NuclearWarDetector - Revision history

Thomas: /* Circuit */

2018-12-18T04:32:58Z

Circuit

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:32, 18 December 2018
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	== Circuit ==		== Circuit ==

	The November 2011 issue of Elektor magazine included a somewhat improved iteration of an earlier design for a simple PIN diode radiation detector. I took their circuit, shrunk it down with smd parts, and combined it with a comparator and active buzzer to make a bare-bones radiation detector. It works by reverse-biasing the photodiode in complete darkness. A sufficiently energetic gamma ray will present as a tiny pulse across the diode, which is then amplified by a jfet and a ~~simple~~ opamp. This signal is fed into the comparator, triggering an LED and causing the buzzer to emit a short audible click. Thanks to the active circuitry in the buzzer, a higher count rate will first devolve into a mildly irritating squeal, subsequently ~~building~~ to a whiny (and frankly complainatory) note ~~when~~ the device is exposed to skin-sloughing levels of radiation.		The November 2011 issue of Elektor magazine included a somewhat improved iteration of an earlier design for a simple PIN diode radiation detector. I took their circuit, shrunk it down with smd parts, and combined it with a comparator and active buzzer to make a bare-bones radiation detector. It works by reverse-biasing the photodiode in complete darkness. A sufficiently energetic gamma ray will present as a tiny pulse across the diode, which is then amplified by a jfet and a dual opamp. This signal is fed into the comparator, triggering an LED and causing the buzzer to emit a short audible click. Thanks to the active circuitry in the buzzer, a higher count rate will first devolve into a mildly irritating hiss or squeal, subsequently ramping up to a more whiny (and frankly complainatory) note as the device is exposed to increasingly skin-sloughing levels of radiation.

	== Normal function ==		== Normal function ==

Thomas: /* Introduction */

2018-12-18T04:21:17Z

Introduction

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:21, 18 December 2018
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	== Introduction ==		== Introduction ==

	Inspired by a design from Charles Wenzel over at [http://www.techlib.com/science/ion.html#Nuclear%20War%20Detector techlib.com], I made a radiation detector designed to react only to very high amounts of gamma rays. It is a simple pin-diode type detector, and although it will respond to natural background radiation, such low levels ~~will~~ only elicit a click from the device about once every 15 minutes or so. When exposed to sufficiently ridiculous levels of radiation, it will instead emit an irritating sound, thus hopefully alerting participants present at the space to the eventuality of an unfolding nuclear conflict. To quote Mr. Wenzel: "Being caught off guard by a nuclear war can be inconvenient. This project should alert the utterly unobservant individual to any significant nuclear exchange or radiation spill in the immediate vicinity, giving the owner time to kiss various body parts goodbye."		Inspired by a design from Charles Wenzel over at [http://www.techlib.com/science/ion.html#Nuclear%20War%20Detector techlib.com], I made a radiation detector designed to react only to very high amounts of gamma rays. It is a simple pin-diode type detector, and although it will respond to natural background radiation, such low levels only elicit a click from the device about once every 15 minutes or so. When exposed to sufficiently ridiculous levels of radiation, it will instead emit an irritating sound, thus hopefully alerting participants present at the space to the eventuality of an unfolding nuclear conflict or similarly unfortunate event. To quote Mr. Wenzel: "Being caught off guard by a nuclear war can be inconvenient. This project should alert the utterly unobservant individual to any significant nuclear exchange or radiation spill in the immediate vicinity, giving the owner time to kiss various body parts goodbye."

