Detectron Geiger Counter
in [Repair]
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From: David Nebenzahl on 24 Apr 2010 14:33 On 4/24/2010 1:02 AM N_Cook spake thus: > Jeff Liebermann <jeffl(a)cruzio.com> wrote in message > news:kcf4t5hlkdkjj4h04vns4qf7t8d3dhcsob(a)4ax.com... > >> On Fri, 23 Apr 2010 10:38:23 -0700, "Chris F." <zappyman(a)hotmail.com> >> wrote: >> >>>> Schematic of the DG-9 model: >>>> <http://www.curtcass.com/detectron/dg9-sch.jpg> >>>> Probably quite similar to the DG-7. >>> >> I'll stand on my comments that your clip lead and external power >> supply kludge is probably causing problems. Find some suitable >> electrolytics and place them across where the battery would normally >> connect. The idea is to reduce the impedance that the counter sees in >> the direction of the power supplies. That should reduce the >> motorboating (oscillation). > > Does USA "kludge" = UK "bodge" ? Yes, except that I'm going to insist that the proper spelling is "kluge"[1], which rhymes with "luge", not kludge which would rhyme with fudge (which would just be wrong!). [1] I'm fairly certain, though I can't prove it, that this term comes from a line of printing equipment made by the company called Kluge, which included a number of very complex Rube-Goldbergian machines, hence the current usage. -- The fashion in killing has an insouciant, flirty style this spring, with the flaunting of well-defined muscle, wrapped in flags. - Comment from an article on Antiwar.com (http://antiwar.com)
From: PeterD on 24 Apr 2010 15:07 On Sat, 24 Apr 2010 07:51:13 -0700, "Chris F." <zappyman(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > >> I'll stand on my comments that your clip lead and external power >> supply kludge is probably causing problems. Find some suitable >> electrolytics and place them across where the battery would normally >> connect. The idea is to reduce the impedance that the counter sees in >> the direction of the power supplies. That should reduce the >> motorboating (oscillation). > >I tried putting a 100uF cap in that area, the result was that it greatly >increased the frequency of the stray clicks.... >I wonder if a row of 10 9-volt batteries would work? > Probably would, but may not for very long. Why not an inverter with an output of about 90 VDC? The current is not very great, you could probalby bodge one together easily enough.
From: Jeff Liebermann on 24 Apr 2010 23:49 On Fri, 23 Apr 2010 16:00:06 +0100, "N_Cook" <diverse(a)tcp.co.uk> wrote: >Now there is no thorium loaded gas mantles around these days Ummm... check out the gas and kerosene mantles from China. Some are hot: <http://www.tradevv.com/chinasuppliers/yansong_p_4e599/china-Gas-mantle.html> Incidentally, I once sacrificed one of my radioactive thorium Coleman lantern mantles and ran a side by side comparison of the brightness with a current non-radioactive zirconium mantle. The radioactive mantle was MUCH brighter. >nor radium >dials , what is commonly around to give an above background check that they >are working ? I like to use KCL (potassium salt, lite salt, or low-sodium salt). The Potassium 40 is radioactive (450pCi/gram): <http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/crud/salt.jpg> <http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/cwillis/rad/nosalt.html> It's not very hot but works well enough with a GM tube. Also lots of fun going to the market with my 1950's GM counter. I once found some brand of sea salt that was really hot, but it had been withdrawn or recalled before I could return to buy some. While at the market, try brazil nuts, acorns, and bananas. K-40 but only when grown with massive overkill doses of fertilizer. Also try cat litter. They all show up hot with my scintillation counter, but are very weak with the GM tube. If you go to the hardware store, check out the high phosphate fertilizer. The stuff has uranium, K-40, thorium, radium, and who know what else in it. While at the hardware store, see if they have any tungsten stick arc electrodes. They have some Thorium mixed in. At home, if you have a dark colored granite counter top, you'll find it somewhat radioactive from uranium. <http://greenbuildingelements.com/2009/03/27/granite-showrooms-continue-selling-radioactive-granite/> The problem isn't so much the radiation. It's the radon gas that it produces. Got any pottery or kitchen plates with a yellow or bright orange glaze (Fiestaware)? If so, they're uranium oxide. Got any old cameras or eyeglasses made between WWII and about 1980? Most lenses have thorium mixed into the glass to increase the index of refraction. These are really weak and will only show up on my scintillation counter. Got a heavy scotch tape dispenser with a sand-epoxy mix in the base? The sand has thorium mixed in. Got an old static eliminator for removing the static electricity from old vinyl records? If so, it's quite hot with Polonium. More: <http://www.kronjaeger.com/hv-old/radio/src/index.html> <http://www.anythingradioactive.com/radsamples.htm> <http://www.physics.isu.edu/radinf/natural.htm> See section on food. -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl(a)cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
From: Ian Jackson on 25 Apr 2010 03:53 In message <7f86t556ufr4kvg5kr9fsv8tk5gavleadd(a)4ax.com>, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl(a)cruzio.com> writes >On Sat, 24 Apr 2010 09:02:32 +0100, "N_Cook" <diverse(a)tcp.co.uk> >wrote: > >>Does USA "kludge" = UK "bodge" ? > >I think so. Also sometimes spelled kluge. ><http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kludge> > Be aware that, while "bodge" and "botch" tend to get used interchangeably, "bodging" and "botching" are not the same thing. A "bodger" is a skilled, itinerant wood worker. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodging A "botcher" is someone who fakes doing a proper job of something. If a kludge provides a functionally adequate (but inelegant) solution, I'm not sure whether it is really a bodge or a botch. -- Ian
From: Jeff Liebermann on 25 Apr 2010 11:14
On Sun, 25 Apr 2010 08:53:38 +0100, Ian Jackson <ianREMOVETHISjackson(a)g3ohx.demon.co.uk> wrote: >In message <7f86t556ufr4kvg5kr9fsv8tk5gavleadd(a)4ax.com>, Jeff Liebermann ><jeffl(a)cruzio.com> writes >>On Sat, 24 Apr 2010 09:02:32 +0100, "N_Cook" <diverse(a)tcp.co.uk> >>wrote: >> >>>Does USA "kludge" = UK "bodge" ? >> >>I think so. Also sometimes spelled kluge. >><http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kludge> >Be aware that, while "bodge" and "botch" tend to get used >interchangeably, "bodging" and "botching" are not the same thing. > >A "bodger" is a skilled, itinerant wood worker. >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodging > >A "botcher" is someone who fakes doing a proper job of something. > >If a kludge provides a functionally adequate (but inelegant) solution, >I'm not sure whether it is really a bodge or a botch. Ok, I'm lost in the translation. However, it's good to know that the Kings English has multiple names for what I do naturally when confronted with a technical problem. Such multiple names are a sign of sophistication and tends to identify what a society considers important. For example, the Eskimo's have multiple names for different types of snow. In Yiddish, we have multiple names for the different types of "idiot". In government, there are multiple names for the different types of taxation. I'm sure something profound can be extracted from all this, but I don't want to ruin a nice weekend by attempting to think. -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl(a)cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |