Victoreen CDV-717 Remote Gamma Survey dosimeter
The CDV-717 is a very high-range gamma radiation ionization chamber detecting instrument, manufactured by Victoreen back in 1964.
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Archive for Hardware
CDV-742 Dosimeter and CDV-750 Dosimeter Charger
The CDV-750-5b Dosimeter Charger is a self contained battery-operated instrument.
Repairing a Victoreen CDV-700 6B Dosimeter
Fixing a CDV700 dosimeter can be difficult because original replacement components are not an easy find.
Tube: 1B40
External Cavity tube, 1KW at 1075 to 1096MHz.
Tube: USN-5J29
5J29 is a split anode magnetron. This device is water cooled, the water flowing round the metal loop.
How to make metallic sodium
Electrolysis of molten sodium hydroxide at 318 °C .
Atmega8 and Nokia 5110 LCD
A C++ Library for AVR microcontrollers that allows easy connectivity to the Nokia 3110/5110 graphical LCDs.
Detecting an ultrasonic beacon
How to build an ultrasound beacon and the corresponding receiver.
Virtual Reality App Controls Real household objects
You can use your smartphone (android/iphone) to control electrical equipment inside your home. See how.
Dual H-Bridge for controlling two motors
Build a dual H-bridge board to control two motors.
How to set the AVR Fusebits
Learn how to set your atmega to work with various external crystals, program the fusebits, and build a fusebit doctor to revive your AVRs, in case you wrote the wrong settings .
NMEA GPS Library for AVR Microcontrollers
An open source library that allows you to use a NMEA GPS Module with an AVR Microcontroller. UART Communication and NMEA Parser is included.
ATMega128 and HD44780 LCD using 3 Wires with the 74HC164
Learn how to transform your HD44780 LCD into a easy to use, serial LCD, that you can connect to your microcontroller using only 3 wires! It’s time to save a few pins, and expand your project’s functionality!
Microscope photos: White and Blue Mold
White and blue mold as seen under the microscope, magnified up to 1000 (one thousand) times!
Building a robot – Part 2
Building an autonomous robot using a rover platform and advanced electronics is not an easy job. Kevin asked me to build a robot that would follow its user. A companion, very much like a robo-dog. See the project log here.
uRADMonitor – Unusual Background Radiation Reports
This page has been created to report unusual activity (radiation, temperature, humidity, luminosity, barometric pressure), as recorded by the uRADMonitor, including all the debug data to support the results. I cannot guarantee the measurement precision, I merely present the data recorded by the instruments.
Top 10 Radioactive Electronic Tubes
Some of these tubes contain small quantities of Cesium-137, Cobalt-60, Radium-226, Krypton-85. The radioactive elements have been added to increase the electronic response by improving the internal ionization processes.
Digital Soldering station ZD937
A short review on my new Christmas gift, a neat digital soldering station, ZD 937, and a quick light installation that I did with LEDS, running directly on mains , 220V, using the ZD937.
DIY/Homemade Radiation Geiger Dosimeter
A digital dosimeter design that can be used with multiple geiger tubes, constructed around the atmega8 microcontroller and a 2×16 LCD. Equipped with a radio Bluetooth module for remote operation.
BMP085 Barometric pressure sensor
The BMP085 is a compact, low power sensor for reading temperature, barometric pressure and altitude. See it in use with Atmel microprocessors.
Temperature and Humidity sensor DHT-22
DHT-22 is a small size, compact, dual temperature and humidity sensor featuring one-wire connectivity.
HC-SR04 Sonar with Atmega8 microcontroller
Build an ultrasonic sonar for non-contact distance measurements, using an Atmega8 and a HC-SR04
Statie de monitorizare a radiatiei de fond in Timisoara
Locuiesc in Timisoara, si de curand am terminat o statie de monitorizare a nivelului de radiatii de fond. Cu exceptia catorva institute din tara, care rar dau publice graficele, statia mea e probabil singura alternativa de acest gen, accesibila utilizatorului obisnuit. Acest articol, redactat in romana, prezinta detalii asupra statiei, explica ce este radiatia de fond si cum apare ea, dar si ilustreaza grafice in timp real.
uRADMonitor – Online Radiation monitoring station
I’ve developed the uRADMonitor as an Environmental Radiation Surveillance automated monitoring device. Data is gathered in real time, 24/7, and is exported via the Internet to a database online. The data is available in customizable charts for analysis.
