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by Atomic.dave Atomic.Dave@yahoo.com
This is a one of a kind custom hand-made Geiger Counter built by Atomic.Dave. It is based on a kit designed by the original creator of the DIY Arduino based Geiger Counter Kit- Brohogan. For over 3 years, I
have built and sold over 100 of these kits, with very good results, and fantastic feedback by ebay customers.
All information for this kit is available at the developers website and its a good idea to visit the site from time
to time as the software and other parts of it may change, upgrade or improve. As I have said before, this is
more of a kit for someone who knows a little bit about electronics but doesnt have the time or patience to
build it, or would rather someone else do all the dirty work. Having been built
by me, of course there will be some imperfections, although as minimal as
possible. These instructions will help you to understand the basic operation
of this meter. Once you have used it a couple times, it should be pretty easy
for you to operate.
OPERATION
On the face of the unit starting from the top are IR sensor, LCD backlit
display, 2 LEDs, piezo vent, 1 momentary button, and 4 triple pole slide
switches. Follow the label to locate the listed switches below:
IR Sensor (Small hole just above the display)
Under this small hole is the IR for the wireless remote control, so when operating the remote, try to aim it to
this general location. The other small hole below the LCD display is the vent for the piezo.
LEDS
After powering the GC on, you will hear the beeping of the piezo as your internal LND712 GM tube picks up
radiation events. The GREEN LED will coincide with the beeping piezo but can be muted with the SND
switch. The RED LED will only light up when a set alarm threshold is reached. Both LEDS can be turned off
for indiscreet radiation monitoring. The two switches for this operation are the ones listed as LTS and ALM.
Middle postion is off.
LND712
NULL
SWITCHES
A. PWR Power switch controls the power and charging of the GC. Up turns it on the GC with battery power,
Middle turns it off, and Down position is for charging the unit. To charge the GC, push down the USB power
switch on the left side of the GC, as well as have the PWR switch down. When you do this, a RED LED to the
right of the USB port will remain constant RED while charging, and will turn BLUE when charging is complete. If you wish to power the unit with the USB in, and bypass the batteries for extended periods, put the
Power switch in the middle position, and push the USB power switch UP. Always keep the USB power switch
in the UP POSITION when powering the unit with the batteries. It only goes DOWN for charging.
B. LTS This is the Light switch that controls both the GREEN Event LED and the LCD Backlight. Up turns on
both, Middle turns both off, and Down turns on just the LED, and turns the Backlight off for power saving.
C. MOD momentary switch (Green, located below the piezo vent ) does 4 things. 1- Alarm control. 2- Scaler mode
start/stop. 3- Alarm 30 second mute. 4- Menu reset.
1. When you first power on the unit, you will see:
Atomic.Dave K109
LND712 GK5v11.1b
This customized first welcome window can easily be changed if you want, by doing a little programming in Arduino. Refer to the ARDUINO section for more detailed instructions. But the default is now set to my name, Kit
109, and the second line is the Geiger Counter Tube and the version of software that the AT328 chip is running
which is v11.1b.
Then a second window will come up with the first line showing the current set uSv to CPM conversion rate.
100 CPM=1 uSv/h
Running at 5.24V
The second line refers to the current voltage that your system is running at. This is a 5 volt system. The
3400mAh 3.7v lipo battery is boosted to 5v with a pololu booster. Everytime you start up your GC (geiger
counter) it will show you this so you will always know your current voltage.
The third window will show this:
Alarm Set ?
Now at 500 CPM
At this point, you can push the MOD button to incrementally change the Alarm threshold number. Once
you stop holding down the button and wait, it will be set to the current number shown on the screen and will
stay there until you change it either again restarting and waiting for this part, or by using the included remote
control to change it. You can also choose from units of measurement such as CPM or uSv/h for the Alarm
with the remote.
AUDIO
OUTPUT
USB PWR
2. It also acts like a stopwatch starter for the scaler mode. It has two preset times of 1 minute and 10
minute averaging. You can change this with the remote, or the sketch when connected to pc. Although it is
much easier with the remote obviously. Push the button and the timer starts where the first line is counting
down from 60 seconds. The numbers on the left are the current total events during this timed one minute. The
numbers on the right is the seconds counting down from 60 to 0. Same thing goes for the second line, but for
10 minutes.
3. When your alarm goes off you can tap this button to mute the alarm for 30 seconds.
4. After programming your unit with the wireless remote, if you want to reset it to default settings. Hold
down this button while the unit starts up.
D. ALM The Alarm switch controls the Alarm RED LED and Piezo. Up for both on, Middle for both off, and
Down for LED only on. This makes for a silent visual alarm.
E. SND The Sound switch controls the Event speaker. Up for tone mode, Middle for mute, and Down for
Standard Click Mode. More on Tone Mode later.
