When i was a kid sometime in the late 60's my friend and I had some instructions from either Popular Science or Popular Mechanics for using components from an old tube-type radio to build a crude Geiger counter /radiation detector and were able to get a popping and cracking sound when placing it close to a small clock dial painted with radium. I couldn't begin to explain how it was built except that we got practically everything from old radios and TV's.
6:30 That “Universal Vacuüm Tube Base” is an 𝑶𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒍-𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓, the 1940s version of the USB-Connector. They were used for 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔, not just Vacuüm Tubes.
Devices utilizing vacuum tube form factors were so common that several of the round pin sockets survive and continue to be used in modern industrial machinery, primarily for mounting relays and timers.
I'd love to see you cover old school surveying pre aerial photography and GPS - much of the western US was mapped in the late 1800's using plane tables and telescopic Alidades carried by crews on foot/horseback with folding rods and also using chaining where there was no line of sight. It's so fast and easy to make accurate topographic maps right in the field.
@@danielvest9602 I was working Firewatch years ago but NOT in one of the cabins built for that and including a specialized alidade called an Osborne Firefinder, so my ranger boss got me an old 1950's surveyor's alidade from a storage room and showed me how to use it with a map and compass to find the bearing to a fire and estimate both distance and elevation from my baseline - I logged over a dozen fires with it; he never asked for it back and I eventually put it on display in my man cave after moving back to civilization. Fast forward many years to 2020 - I went down a deep rabbit hole as I do, downloaded tons of 19th Century surveying manuals and learned to use it during the pandemic to make really accurate topographic maps of my property - mine's a Keufel and Esser with a Beaman Stadia Arc for calculating both straight map distance and surface distance which is the actual walking distance, basically the hypotenuse. Ebay has 'em up now and then. A tripod with adjustable map board, ranging rod (a tall ruler w/big numbers), some basic math and a little trigonometry is all you need to know to use one. Oh...and a ton of practice lol
@@napalmholocaust9093 Yep, the history of surveying North America is fascinating - the Western Baseline runs N-S through Portland Oregon, but mapping the Southern parts of the state took several tries as the indigenous folks kept making it too dangerous...also look up The Great Trigonometrical Survey of India. Wow.
I am impressed with how well surveyors measure elevation. The Rocky Mountains are quite far from any ocean, but surveyors accurately found the height of each peak in "feet above sea level".
That was so slick. A relaxation oscillator. That was absolutely awesome. I’m making one for my drone to alternate and relax “relax” some leds. Bravo my good man.
Thank you for a really concise explanation of a complicated subject! I appreciate how you introduce the scientists by name and picture. Your channel is superb!
Excellent episode. I foresee a Radiacode sponsorship offer incoming. I have a Sun Nuclear Corp. prototype 1190 Dose Calibrator (hollow cylindrical ion chamber) in my garage. Mostly argon inside, if memory serves.
Love the series on radiation detection. You covering so many different types has me thinking that you are preparing for the worst. I enjoy you channel and look forward to the next episode.
I have a late 1940's or erly 1950's US Navy tube-type geiger counter. The circuit uses a neon tube relaxation oscillator to generate pulses which are amplified by a 1S4 vacuum tube to drive the high voltage transformer. The amplifier is a integrated unit with two subminiature tubes.
Thank you for the great videos! You explain things very thoroughly and in a way to make it understandable, especially when many of the devices are based on technology that was in the infancy of its creation!
Interesting and thanks. If you think about it for a moment, there is ionizing radiation going on. A known volume of gas, air, then is a variable resister that can be run through one or more Darlington transistor that can drive the micro amp meter. Knowing the amplification, you can work out the current. Which is proportional to the flux of radiation.
Just out of curiosity, you said "no guesses as to why" they were a popular project... I'm guessing you meant public concerns of nuclear attack but my first thought was actually "uranium fever", the uranium prospecting fad of the 50's which doesnt get talked about so much. 😅
I made one back in the 1950's used 2 battery's and a voltage doubler, used headphones only. had a Gieger tube I got from Allied electronics .works fine.
I recently got my hands on a Victoreen 492 Geiger counter for my collection. I pushed it to its limit with an X-ray tube, I measured up to 20 mili Roentgens per hour. That same radiation level makes my Radiacode 103 stop working, it instantly drops to zero when the tube is on. I’m nowhere near the tube while it’s on, I have a remote switch so I can be out of the room while it’s running and I monitor my dose carefully and it’s never above background, furthermore it’s only on for a few seconds at a time, which minimises any dose accrued over time.
They were used in the first electronic flashes. The 300 V battery charged a capacitor that was discharged on the xenon flash tube. More modern flashes (like my Mecablitz 45) used four Ni-Cd batteries or one 6 V Pb-H2SO4 battery and an inverter. Photographers preferred the flash with the 300 V battery, as it was silent and very quick to recharge.
How about covering dosimiter badges? No circuitry, but somehow giving a warning when a preset limit of total exposure to (alpha? beta? gamma?, all the above?) is reached. How the heck do they work, and what happens if you wear them in bright sunlight?