	== Circuit ==		== Circuit ==

Thomas: /* Introduction */

2018-12-18T04:19:45Z

Introduction

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:19, 18 December 2018
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	== Introduction ==		== Introduction ==

	Inspired by a design from Charles Wenzel over at [http://www.techlib.com/science/ion.html#Nuclear%20War%20Detector techlib.com], I made a radiation detector designed to react only to very high amounts of gamma ~~radiation~~. It is a simple pin-diode type detector, and ~~while~~ it will ~~still~~ respond to natural background radiation, such low levels only elicit a click about once every 15 minutes or so ~~from the device~~. When exposed to sufficiently ridiculous levels of radiation, it will instead emit an irritating sound, thus hopefully alerting participants present at the space to the eventuality of an unfolding nuclear conflict. To quote Mr. Wenzel: "Being caught off guard by a nuclear war can be inconvenient. This project should alert the utterly unobservant individual to any significant nuclear exchange or radiation spill in the immediate vicinity, giving the owner time to kiss various body parts goodbye."		Inspired by a design from Charles Wenzel over at [http://www.techlib.com/science/ion.html#Nuclear%20War%20Detector techlib.com], I made a radiation detector designed to react only to very high amounts of gamma rays. It is a simple pin-diode type detector, and although it will respond to natural background radiation, such low levels will only elicit a click from the device about once every 15 minutes or so. When exposed to sufficiently ridiculous levels of radiation, it will instead emit an irritating sound, thus hopefully alerting participants present at the space to the eventuality of an unfolding nuclear conflict. To quote Mr. Wenzel: "Being caught off guard by a nuclear war can be inconvenient. This project should alert the utterly unobservant individual to any significant nuclear exchange or radiation spill in the immediate vicinity, giving the owner time to kiss various body parts goodbye."

	== Circuit ==		== Circuit ==

Thomas: /* Circuit */

2018-12-18T02:11:28Z

Circuit

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:11, 18 December 2018
Line 14:		Line 14:
	== Circuit ==		== Circuit ==

	The November 2011 issue of Elektor magazine included a somewhat improved iteration of an earlier design for a simple PIN diode radiation detector. I took their circuit, shrunk it down with smd parts, and combined it with a comparator and active buzzer to make a bare-bones radiation detector. It works by reverse-biasing the photodiode in complete darkness. A sufficiently energetic gamma ray will present as a tiny pulse across the diode, which is then amplified by a jfet and a simple opamp. This signal is fed into the comparator, triggering an LED and causing the ~~active~~ buzzer to emit a short audible click. Thanks to the active buzzer, a higher count rate will first devolve into a mildly irritating squeal, subsequently building to a whiny (and frankly complainatory) note when the device is exposed to skin-sloughing levels of radiation.		The November 2011 issue of Elektor magazine included a somewhat improved iteration of an earlier design for a simple PIN diode radiation detector. I took their circuit, shrunk it down with smd parts, and combined it with a comparator and active buzzer to make a bare-bones radiation detector. It works by reverse-biasing the photodiode in complete darkness. A sufficiently energetic gamma ray will present as a tiny pulse across the diode, which is then amplified by a jfet and a simple opamp. This signal is fed into the comparator, triggering an LED and causing the buzzer to emit a short audible click. Thanks to the active circuitry in the buzzer, a higher count rate will first devolve into a mildly irritating squeal, subsequently building to a whiny (and frankly complainatory) note when the device is exposed to skin-sloughing levels of radiation.

	== Normal function ==		== Normal function ==

Thomas: /* Introduction */

2018-12-18T01:43:33Z

Introduction

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:43, 18 December 2018
Line 10:		Line 10:
	== Introduction ==		== Introduction ==