F. NULL The black tactile button (located on the very top next to the LND712 grill) is used in "Tone Mode"
where clicks are replaced by a tone which varies in pitch based on the CPM. When pressed, a new baseline
is created for the pitch so if you are moving to an area with a higher background the pitch will still indicate
changes at the new level.
DISPLAY IN DEPTH:
SCALER SCREEN
The top line shows the CPM (updated every 5 sec. by default) and a quick response bar graph (updated
20 times / sec.). The bargraph will be replaced with ALARM if the displayed CPM exceeds the alarm threshold. It is also replaced by Vcc when it drops below 4.2V. The second line shows the dose unit and the calculated
dose. The dose unit and the dose ratio (CPM to dose unit) are settable in the menu (controlled by the wireless
remote or via arduino). Pressing the Select button while in this screen will switch to the Scaler screen . . .
Two scalers are provided, each with its own period. The scaler on the top line is fixed at one minute and
the scaler on the bottom line is set to a programmable period from the menu. Each scaler has two modes counting and ongoing. The screen on left shows both scalers counting. A running total of the counts is displayed, along with the amount of time left for the scaler period. The screen on the left shows that the one
minute scaler finished the counting mode and is now showing the average CPM and dose rate for the period.
These values now become a moving average. The bottom scaler can also be set to "Infinity" in the menu by
setting it below 2. This is a special mode that shows the total accumulated dose since the scaler screen was
first started. Pressing the Select button while in the scaler screen will bring you back to the main screen.
However both scalers will still be accumulating counts, so you can go back and forth between the main
screen and the scaler screen and still see meaningful data.
OTHER SWITCHES, BUTTONS, PORTS, DIALS
A. On the upper right side next to the LCD is the LCD contrast dial. As the LCD is used, it might get to a
point for you to readjust the contrast for it. Not a big deal, while the backlight is on, gently take a small screwdriver and turn it to the left or right until it appears to have the best contrast.
B. Located on the lower left side is the AUDIO output used for Geiger Bot (with the included G-Bot cable),
and for Just plug in the Geiger Bot cable into this with the 3 conductor plug, and the 4 conductor into your
iphone or ipad. It also serves as a mono audio output for silent listening with headphones, or with any 3 conductor to 3 conductor M-M audio cable, you can run sound based data logging software or amplify the clicking.
C. On the lower right side is the USB power and charge control switch with status LED. If you want to power
the GC without using the batteries- 1. Turn off the GC battery by switching PWR to middle position. 2. plug in the
USB cable, and other end to any 5v source such as a wall charger, cigarette adapter, pc, mac or laptop usb output.
3. Flip USB switch to the ON position. To charge the GC- 1. Push PWR switch down to CHARGE position. 2. Plug
into USB source. 3. Push USB switch to the CHARGE position. When you do this, a RED LED comes on to the
right of the USB port and will remain RED till it is done charging, then the RED LED will become BLUE. During normal operation with battery, keep this switch (UP) or ON position.
D. In this same area is the Mini USB FTDI output/input for programming in Arduino. This also is used to
charge the internal Lithium Ion battery (with the power switch in the bottome position.) Or it can be used to power
the GC for extended periods, however when you power it this way, I would advise to turn off the LCD backlight to
save the life of the backlight. Its ok to turn it on once in a while, but I wouldnt leave it on for extended periods.
When uploading any new changes to the program sketch, you will need to have the USB PWR switch in the up
position white it is plugged into your pc with the USB cable. This same USB port is used for data logging output to
two different usb based FREE Radiation Logging softwares. Both are PC based and not available for mac.
http://radmon.org/
http://radiohobbystore.com/radiation-logger/
The BARGRAPH MAX CPM menu setting also affects tone mode by defining the CPM that will produce the highest frequency of tone. Normally
this is set to highest CPM for situation and tube being used. In order to get the best spectrum of tones, tone mode is based on a logarithmic progression rather than a linear one. This fits with the fact that radiation intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the
source. The "null button" resets the range of tones so that the low notes are set back to the current activity. This is a useful feature when switching
from a low to a high background for instance. The null button removes the higher background so increased activity may be more easily discerned.
SETTING UP TONE MODE
1. Set the proper conversion ratio for your tube. With the proper ratio set, the null point will automatically be set when the counter is powered on
so normal background radiation is ignored. 2. Place a sample of the mineral or other radioactive item you are trying to detect approximately one
inch from the detector. Note the CPM reading after it has stabilized. 3. In the menu, set the BARGRAPH MAX CPM to the CPM value you noted
in step 2. 4. Adjust the tone sensitivity setting to suit your preferences. For most mildly radioactive items (such as red Fiestaware), sensitivity settings from 1-5 work well. The ideal value varies depending on the activity level of the target object, the tube, and the distance. Lower settings
cause the tone to increase in frequency faster in response to smaller changes in the count rate. Higher settings cause the frequency to increase
much more slowly for changes in count rate. When the sensitivity setting is 0, the frequency will jump very rapidly from the lowest frequency to
the highest one. This setting is useful to quickly scan an area to determine if there are hot spots. You will likely want to change the setting to a
higher number to help locate the hot spot.
