{"id":4091,"date":"2011-08-05T22:33:11","date_gmt":"2011-08-06T03:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/?page_id=4091"},"modified":"2011-08-06T02:06:42","modified_gmt":"2011-08-06T07:06:42","slug":"usage-instructions","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/products\/geiger-counter\/usage-instructions\/","title":{"rendered":"Usage Instructions"},"content":{"rendered":"

How to use it!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Easy, turn on the switch and listen for clicks! Watch the LED, it will flash every time a beta particle or gamma ray hits the tube! (Note: The tube that comes with the kit is not sensitive to alpha particles.)<\/p>\n

If you get tired of hearing the clicks, you can push the button S2 to MUTE the sound.<\/p>\n

The PULSE connector (J6) has the following pinout:<\/p>\n

1. VCC (nominally 3V)<\/p>\n

2. pulse output \u2013 a short (100us) active high pulse every time the geiger tube fires<\/p>\n

3. GND<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Logging:<\/strong><\/p>\n

To connect your computer to the serial port (J7), you will need a USB-serial converter that operates at 3.3V TTL levels. The serial header is set up to work with the common FTDI-232R-3V3 serial cable.<\/p>\n

Data is sent over the serial port at 9600 baud, 8N1.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The data is reported in comma separated value (CSV) format:<\/p>\n

CPS, #####, CPM, #####, uSv\/hr, ###.##, SLOW|FAST|INST<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are three modes. Normally, the sample period is LONG_PERIOD (default 60 seconds). This is SLOW averaging mode. If the last five measured counts exceed a preset threshold, the sample period switches to SHORT_PERIOD seconds (default 5 seconds). This is FAST mode, and is more responsive but less accurate. Finally, if CPS > 255, we report CPS*60 and switch to INST mode, since we can’t store data in the (8-bit) sample buffer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The largest CPS value that can be displayed is 65535, but the largest value that can be stored in the sample buffer is 255.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

***** WARNING *****<\/strong><\/p>\n

This Geiger Counter kit is for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. Don’t even think about using it to monitor radiation in life-threatening situations, or in any environment where you may expose yourself to dangerous levels of radiation. Don’t rely on the collected data to be an accurate measure of radiation exposure! Be safe!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How to use it! Easy, turn on the switch and listen for clicks! Watch the LED, it will flash every time a beta particle or gamma ray hits the tube! (Note: The tube that comes with the kit is not sensitive to alpha particles.) If you get tired of hearing the clicks, you can push … Continue reading Usage Instructions<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":4074,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4091","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/PioCd-13Z","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4074,"url":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/products\/geiger-counter\/","url_meta":{"origin":4091,"position":0},"title":"Geiger Counter","author":"Jeff","date":"August 5, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Introducing the MightyOhm Geiger Counter kit! Geiger Kit Options Kit with Laser-Cut Case and SBM-20 Geiger Tube $114.90 USD Kit with SBM-20 Geiger Tube (no case) $99.95 USD Kit without Geiger Tube or Case $49.95 USD Laser-cut Case Only $14.95 USD Bare PCB Only $12.00 USD Assembly Instructions Case Assembly\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"OSHW logo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/files\/geiger\/images\/6275026497_3cf9f175b2_c.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3436,"url":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/products\/hv-rescue-shield-2-x\/usage-instructions\/","url_meta":{"origin":4091,"position":1},"title":"Usage Instructions","author":"Jeff","date":"December 13, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"To use the HV Rescue Shield 2: Step 0: Verify your Arduino is working and your IDE is properly configured.\u00a0 A simple blinking LED circuit is good for this. 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Step 1: Load the HVRescue_Shield sketch in the Arduino IDE and click the \"upload\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/files\/avr_rescue\/screenshots\/Arduino%20-%20insert%20target%20AVR.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1473,"url":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/products\/avr-hv-rescue-shield\/","url_meta":{"origin":4091,"position":3},"title":"AVR HV Rescue Shield (Obsolete)","author":"Jeff","date":"March 10, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Introducing the AVR HV Rescue Shield The AVR HV Rescue Shield is a high voltage parallel mode fuse programmer for Atmel AVR microcontrollers. It currently supports the ATmega48\/88\/168\/328P series and the ATtiny2313.\u00a0 The Rescue Shield is based on my Arduino-based AVR High Voltage Programmer, but with several new features and\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"AVR HV Rescue Shield with ATmega168 target ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/rescue-shield-with-atmega2_scaled-500x375.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3421,"url":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/products\/hv-rescue-shield-2-x\/","url_meta":{"origin":4091,"position":4},"title":"HV Rescue Shield 2","author":"Jeff","date":"December 13, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Introducing the AVR HV Rescue Shield 2 The HV Rescue Shield 2 is a high voltage parallel mode fuse programmer for Atmel AVR microcontrollers. It currently supports a wide variety of AVR chips, including the 28-pin ATmega48\/88\/168\/328 series, the 20-pin ATtiny2313, and many 8-pin ATtiny devices (such as the ATtiny25\/45\/85\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"HV Rescue Shield 2.1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/files\/hvrescue21\/images\/5418114324_df1976bef0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15656,"url":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/products\/geiger-counter\/sbm-20-tube-specs\/","url_meta":{"origin":4091,"position":5},"title":"SBM-20 Tube Specs","author":"Jeff","date":"January 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The SBM-20 is one of the most popular GM tubes for hobby Geiger Counter and radiation monitoring projects. It is relatively sensitive and easy to use. There are many example circuits online that will help you build a Geiger Counter using this tube. 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