Gamma Spectrometry Forum

Hi Guys,

I have just listed a new product for sale on my web site, some of you might have seen it before as it has been listed on eBay. The product is a key ring sized personal dosimeter and sells under the name Atom-Swift. I had contact with the guy who makes these for some time, but now he has just moved to Sydney and since there aren't too many of us selling radiation detectors we thought better to be friends than competitors, so I am helping him sell these.

I have one of these myself and use it all the time, very handy as it beeps when radiation levels go above background.

There are apps for both iOS and Android, but unfortunately the iOS version doesn't have the GPS mapping function.

The Atom-Swift features a CsI scintillation crystal with a SiPM and has a beeper built in.

Steven

https://www.gammaspectacular.com/blue/g ... atom-swift



Here are some screen shots of the android version.

Impressively low power consumption!

A little over 15 years ago when I began consulting for the Ohio State Univ. College of Engineering at the Nuclear Reactor Lab I obtained my own dosimeter. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires employers to track employees' radiation exposure. Since I was a consultant, I was the employer. The University could have provided me with dosimetry, but I sometimes did work for other organizations. I obtained a MiniDose dosimeter from RAE. This device used a small CsI crystal and likely a SiPM as the entire device was small, powered by a single AAA battery. Battery life was quite good. The dosimeter maintained a cumulative record of exposure, but the user could alter some settings (e.g., alarm setpoints, etc.). Periodically I would upload the exposure history to my computer for permanent record keeping. The dosimeter came with a calibration and a period after which one would need to have the unit re-calibrated. I still have the dosimeter; it still works, but the calibration certificate has long expired. As I am retired, it does not matter about calibration. As I recall the price of this device was around $350 some 15 years back. Thus, the price for the Atom Swift device seems quite good. I don't know if such a device would meet the US NRC criterion as a personal dosimeter.

Links to the RAE miniDose dosimeter follow -
https://www.equipcoservices.com/pdf/dat ... nidose.pdf
https://gastech.com/sites/default/files ... hure_0.pdf

In the nuclear lab classes that I taught at the OSU Nuclear Reactor I would require students to use an electronic dosimeter for the duration of the lab. The devices that were used came from Ludlum and Canberra. These devices did not maintain a permanent record of exposure, just of the particular period, until reset. At the start of each lab students would sign in on the board at the front of the class room and identify the date and starting dosimeter exposure (zero if the unit had recently been reset). At the end of the lab the dosimeter exposure would be recorded with the delta exposure shown. The exposures were always very low (less than 2 mrem or mR - depending on dosimeter used). I would photograph the board at the end of each lab as my record (meaning CYA). These dosimeters used small energy compensated GM tubes. The GM tubes would not survive a drop onto a
hard surface (concrete floor). I purchased a number of small GM tubes from LND and we repaired damaged dosimeters. Fortunately at the time a calibration lab was adjacent to the nuclear reactor lab and we could verify the functionality of repaired dosimeters.

While I am thinking about dosimeters I will show some other examples of data collected. I have purchased several of the electronic GM-based detectors with data logging from GQ Electronics.

https://www.gqelectronicsllc.com/comers ... cIndex.asp

Below are some of the results that I found interesting. In all instances the data was collected at a 1 Hz rate (1 sample per second). The saved data was uploaded to a computer and imported into a spreadsheet. The plotted results are shown. These results came from an airplane flight from Albuquerque, NM to Columbus, Ohio via Dallas, Tx.; from a tour of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant near Toledo, Ohio; and from a demonstration of the OSU nuclear reactor to several groups of students. Shown are results near the "rabbit". I would take a small piece of Aluminum foil and rapidly inject the foil into the operating reactor using a pneumatic system. After a one minute activation the Al foil would be used in several experiments [half-life measurement and gamma spectrum with NaI and MCA].

This is just a follow up to an earlier post regarding electronic dosimeters used for nuclear engineering lab classes. Used were the Ludlum model 25-1 [in uSv] and the Canberra (now Mirion) UltraRadiac [in mR] units. The Ludlum dosimeters were purchased with some grant money and were around $400 each (as I recall from 15 years ago); we only obtained three or four of these units. The UltraRadiac units were donated by Canberra when new Canberra MCA systems were purchased. I see that used UltraRadiac units are currently offered on ebay for prices in the $200 to $350 USD range. Thus, the AtomSwift dosimeter (at $300 USD) looks pretty competitively priced. One thing about the units from Ludlum and Canberra for student use, the Ludlum dosimeter was considerably smaller and lighter in weight than the Canberra UltraRadiac dosimeter. Early to class students always chose the lighter Ludlum units; late arrivals were left with the heavier UltraRadiac dosimeters. The heavier units tended to suffer more damage; replacement energy compensated GM tubes were in the $50 to $100 range from LND and about an hour's time was needed to effect the repair and re-calibration.

https://ludlums.com/products/all-produc ... -25-series

https://www.mirion.com/products/technol ... on-monitor