LOGGING
Logging is provided in the form of serial output through the FTDI connector at 9600 baud, N,8,1. The frequency to send the serial output is determined by the LOG PERIOD menu setting. The default format has a header on the first line with each line of data in comma separated values for
CPM, Dose. and Vcc. For example, 36,0.2052,4.79<CR/LF> (36 CPM, 0.2052 dose, 4.79V) When USE RADLOGGER? is set, no header is created, and only CPM is output. This setting is used when connecting the serial output to the Radiation Logger application.
LOGGING
Logging is provided in the form of serial output through the FTDI connector at 9600 baud, N,8,1. The frequency to send the serial output is determined by the LOG PERIOD menu setting. The default format has a header on the first line with each line of data in comma separated values for
CPM, Dose. and Vcc. For example, 36,0.2052,4.79<CR/LF> (36 CPM, 0.2052 dose, 4.79V) When USE RADLOGGER? is set, no header is created, and only CPM is output. This setting is used when connecting the serial output to the Radiation Logger application.
RADIATION LOGGER
This may be the simplest application to interface to and provides some very nice features. It's a Windows freeware application available on this
site. It was originally intended to work with a clone of the Geiger kit sold there. Beginning with v10.1 the Geiger kit can interface to this application
by setting a menu option USE RADLOGGER? to "Yes" and setting LOG PERIOD to either 5 or 10 seconds. The application expects only CPM
from the serial port in either 5 or 10 second intervals and combines it with the local time. Setup the parameters on the logging application by selecting the comm port and the baud - 9600. It does a great job logging and graphing. Logs can be saved and graphed at a later time. It may be
the best logging and graphing application I've run into. All that is needed to use it with the kit is v10.1+ software and a USB to serial dongle.
RADMON.ORG
This is a very unique approach that maps and graphs the output collected at the PC to a web site. This allows you to compare your readings with
other's around the globe. It is very easy to get this working with the kit . . . Register and download the application from radmon.org. Set the menu
options on the kit to: USE RADLOGGER? = "Yes" and set LOG PERIOD to at least 30 seconds. (Unlike the Radiation Logger above, you can set
longer periods if you wish.) Run the application you downloaded, set the comm port to your FTDI cable, the baud to 9600, and enter the username and password you registered with. You will also see the kits output on your PC and also on the radmon.org website.
GEIGER BOT SUGGESTED SETTINGS: (You may have to play with it to get it just right) GO TO: https://sites.google.com/site/geigerbot/
Select options
Adjust Conversion
factor to your tube:
123 for LND712
175 for SBM-20
360 for LND7317
Select I/O Settings
Ultrafast Rates ON
SOFTWARE SWITCHES
If you are willing to load the software, modify it, and upload it, you can set #defines to change certain behavior or add special features to the program. In general all the common features are enabled and you don't have to mess with it. But if, for example, you want to use a 2x8 LCD, you simply change a #define, and upload the new release. All user based #defines are located at the beginning of the sketch and may change based on
the version. Below is a list of the most interesting defines in the current version.
EIGHT_CHAR - formats for 2x8 LCD when true
PWR
LTS
MOD
ALM
SND
ON
OFF
CHARGE
ON
OFF
LED
SCALER
ALARM
ON
OFF
LED
TONE
OFF
CLICK
A B
GA M
ON
USB
CHARGE
PH
X-R
AUD
GK5-K109
LND 712
atomic.dave
RADIATION DETECTOR
3v
LIPO
ON
OFF/USB
CHARGE
EVENT
LED
300 OHM
RESISTOR
LCD Diode
Voltage Limiter
Band to left
ON/ON
OFF
ON/OFF
LIGHT
A
C
1
ALARM
Threshold
Timer
SELECT
ALARM
LED
G
300 OHM
RESISTOR
4
6
3
5
ON/ON
OFF
ON/OFF
ALARM
3.5mm
Socket
1K OHM
RESISTOR
ALARM
PIEZO
.1 uF Cap
56K OHM
RESISTOR
10M OHM
RESISTOR
.1 uF Cap
TONE
OFF
CLICK
TONE
Reset
H
NULL
E
SOUND
5v in+
5v in
LIPO
CHARGER
Batt+
Batt
13
MOD
SCALER
ALARM
TONE
OFF
CLICK
ON
OFF
LED
GAM
atomic.dave
LND 712
CHARGE
USB
ON
SND
ALM
Pololu 2119
5v Boost REG
Up/Down
IR SENSOR
J
K
K
3 CHRG
1 ON
USB
POWER
RADIATION DETECTOR
AUD
ON
OFF
LED
ON
OFF
CHARGE
GK5-K107
LTS
PWR
FTDI
A B C D E
E
HA B
POWER
X-R
LP
A
Y