Nukalert Key Fob

[andycer]

I must be losing my mind.

I'm all freaked out about someone shipping a container in to Long Beach with a dirty bomb in it (and I don't even live in LA any more).  So I bought one of these:  http://www.nukalert.com/

Does anyone have any feedback about these?  The website test results and the fact that Hazmat teams have them was reassuring, but how would you know if the thing really worked or not?

[Chesire]

I must be losing my mind.

I'm all freaked out about someone shipping a container in to Long Beach with a dirty bomb in it (and I don't even live in LA any more).  So I bought one of these:  http://www.nukalert.com/

Does anyone have any feedback about these?  The website test results and the fact that Hazmat teams have them was reassuring, but how would you know if the thing really worked or not?

I am so getting a sound sample of that chirp for fun ).

[Zac]

If you're going to bother, I think your money would be better spent on this model:

http://www.unitednuclear.com/digitalgeiger.htm

(or search on ebay for radex)

Zac

[JurisDoctorOfDoom]

If you're going to bother, I think your money would be better spent on this model:

http://www.unitednuclear.com/digitalgeiger.htm

(or search on ebay for radex)

Zac

thanks, I may actually be needing one of these.

Why is this one a "good" one? I know nothing about geiger counters.

[berkeley]

I am so getting a sound sample of that chirp for fun ).

Hey, PLEASE post it somewhere . . . I need that as a ringtone!

[berkeley]

thanks, I may actually be needing one of these.

Why is this one a "good" one? I know nothing about geiger counters.

Very good primer:

http://www.radmeters4u.com/

(keep scrolling and you'll find the NukAlert also)

[peaknick]

MadMax, I bought one at the beginning of the year. Did a lot of research and concluded it's the real thing. There's plenty being sold to official users.

If you really want to prove it works, let your friendly(!) dentist shoot his x-ray machine at it. It will give a few bleeps. The thing is to learn what the radiation level means in terms of your safety. Reading 'Nuclear War Survival Skills' will put you in the picture with regards to that.

It does have one little problem that's easily overcome. If it is cooled down then quickly heated up (eg, coming into a warm room from sub-zero outdoor temperatures), it gives the odd chirp. Not a regular one, so it's obviously not reading radiation, but enough for you to get a funny look or two. It mentions this anomoly in the instructions.  

I got round this by keeping it in an Altoid tin I always carry, which is a sort of little emergency pack. This lets it warm up slowly, and I've not had it bleeping at all. Also, if you put your ear to it you'll hear an irregular ticking. That's pretty much a guarantee it's operational.

Anyone thinking of getting one should checkout the Nukalert website. Plenty of info there.

I've made a few Kearnley Fallout Meters (KFMs), but you can't carry those about.

[Zac]

If you're going to bother, I think your money would be better spent on this model:

http://www.unitednuclear.com/digitalgeiger.htm

(or search on ebay for radex)

Zac

thanks, I may actually be needing one of these.

Why is this one a "good" one? I know nothing about geiger counters.

This is an inexpensive current generation model that is very sensitive, calculates dosage, and has a long (500+ hour) battery life running on AAA batteries.  It is also microprocessor based so has built-in diagnostics.  The main disadvantage of this model is that it can only quantify relatively low levels of radiation.  It would be off the scale for high levels like encountered near chernobyl.

There is another model (RD1706) with a 10X wider range made by the same manufacturer in Russia, but it may be hard to get in the US.  But, that is still a relatively narrow range and would be maxed out with a chernobyl sized situation.

http://www.quarta-rad.ru/en/s.php

Zac

[peaknick]

The thing to remember when looking at pocket radiation meters / monitors, is that they are designed for one of two applications, either for monitoring large dosages, as would be encountered in a nuclear emergency, or for measuring small dosages, eg small leaks in a commercial system. As has been pointed out, the latter would be overwelmed in a major emergency, and not provide the information you need.

Some meters / dosimeters, especially ex - commercial ones are low level monitors, but are being advertised as 'suitable for nuclear war preparedness'. Be aware. They should be able to monitor up to 50r/h or so to be suitable for a major emergency. The Nukalert and similar models fulfil that requirement.

[Zac]

You will definitely want something with a meter on it and samples reasonably rapidly.  That nukalert device appears to only sample every few minutes and uses a sensor other than the standard geiger-muller tube which has been used and proven over more than 50 years.  The nukalert device also does not appear to detect alpha or beta radiation and is not sensitive enough to detect low level contamination.   Finally, I doubt you will want to keep a sensitive instrument on a keychain where it will be roughed up and contaminated with dirt and lint.

Zac

[hamlet_jones]

.

[andycer]

I'm just glad I'm not the only paranoid guy out there!   

[Optimus]

I've had a nukealert for over a year. my battery has knocked loose inside of it and i have to send it back for warranty work. Also, the rad chart will wear off on the back unless you spray it 3m, etc.

[andycer]

My NukAlert arrived today.  Thanks for the heads up on the chart Optimus.  I will not use it as a key fob but will instead put it in a box in my bail bag as I suspect it isn't as tough as they say.

Oddly enough, it makes this very nice 'tick, tick' every few seconds....kind of like an old watch.