It might have been better to use the far more ubiquitous USCD counter rather than bop back and forth between tube explanations and transistor diagrams. I'm quite familiar with both but much of your demographic might not be.
(fade in)… “ stable, multi oscillator vibrator vacuum tube…” (fade out). I swear, it sounds like English, but I have 0% comprehension. Still fun to listen to, though.
14:22“… to prevent 690 volts from being conducted to the operator’s head.” Thanks! That is a helpful feature, some customers will want that.
When i was a kid sometime in the late 60's my friend and I had some instructions from either Popular Science or Popular Mechanics for using components from an old tube-type radio to build a crude Geiger counter /radiation detector and were able to get a popping and cracking sound when placing it close to a small clock dial painted with radium. I couldn't begin to explain how it was built except that we got practically everything from old radios and TV's.
6:30 That “Universal Vacuüm Tube Base” is an 𝑶𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒍-𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓, the 1940s version of the USB-Connector. They were used for 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔, not just Vacuüm Tubes.
Devices utilizing vacuum tube form factors were so common that several of the round pin sockets survive and continue to be used in modern industrial machinery, primarily for mounting relays and timers.
I'd love to see you cover old school surveying pre aerial photography and GPS - much of the western US was mapped in the late 1800's using plane tables and telescopic Alidades carried by crews on foot/horseback with folding rods and also using chaining where there was no line of sight. It's so fast and easy to make accurate topographic maps right in the field.
That sounds super interesting!
The east too. My address number was rods from a crossroad. 1815 was about the survey year.
@@danielvest9602 I was working Firewatch years ago but NOT in one of the cabins built for that and including a specialized alidade called an Osborne Firefinder, so my ranger boss got me an old 1950's surveyor's alidade from a storage room and showed me how to use it with a map and compass to find the bearing to a fire and estimate both distance and elevation from my baseline - I logged over a dozen fires with it; he never asked for it back and I eventually put it on display in my man cave after moving back to civilization.
Fast forward many years to 2020 - I went down a deep rabbit hole as I do, downloaded tons of 19th Century surveying manuals and learned to use it during the pandemic to make really accurate topographic maps of my property - mine's a Keufel and Esser with a Beaman Stadia Arc for calculating both straight map distance and surface distance which is the actual walking distance, basically the hypotenuse.
Ebay has 'em up now and then. A tripod with adjustable map board, ranging rod (a tall ruler w/big numbers), some basic math and a little trigonometry is all you need to know to use one. Oh...and a ton of practice lol
@@napalmholocaust9093 Yep, the history of surveying North America is fascinating - the Western Baseline runs N-S through Portland Oregon, but mapping the Southern parts of the state took several tries as the indigenous folks kept making it too dangerous...also look up The Great Trigonometrical Survey of India. Wow.
I am impressed with how well surveyors measure elevation. The Rocky Mountains are quite far from any ocean, but surveyors accurately found the height of each peak in "feet above sea level".
That was so slick. A relaxation oscillator. That was absolutely awesome. I’m making one for my drone to alternate and relax “relax” some leds. Bravo my good man.
Thank you for a really concise explanation of a complicated subject! I appreciate how you introduce the scientists by name and picture. Your channel is superb!
Excellent episode. I foresee a Radiacode sponsorship offer incoming. I have a Sun Nuclear Corp. prototype 1190 Dose Calibrator (hollow cylindrical ion chamber) in my garage. Mostly argon inside, if memory serves.
I often think "I know all about that device!" But I'm always wrong. Thanks, Gilles!
Geiger counter content really clicks for me. Thanks for doing this!
Love the series on radiation detection. You covering so many different types has me thinking that you are preparing for the worst. I enjoy you channel and look forward to the next episode.
Cher M Messier.
you keep coming up with things i didn't know,
i needed to know about.
excelsior!
I have a late 1940's or erly 1950's US Navy tube-type geiger counter. The circuit uses a neon tube relaxation oscillator to generate pulses which are amplified by a 1S4 vacuum tube to drive the high voltage transformer. The amplifier is a integrated unit with two subminiature tubes.
Thank you for the great videos!
You explain things very thoroughly and in a way to make it understandable, especially when many of the devices are based on technology that was in the infancy of its creation!
wow and peace be upon you sir from me.
I love how badly tied your bowtie is. Genuinely. It’s the mark of a gentleman who knows how to tie a tie. One’s tie should never be perfect.
As the lowest button on one's waistcoat (vest if you're a yank- for some reason) should be undone
Interesting and thanks. If you think about it for a moment, there is ionizing radiation going on. A known volume of gas, air, then is a variable resister that can be run through one or more Darlington transistor that can drive the micro amp meter. Knowing the amplification, you can work out the current. Which is proportional to the flux of radiation.
Sir, you are a very clever chap.
Thank you for the overview.
Greetings,
Anthony
Love your videos! You always do superb research and fact finding for every presentation. 👍
Finally, the Video i have waiting for, my absolutely favorite Instrument.