	Inspired by a design from Charles Wenzel over at [http://www.techlib.com/science/ion.html#Nuclear%20War%20Detector techlib.com], I made a radiation detector designed to react only to very high amounts of gamma radiation. It is a simple pin-diode type detector, and while it will still respond to natural background radiation, such low levels only elicit a click about once every 15 minutes or so from the device. When exposed to sufficiently ridiculous levels of radiation ~~however~~, it will emit an irritating sound, thus hopefully alerting participants present at the space to the eventuality of an unfolding nuclear conflict. To quote Mr. Wenzel: "Being caught off guard by a nuclear war can be inconvenient. This project should alert the utterly unobservant individual to any significant nuclear exchange or radiation spill in the immediate vicinity, giving the owner time to kiss various body parts goodbye."		Inspired by a design from Charles Wenzel over at [http://www.techlib.com/science/ion.html#Nuclear%20War%20Detector techlib.com], I made a radiation detector designed to react only to very high amounts of gamma radiation. It is a simple pin-diode type detector, and while it will still respond to natural background radiation, such low levels only elicit a click about once every 15 minutes or so from the device. When exposed to sufficiently ridiculous levels of radiation, it will instead emit an irritating sound, thus hopefully alerting participants present at the space to the eventuality of an unfolding nuclear conflict. To quote Mr. Wenzel: "Being caught off guard by a nuclear war can be inconvenient. This project should alert the utterly unobservant individual to any significant nuclear exchange or radiation spill in the immediate vicinity, giving the owner time to kiss various body parts goodbye."

	== Circuit ==		== Circuit ==

Thomas: /* Introduction */

2018-12-18T01:36:29Z

Introduction

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:36, 18 December 2018
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	== Introduction ==		== Introduction ==

	Inspired by a design from Charles Wenzel ~~of TechLib~~.com, I made a radiation detector designed to react only to ~~extreme levels~~ of ~~high energy~~ gamma radiation. It is a simple pin-diode type detector, and while it ~~does~~ respond to ~~normal levels of~~ background radiation, it only ~~emits~~ a click once every 15 minutes or so. When exposed to sufficiently ridiculous levels of radiation it will emit ~~a somewhat weak and~~ irritating ~~whine~~, alerting participants at the space to ~~a possibly ongoing~~ nuclear ~~apocalypse~~. To quote Mr. Wenzel: "Being caught off guard by a nuclear war can be inconvenient. This project should alert the utterly unobservant individual to any significant nuclear exchange or radiation spill in the immediate vicinity, giving the owner time to kiss various body parts goodbye."		Inspired by a design from Charles Wenzel over at [http://www.techlib.com/science/ion.html#Nuclear%20War%20Detector techlib.com], I made a radiation detector designed to react only to very high amounts of gamma radiation. It is a simple pin-diode type detector, and while it will still respond to natural background radiation, such low levels only elicit a click about once every 15 minutes or so from the device. When exposed to sufficiently ridiculous levels of radiation however, it will emit an irritating sound, thus hopefully alerting participants present at the space to the eventuality of an unfolding nuclear conflict. To quote Mr. Wenzel: "Being caught off guard by a nuclear war can be inconvenient. This project should alert the utterly unobservant individual to any significant nuclear exchange or radiation spill in the immediate vicinity, giving the owner time to kiss various body parts goodbye."

	== Circuit ==		== Circuit ==

Thomas at 00:42, 18 December 2018

2018-12-18T00:42:11Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:42, 18 December 2018
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	\|Name=Nuclear War Detector		\|Name=Nuclear War Detector
	\|Picture=detector4.jpg		\|Picture=detector4.jpg
	\|Omschrijving=Alerts for thermonuclear war and~~/or~~ other ~~large~~ radioactive incidents.		\|Omschrijving=Alerts for thermonuclear war and other major radioactive incidents.
	\|Status=Initializing		\|Status=Initializing
	\|Contact=thomas		\|Contact=thomas

Thomas: /* Circuit */

2018-12-17T23:12:52Z

Circuit

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:12, 17 December 2018
Line 14:		Line 14:
	== Circuit ==		== Circuit ==

