest (google this). A forest that the USFS experimented on with Cesium in the 1970's to help deterime what would happen if the big one ever happened and what the effects of radioactive fallout would be on our forest resources. The project ended decades ago, but the forest continued on. When I worked as a forester, I can say it was the most bizzare forest I ever worked in. The trees all grew weird, were stunted, or misformed. A lot had wires coming out of them from the experiment. I also found alunimum rods everywhere. I picked up one of these rods and used it as a walking stick during the project, and kept it as a momento of working on the project (nothing illegal, it was trash). Years later, I found it in my garage and kind of wondered, is this radio active? Seems logical that it could be. All reserch I did on transfering of radiation to metals like aluminum said it was unlikely, but I was curious so I bought this detector. Glad to find out that it wasn't and I could keep my momento. It actually did not register anything, while bannanas sure did.

Before I begin, I need to say that this is a Geiger counter that has been designed to be a dosimeter. It measures the accumulated radiation exposure in fractional units of Sieverts over time. This is a high quality dosimeter considering the price. It can read gamma, beta and x-radiation dosages. Two screens are provided: the first is numerical and the second is graphical. The manufacturing quality of this instrument is evident at first glance. It is beautifully packaged in order to protect the Geiger-Mueller tube in shipping which is otherwise subject to shock breakage. I purchased this item in order to monitor radiation dosages in two places in my home. The first is an activated charcoal filter that I have on my water supply in the basement while the second is a reverse osmosis system with charcoal filters under the kitchen sink. Since there is radon in my well water supply, I prefer to remove as much as possible before it is delivered to the faucets in the house. It also serves to reduce the radon levels in air due to cooking, washing, showering and laundry. Capturing the radon in activated charcoal will also capture radon decay products (daughter products). Some of these have very short lifetimes, but some are extremely long and tend to build up in the activated charcoal filters over time. I wanted to see how these radiation dosage levels increased over time in order to determine the optimal time to change the filters. The first thing that I noticed was that in just one week, after a basement filter change, the radiation had already built up by a significant amount. The radon radioactivity in our water is approximately 3000 pCi/L. If allowed to vaporize due to cooking, washing, bathing and laundering, this amount of radiation could add about 0.3 pCi/cubic meter to the air. The radiation dosage level that was measured close to the tank was 1.4 uSv/hr according to the meter. If multiplied by the number of hours in a year, 8760, we arrive at the accumulated dose per year which is 12.3 mSv. This is the amount of radiation exposure that would be possible were a person to stay in proximity to the tank for an entire year. This exceeds the NRC dosage guidelines of 1 mSv (0.1 rem) per year. Clearly, the filter should not be placed anywhere near where people or children would normally gather or play, for example, a finished basement. I will be monitoring the activated charcoal filter tank for several weeks to see if the radiation buildup reaches equilibrium as the filter capacity is exhausted. This will provide a guideline for how often the filter should be replaced. Short term exposure to the filter during a filter change should not be an issue provided that safe handling practices are followed. As a followup, I have decided to change the activated charcoal filter in the basement four times per year since no one is in proximity to the filter most of the time. One additional piece of information: For occasional proximity to radiation by workers, the annual permissible dose is 50 mSv (5 rem) per year. On the subject of radioactivity and dosage; they are not the same, pCi/L cannot be converted to uSv, or vice versa. The first is an instantaneous radiation level in disintegrations per second from a liter of water, while the second is an accumulated exposure dosage over time. Finally, I am not a licensed professional engineer or health physicist. Always consult with a professional engineer or health physicist who is. Most water system installers pose as being knowledgeable, but they are not. While they may attend training courses in radon mitigation, they do not possess the knowledge required to make sound health decisions for your family.

OK this was one of these items that I really didn't have to have but wanted to get. I was first attracted to the price point for a functional Geiger counter and it has some nice options with it. This counter uses a GM tube I do believe and appears to give me consistent readings when using it with a known radioactive source. It will detect xray, beta and gamma particles and I really like the screen and setting options. Battery life for me has been super good and I like the size and feel in my hands. It is very easy to use but I will say that an area that it could improve in is it's ability to detect and display radiation doses faster and I do wish that it would give the characteristic clicking sound when the GM tube is struck by radioactive particles. So speed of detection and that sound are my only real complaints. I guess both of these are typically available on higher priced units. All in all, I'm very happy with my purchase and it's cool to check out uranium glassware, gas lanterns mantles and smoke detectors. Hope that it works well for a long time to come.