[Flagg707]

My NukAlert arrived today.  Thanks for the heads up on the chart Optimus.  I will not use it as a key fob but will instead put it in a box in my bail bag as I suspect it isn't as tough as they say.

Oddly enough, it makes this very nice 'tick, tick' every few seconds....kind of like an old watch.

That's background radiation.  Cosmic rays, radon, radium in the soil, etc.  You'll occasionally hear a few bursts here and there - probably gamma ray bursts or some such.

Please keep in mind, if a terrorist/insurgent/evil guvmint stooge/noble freedom fighter does set off a "dirty bomb", it will be mostly a media event.  Most radioactive sources that will make lot's of scary clicks on your detector (Co-60, various Iridium isotopes, etc.) aren't going to shatter into an aerosol and spread on the wind like some of the dispersion models "predict" (don't even get me started on computer models and the assumptions built into them...).  These are usually metallic and might shatter or shard.  What you want, post "dirty bomb" is a breathing mask - a painter's mask will do nicely, some thick gloves - and that is only if you want to go out and pick up the little pieces and put them in a container (do avoid the big ones) while waiting on the scary Haz Mat guys and gals in their bright yellow suits to show up, oh yeah - and a decent idea of how the prevailing winds flow. 

Here's your best course of action.  "Dirty Bomb" goes off.  Get up, slip on your painter's mask (if you happen to be a block or two away from the blast zone) and walk upwind.  Find a nearby bar, it will probably be empty.  Grab a beer and watch the TV as sheeple go into a media-driven frenzy of not knowing whether to urinate, defecate or go blind.

Prediction - more people will die of heart attacks and strokes from watching the media coverage of a "dirty bomb" than will die or get cancer from said bomb.

Radioactive materials are like little pieces of fire.  They can be shielded, blocked and contained.  The "hotter" they burn, the sooner they decay into inert material.  You can easily move away from them.  You aren't instantly going to die, you are almost certainly not going to be hurt unless you get one embedded in your skin as shrapnel.  The models that "show" increased cancer risks are based on tons of assumptions.  Just don't ingest the particles in large amounts and you should be fine.  However, be prepared to be scared to death by the media.

A "dirty bomb" is a weapon of mass disruption.  Remember the climactic scene in Animal House?  That's what they are shooting for (they, in my opinion, being the guvmint types and media - they can sell a clamp-down and more papers on fear that way).  As long as you are not right there and get hit with the blast and/or shrapnel, you are almost certainly going to be fine.

The "cleanup" you will hear about will be very tough as there are no consensus answers on what to get the rad level down to.  Background?  Down to the level of the Colorado Plateau?  Count on the fear-mongering to result in some ridiculously low level for the cleanup, which means huge bucks for KRB or Halliburton or the Washington Group or whoever gets the contract.  For an example of the disconnect between reality and guvmint agency thinking, EPA regs state that you must limit the radioactivity of water to 5 pCi/liter (it picks up radioactive materials, usually alpha-emitters from the reservoir).  One medium size banana contains ~400 pCi/banana. AIIIGGGHHHH!  The EPA has not banned bananas.  Yet.  However, the EPA is forcing local communities to put in hugely expensive filters.  These filters actually condense and gather up the radium, uranium, etc. while filtering the stupidly low amounts out - the regs are forcing localities to CREATE nuclear waste through these low settings.  Amazing.  The stuff was not at a level anywhere near that pile of bananas in Wal-Mart (ooops, I mean the fruit co-op run by vegans who wear nothing but hemp) but now, due to EPA, the filters are building up these particles into some really hot waste.  One hell of a racket.

All the above is not to downplay radiation poisoning.  There is complete consensus that people exposed to very high doses of gammas, betas and alphas in a short period of time will get very sick and/or die.  Think radiation releases from bombs.  The lower level amounts are an area of great controversy.  Do take it seriously, but keep your head.  Having a rad detector on hand is a good idea if you have the money to afford it - but first have your chart of prevailing winds, mask and gloves in your oh-shit kit. 

Do not, as I tongue-in-cheek suggested, go out with gloves and pick up rad pieces.  I have friends who will be paid stupidly large amounts of money to do that on guvmint contract, so we don't want them lose that beer money.

One last bit of perspective.  The recent radioactive spill in Japan (AAAIIIIIGGGHHHHHHHHHH!) released roughly 90,000 becquerels of radioactivity.  One becquerel is 1 disintegration per second.  Each disintegration will release a/some gamma ray(s) of various energies, and low-range particles like alphas and betas.  The average human being contains about 6,000 Bq of radioactivity from the natural potassium, radium, uranium, etc. present in your bones, intracellular fluid, etc.  That means the radioactivity released in Japan is less than the radioactivity contained in a busload of school children going down the road.

The media is NOT your friend.

And another thing - be sure to handle the rad detector properly.  If you think an area is contaminated, make sure your device is upscaled FIRST - you don't want to peg it out on the low scale and continue to upscale until you realize you are one toasted idiot.  Make sure you recalibrate it when it calls for.  Have fresh batteries ready.  Treat it right and it will treat you right.  This may not apply to the key fob above, but for those of you buying a handheld device, do please care for it.