	The November 2011 issue of Elektor magazine included a somewhat improved iteration of an earlier design for a simple PIN diode radiation detector. I took their circuit, shrunk it down with smd parts, and combined it with a comparator and active buzzer to make a bare-bones radiation detector. It works by reverse-biasing the photodiode in complete darkness. A sufficiently energetic gamma ray will present as a tiny pulse across the diode, which is then amplified by a jfet and a simple opamp. This signal is fed into the comparator, triggering an LED and causing the active buzzer to emit a short audible click. Thanks to the active buzzer a higher count rate will first devolve into a mildly irritating squeal, subsequently building to a whiny (and frankly complainatory) note when the device is exposed to skin-sloughing levels of radiation.		The November 2011 issue of Elektor magazine included a somewhat improved iteration of an earlier design for a simple PIN diode radiation detector. I took their circuit, shrunk it down with smd parts, and combined it with a comparator and active buzzer to make a bare-bones radiation detector. It works by reverse-biasing the photodiode in complete darkness. A sufficiently energetic gamma ray will present as a tiny pulse across the diode, which is then amplified by a jfet and a simple opamp. This signal is fed into the comparator, triggering an LED and causing the active buzzer to emit a short audible click. Thanks to the active buzzer, a higher count rate will first devolve into a mildly irritating squeal, subsequently building to a whiny (and frankly complainatory) note when the device is exposed to skin-sloughing levels of radiation.

	== Normal function ==		== Normal function ==

Thomas: /* Circuit */

2018-12-17T23:11:52Z

Circuit

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:11, 17 December 2018
Line 14:		Line 14:
	== Circuit ==		== Circuit ==

	The November 2011 issue of Elektor magazine included a somewhat improved iteration of an ~~early~~ design for a simple PIN diode radiation detector. I took their circuit, shrunk it down with smd parts, and combined it with a comparator and active buzzer to make a bare-bones radiation detector. It works by reverse-biasing the photodiode in complete darkness. A sufficiently energetic gamma ray will present as a tiny pulse across the diode, which is then amplified by a jfet and a simple opamp. This signal is fed into the comparator, triggering an LED and causing the active buzzer to emit a short audible click. Thanks to the active buzzer a higher count rate will first devolve into a mildly irritating squeal, subsequently building to a whiny (and frankly complainatory) note when the device is exposed to skin-sloughing levels of radiation.		The November 2011 issue of Elektor magazine included a somewhat improved iteration of an earlier design for a simple PIN diode radiation detector. I took their circuit, shrunk it down with smd parts, and combined it with a comparator and active buzzer to make a bare-bones radiation detector. It works by reverse-biasing the photodiode in complete darkness. A sufficiently energetic gamma ray will present as a tiny pulse across the diode, which is then amplified by a jfet and a simple opamp. This signal is fed into the comparator, triggering an LED and causing the active buzzer to emit a short audible click. Thanks to the active buzzer a higher count rate will first devolve into a mildly irritating squeal, subsequently building to a whiny (and frankly complainatory) note when the device is exposed to skin-sloughing levels of radiation.

	== Normal function ==		== Normal function ==

Thomas: /* Problems */

2018-12-17T23:08:28Z

Problems

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:08, 17 December 2018
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	== Problems ==		== Problems ==
	Due to microphonics, any impacts or heavy vibrations will cause the sensor to trigger, but this will only register as short intermittent clicks. The bare-bones comparator design (with a simple voltage divider as reference) does have a downside though, as the detector is quite sensitive to voltage fluctuations. I've set the threshold so that the unit will continue to function up to 5.2V, but above that level the sensor will behave in a manner indistinguishable from its highest alarm condition. This admittedly regrettable flaw in my design may be remedied with a voltage reference at some future date :p		Due to microphonics, any impacts or heavy vibrations will cause the sensor to trigger, but this will only register as short intermittent clicks. The bare-bones comparator design (with a simple voltage divider as reference) does have a slight downside though, as it leaves the detector quite sensitive to input voltage fluctuations. I've set the threshold so that the unit will continue to function up to 5.2V, but above that level the sensor will behave in a manner indistinguishable from its highest alarm condition. This admittedly regrettable flaw in my design may be remedied with a voltage reference at some future date :p

	== Current Status ==		== Current Status ==