DRSB-88 Geiger Counter on a Smoke Detector Source

[107Ryebread]

What's with the 717? It couldn't detect anything anyways, short of a atomic blast or meltdown.

[dojomojomofo]

Smoke detector sources are actually very active. I can pick them up from a foot away, behind a bunch of clutter, with my DSRB-01. I have 2 DSRB-01 and 2 DSRB-88s and the 88s seem totally useless - on a radium watch dial, the 01s make a crunching sound and flash "WARNING" but the 88s don't change at all.

[lowcostvideos]

@dojomojomofo I know what's going on my Chrismas list.

[mashersmasher]

why do you have a survey meter there? i don't think it can detect radiation sources that low

[scrfce123]

Americium has an alpha decay mode. Alpha radiation can be very dangerous - If a particle is ingested, it will bounce around in the body whilst constantly ionising tissue. Not good.

[bradyiack]

hello, can you please tell me where you bought this from? i cannot find it anywhere. and i really want to buy one.

[blackriverbridge]

wow u r getting background not the americium from the smoke detector u probably too the wrong part out of it

[lowcostvideos]

No, background only results in a couple counts per minute. The meter is designed for higher levels of radiation.

[kestrel452]

His geiger counter is designed to detect only gamma rays. I saw his other video and its quite obvious that this is the case. With the beta shield closed on my CD V-700 and Ludlum Model 3 i get just about the same number of clicks from a smoke detector source. Americium's main radiation is alpha, but it also emits a small amount of gamma rays which is creating the clicks here in the video.

[NoBuyForYou]

Beta is also present in low doses with AM-241

[pennystriker]

the geiger counter does tick regular :p

[Isosphere]

Smoke detectors mainly emit alphas, which do not penetrate the DRSB casing. Just a little gamma.

Not a good demo, actually, you missed the point.

[Isosphere]

Do you want us to fall asleep?

[CassetteMaster]

I'd like to see the big yellow one operate.

[lowcostvideos]

He he. If the needle on that one ever moves, you are already in danger.

But I did test it with an x-ray machine once and the needle went to 0.5r/hr!

[JeremyBechen]

Ah! I own that model, I see by looking at it close enough! The friend who gave to me told me that if it the needle ever moved, a nuke had probably gone off, and I should run away very fast. I believe that is because it uses an ionization chamber, rather than a GM Tube, and ion-chambers are incredibly IN-sensitive. :)

[shmeeganhoff]

back then if you had one in a nuclear war, if one of those went off and started ticking then you know your fucked lol.

[polonium9]

i juat ordered mine and it is comeing in exactly 2 weeks and i cannot wait JEEIZ I WANT IT NOW i have patience

[thermoid]

usually its cesium in a smoke detector

[mannys9130]

thermoid, I have never seen any smoke detectors that use cesium. All use Americium 241 and if it is old enough, it contains a trace amount of neptunium by default from the decay chain to lead 206.

[XxkutaapxX]

never knew that americum 241 was in a smoke detector Oo

alpha rays only iirc..right?

[Ex0th3rm1c]

Just so you know americium, that radioactive source you have there, release mainly alpha radiation. Of course there is some gamma as well, but your DRSB-88 isn't picking up a lot of the radiation that source is giving off.

[nitrex]

lol believe it or not but i have the exact same disc of the metal which holds the Am-241, in fact i have the same little metal piece your holding.

[UltimateEnd0]

Hmm I guess those really aren't that radioactive :P. Lowcostvideos, check out that Uranium vase, thats funts.

[lukefwjross]

I got a DP-5V, its good, and reliable.

[darappah]

Just week and I get my own drsb-88 :) can't wait :D

[darkhall88]

My house was built in 1978 it has the cover off of it. u can see the nuclear symbol on it too it sometimes freaks me the fuck out. BTW it is an old ass smoke detector and it makes a "slow creek of a door sound"

[fdsman]

if your smoke detector is that old you have a good chance of dying in a fire because a smoke detector over 10 years old loses some quality.

[JeremyBechen]

A smoke detector source over 500 years old is only half-dead. :) I wonder if smoke detectors existed in the 16th century?

[deloreanschuur]

I withdraw my previous statement. My drsb-90 goes beserk over a colopal pudding mould.

[lowcostvideos]

Like I said, the DRSB is designed for detecting contamination after an event like a nuclear war or meltdown, which would quickly overload your expensive CDV-700. And like I said, for just messing around, DRSB=$25.

[kestrel452]

One last comment, the radiation from a smoke detector is HUGE if you have a probe capable of detecting alpha particles. And on any other beta/gamma geiger counter it also gives over 30,000 CPM. Yours shows about 20 cpm.

[kestrel452]

Although you could risk it and buy an as-is cdv-700 on ebay for $30-40. But you'd be better off buying a guaranteed one like i did, the seller is a real nice guy. His eBay user ID is: gary3.14

[kestrel452]

Not true. Contamination monitors have to be very sensitive. You could never find any kind of radiological contamination with that thing. You are either using it improperly, its defective, or its very unsensitive as i said before. Plus, those 700s on anythingradioactive are crap. You never buy a cdv-700 unless they have a warranty on it. I got a flawless looking ENi that was overhauled with new resistors etc., calibrated, and with included radioactive samples(uraninite and trinitite) for $120.

[lowcostvideos]

Yeah but... DRSB=$25, CDV-700=$200

The DRSB is made to detect contamination, not measure tiny amounts of natural radiation.

[kestrel452]

is that thing on gamma-only or something. All my geiger counters read over 200,000 CPM from a single detector source. That betafite video gives no more clicks that background radiation. Those DRSBs are nowhere near as good as the CDV-700s btw.

[hermadur]

DRSB-series are only for non-specialists, and cant registrate real fone...

DRSB-1 and DRSB-88 - only low and hard gamma.

DRGB-90 can registrate and ionic too...

[deloreanschuur]

I purchased a drsb-90 from on Ebay and it hardly measures anything when I close in on a smoke detector. Sound signals increase just a little, but no change in the reading of the guage. Got a faulty one, I guess...

[lowcostvideos]

2 things: The meter has to be very close to the source. Crack the case on the smoke detector and get it as close as you can to the Americium.

Also not all smoke detectors have radioactive material in them. When you open the case there should be a radiation symbol inside.