I love your intro 👍
Just out of curiosity, you said "no guesses as to why" they were a popular project... I'm guessing you meant public concerns of nuclear attack but my first thought was actually "uranium fever", the uranium prospecting fad of the 50's which doesnt get talked about so much. 😅
Wonderful video! This is why I exclusively drink Mountain Dew. If one is going to drink a soda at all, one should drink the most soda of sodas.
That Geiger counter design looks like one I saw in a set of Popular Mechanics project books from the 50s...
Excellent presentation you are the right stuff.
Would like to see inside those high voltage batteries
will you cover mechanical flip card clocks?
You are amazing 👍 How about building a counter yourself with your assistant using vacuum tubes?
I built devices of this type, but it's like 45 years ago and I can't remember all the details. Your explanation comes very close, though.
I made one back in the 1950's used 2 battery's and a voltage doubler, used headphones only. had a Gieger tube I got from Allied electronics .works fine.
You must go to some awesome flea markets😀
I recently got my hands on a Victoreen 492 Geiger counter for my collection. I pushed it to its limit with an X-ray tube, I measured up to 20 mili Roentgens per hour. That same radiation level makes my Radiacode 103 stop working, it instantly drops to zero when the tube is on. I’m nowhere near the tube while it’s on, I have a remote switch so I can be out of the room while it’s running and I monitor my dose carefully and it’s never above background, furthermore it’s only on for a few seconds at a time, which minimises any dose accrued over time.
What kind of flea markets do you attend? Did you look around to see if they had an “Interocitor”? (This Island Earth)
Great video! I'll keep my Radiacode thanks!
Grate video , you do like radiation detectors as do I.
12:15 300 volts DC battery, now that's a bit scary, I take the radio-dose instead thankyouverymuch.
They were used in the first electronic flashes. The 300 V battery charged a capacitor that was discharged on the xenon flash tube.
More modern flashes (like my Mecablitz 45) used four Ni-Cd batteries or one 6 V Pb-H2SO4 battery and an inverter.
Photographers preferred the flash with the 300 V battery, as it was silent and very quick to recharge.
Great video Gilles! I can type up the subtitles for you of you want? The automatically generated ones are pretty spotty.
I'm sorry, A 30V HEARING AUD BATTERY!?!😮😨
How about covering dosimiter badges? No circuitry, but somehow giving a warning when a preset limit of total exposure to (alpha? beta? gamma?, all the above?) is reached. How the heck do they work, and what happens if you wear them in bright sunlight?
Mr. Carlson's lab might have more info on that circuit.
You haven't covered the tricorder. ;)
Am i the only person that still doesn't know how this device works even after this detailed description?
HPGe would be a fun detector to cover
England. Perfect, bl**dy perfect. I have often wondered about these counters, and now I know due to your understandable video. Well done that man.
Gilles have you done anything with the Kearny Meter? The homebuilt one from NWSS?
I used a flash with a pf497 battery back in the 70's, 510 volts of complete safety, flash recharged instantly though.
Huge props to H.R. Geiger for this one.
I like to think this will help us fight the aliens.
I hope you're joking. H. R. Giger was the artist for "Alien" ; Hans Geiger was a physicist who died 5 years after Giger was born.
@pfadiva I am indeed! That's the punchline. 🤣
@CanadianMacGyver >>> Great video...👍
👍👍👍👍👍👍
Yeah, but, did Rutherford ever get his count and charge data he originally wanted?
It might have been better to use the far more ubiquitous USCD counter rather than bop back and forth between tube explanations and transistor diagrams. I'm quite familiar with both but much of your demographic might not be.
Is your assistant Mr. Carlson??
Dude!
I really appreciate your spot on French pronunciation of Curie and Becquerel around 11 min.
You do speak french I believe ? (I'm from Quebec)
Ooh you have an assistant. I hope they wear a brown lab coat!
Who was Müller?
Despite the name, one still has to count the chirps themselves.
I'll be that guy for the algo.
Geiger? Aber, Gilles, kennen Sie er?
You think that build quality isn't all that great?
I put to you to find a Wollensak reel-to-reel portable recorder and have a look inside.
The t-1500 tube Wollensak? Those were rugged and lasted foreve.
"no guesses as to why"? 😮
I can think of a ton. Cuba.. Sputnik.. Stalin..
(fade in)… “ stable, multi oscillator vibrator vacuum tube…” (fade out). I swear, it sounds like English, but I have 0% comprehension. Still fun to listen to, though.
But is that mountain dew radioactive? ☢️ ☢️
Hi fred
What!? Goat Urine Soda is radio active!
who knew doing the dew had a half life?
This one was way to complicated for me.
Geigerzähler... Es zählt Geiger
He bought it "just for clicks".
It looks like a movie prop. Are you sure it’s from the 1950’s?
That's how you know
If it was a movie prop there would be no reason to actually have any circuitry inside it
With those monster tunes in it,looked like a Mr Carlson's lab find,thumbs up
Skibidi Device Rizz! 😅😉😇
click
First?
no twas i
first