Does what it's supposed to. These are meant to be worn by ppl who work around radiation every day. They turn them on at the start of the day and turn them in at the end so their cumulative dose can be measured. It will detect radioactive isotopes in the immediate vicinity too, though it's more for measuring cumulative dose, which is more relevant, imho. It's not really meant for pinpoint accuracy either but if something around is radioactive it will ɗefinitely detect it. It also has an alarm that will go off if the rate of accumulation crosses a certain threshold, which you can set. It's basically on-the-job safety equipment, so it's pretty sturdy and has long battery life, can easily last through an 8hr day before it needs a recharge. You can switch between: 1.) micro-Sieverts/hr ｵSv/h 2.) Grays per hour Gy/h 3.) milliRoentgen per hour mR/h 4.) Counts per second 5.) Counts per minute No it will not detect the americium-241 (Am-241) in your smoke detector, no it will not detect the trace isotopes in bananas or concrete. According to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission: 0.0013 urem per hour at one meter from an ICSD containing a 1 uCi Am-241 source. : So about .0013urem is normal and safe. This matches up with what the dosimeter is reading at all times: ~0.0013urem Background radiation, mostly from the sun.

The good: The case is robust and the display and buttons are easy to read and use. The lithium battery is easily replaced by the user if necessary. The GM tube is easily swapped with a J321 tube if desired. The bad: The manufacturer recently changed from the J321 GM tube to smaller GM tube, which decreases the sensitivity, to what appears to be similar to an HH442 or J613 tube (but a little shorter). These use a solid metal cathode and so are insensitive to beta radiation. There is no audible click, but is easily modified to provide a click upon detection. The USB connector is used for recharging only. There is no data logging available through the port. Update: I added a J321 GM Tube. (Just unsolder the old one and snap in the new one. There was no need to add a loading resistor with mine.) Sensitivity to background radiation is about 4x greater. This tube cost about $20 with shipping direct from China. The old tube had a metal cathode and was almost certainly non-responsive to alpha and beta particles. This tube has a glass cathode coated with a nearly invisible layer of what appears to be aluminum to make it conductive, so it may be sensitive to beta particles. I expect alpha particles are stopped by the plastic of the case, and the glass of the GM tube. The ability to detect beta particles and the greater volume of the tube which allows it to intercept more gamma radiation together explain the greater sensitivity.

Its good if you get the right one.

This device is an absolute disaster and a scam. IT FAKES READINGS. When I decided to invest in a geiger counter for my personal safety and peace of mind, little did I know that my hard-earned money would be wasted on an absolute disaster of a device. The geiger counter I purchased, touted as a reliable tool for detecting radiation, turned out to be a nightmare in every possible aspect. The most important thing by far however are the fake numbers this geiger counter shamelessly produces. It's as if the device has a mind of its own, conjuring up figures that have no basis in reality. When placed next to a United Nuclear test card, it would completely make up fake numbers. Not only that, the CPM would always only change by weird, fixed pattern. This leads me to believe that they are making up numbers. This is absolutely unacceptable for a radiation detector that touts itself as a health tool. The geiger counter's battery life is nothing short of abysmal. It's as if the manufacturers took pleasure in designing a device that drains batteries faster than a leaky faucet wastes water. Within a very short period of time, the FNIRSIR began to lose charge quickly. In under a couple hours, it was fully dead with the device being very hot. This is absolutely unacceptable for a device that’s supposed to keep someone safe. But the cherry on top of this disastrous cake is the fact that the UI exacerbates the device's already apparent accuracy issues. The tiny, barely legible screen displays readings in a font size that requires a magnifying glass to discern. And when the readings themselves are as unreliable as a coin toss, struggling to decipher them due to poor UI design becomes an added insult to injury. In conclusion, the geiger counter I purchased has turned out to be a monumental disappointment. Its abysmal battery life, laughable accuracy, and propensity for producing fake numbers have shattered any semblance of trust I might have had in its functionality. I could forgive any of these problems if only it would actually accurately read radiation levels. I would strongly advise anyone considering buying this geiger counter to think twice and explore more reliable options on the market. Please look at the other 1 star reviews and videos and notice the random CPM and see how many people have the same problem I have. Your safety and peace of mind deserve better than this sorry excuse for a radiation detection device.

I have tried out several low cost Geiger Counters. This one has by far the best sensitivity. Since radiation is a statistical process if you are going to detect some activity in a reasonably short time you need high sensitivity. This unit claims to have a larger Gieger tube and from the vastly increased sensitivity I believe it does. I was looking for a needle in a haystack so to speak and this device gave me a chance. The other lower sensitivity units might have worked but would take me much longer searching. Hanging around is not something you want to do when searching for radiation!