HAnix-diy - Public: Radioactivity measurements

Just for fun I started to collect some radioactivity measurements.
I did something similar 35 years ago in Italy with a DIY kit from Nuova Elettronica.
Why ? Well, as I said, just for fun and curiosity and don't forget we have a nuclear plant in Arkansas. Never hurt to monitor if something fishing is going on (and no, so far everything is fine for what I can say :) )

Tools

The main tool used is a GMC300E Plus geiger counter from GQ Electronics.

GMC300E Plus

To extract the data from the counter and generate the graphics, I'm using the Python code geigerLog.
I did install the python script on my main Linux machine and I generate graphs with the CPM (Count Per Minute) obtained from the geiger counter via the USB connection.

History - Older tool

Before to buy the GMC300E I did build some geiger counters in the past.

The last one I did build was from an Electronic Goldmine kit, a place where sometime I buy electronic components.

https://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=C7092

This kit is a simple geiger, with no counting capabilities. The idea was to build it and then interface it with a digital counter triggered by the LED but as usual I never had the time to do that.
I did build it and it works nicely though.

Another tool I have around is an old, but still in good shape, radiological survey meter I did found in an antique mall, a Victoreen CD V-717.

I don't actually use it, is working for what I know (I did check the electronic) but is not exactly a geiger.

As mentioned in the beginning, years ago, around 1986, I also did build and used a geiger counter from a Nuova Elettronica electronic kit (LX 772/LX 773).

Nuova Electronica cover of the geiger Kit I did built (http://www.rsp-italy.it/Electronics/Magazines/Nuova%20Elettronica/_contents/Nuova%20Elettronica%20108_109.pdf)

Of course, for who can remember, 1986 was the year of the Chernobyl accident and everybody in Europe was worried about radioactive clouds coming from Russia.
I too was caught by the radioactive fever and thus built and learned about radiations.

Nuova Elettronica was an Italian electronic magazine I was reading in the 80s and 90s, I did learn a lot of things building and studying electronic kits.
The main purpose of the magazine was teaching electronic so each article was very detailed, with a lot of information and notions.

Among the kits I did build there was the geiger counter,
With a friend for few months we did around our village (in North Italy, close to the Alps) collecting data.
It would be nice to be able to put my hand on these old measurements, but of course who knows where they are .. if they are still around. I should still have the geiger somewhere in Italy though.
Anyway, the old geiger was ... old :)

The geiger I did built in the 1986

But stop with the history. let's go back to the present :)

Procedures

So far the procedure used to collect data is quite simple, there is no specific goal to achieve if not curiosity.

The idea is to have the geiger set up on default settings, start it when start to walk/hike, collect data during the walking time and then stop it when finish to walk/hike.

It would be great to be able to correlate the measurements with specific places but so far it can be a very tedious and long procedure, so I'm just looking to some statistics and raw data.

Eventually better procedures will be developed if continuing with this activity.

Specific articles will follow with some data.