DIY/Homemade Geiger Muller Digital Counter V3
A story of making a DIY Digital Geiger counter circuit, that can be used with several tubes. Add an enc28j60 Ethernet module and use the data to create graphs available online!
Temperature Sensors DS18B20 and DHT11 with Atmega8
Use the Atmega8 with two temperature sensors: the DS18B20 and the DHT-11. The latter also offers relative humidity data.
Vacuum tube tesla coil (VTTC) using Russian GU-81m
Vasil sent me 3 of his complete tesla coil systems. So here I am rebuilding his GU81m VTTC.
Tube: G21-H Geiger Muller
A Geiger Muller tube for Gamma radiation.
Tube: UX-6653
A TR Switch tube used in Radar technology, manufactured by Raytheon.
Tube: EMI9524
A sensitive photomultiplier tube, used in scintillation detectors.
Tube: ZV1009
A klystron capable of up to 6000MHz
Bausch and Lomb Microscope
Read a post on my new acquisition, a Bauch&Lomb compound binocular microscope, a high quality tool, put to some good use to capture a few micro photographs. It can get up to 1000X with its current optics.
Atmega8 and enc28J60 for ethernet support
Learn how to create a network interface for your microcontroller projects. Here I have shown an example using the Atmega8 and the enc28j60 . Build a simple Webserver to show sensor data such as temperature or humidity.
Capacitor Discharge Microspot Welder / Cutter
A DIY microspot soldering/welding/cutting device using energy stored in a very large capacitor delivered as precisely calculated pulses to working electrodes.
Atten ADS1102CAL Oscilloscope
For my first oscilloscope, I opted for the Atten ADS1102CAL. A few months after, I could say I’m extremely happy choosing this robust device, that does an excellent job on my workbench.
Projection keyboard
The laser keyboards use laser and infra-red technology to create the virtual keyboard and to project the hologram of a keyboard on a flat surface.
USBAsp – AVR USB Programmer
A good source for cheap AVR USB Programmers. USBasp modules.
Simple Switched power Supplies
Several simple SMPS designs, constructed by Daniel, @danyk.wz.cz . A great resource to learn about various SMPS topologies.
Canon S2 IS CCD Repair and IR Mod
A quick CCD replacement for my Canon S2 IS camera. CCD IR filter removed to enable IR photography options.
AVR Studio 5 snprintf / vsnprintf problem with Floats
How to fix the problem with Float variables in AVR Studio
Tube: IVL1-8/13 (ИВЛ1-8/13)
The device consists of a hot cathode (filaments), anodes (phosphor) and grids encased in a glass envelope under a high vacuum condition. The cathode is made up of fine tungsten wires, coated by alkaline earth metal oxides, which emit electrons when heated by an electric current.
Tube: SBT-10A (CБT-10A)
SBT-10A, a rare geiger muller tube for professional equipment.
AVR Studio 5 C++ Support
Build C++ projects with AVR Studio 5
DIY/Homemade Geiger Muller Clicker V2
This geiger counter circuit features a regulated high voltage supply, with adjustable output. It can run on a single AA battery (1.5V)
Digital Counter using CD4026
A digital counter using CD4026 for fast event counting as those from Geiger Muller tubes or scintillation probes.
Melting lead
Melting lead at 327.46 °C to recycle it as ingots.
Tube: MR-04
MR-04 is a ionization tube.
Longitudinal Excitation Nitrogen Laser
A Longitudinal Excitation Nitrogen Laser design, using a fridge pump for vacuum and N2 from air as lasing medium.
Tube: VA-Z320
VA-Z320 mica window geiger muller tube
Tube: MCT-17/SI-3B (си-3Б)
MCT-17 Mica Window Geiger Muller Tube
Tube: SBM-19 (СБМ-19 )
SBM-19 Geiger Muller Tube
Building a socket for a power tube – TGI2 400/16
How to build a socket for a big Russian hydrogen Thyratron tube using copper connectors made out of a pipe.
Thyratron Switched Tesla coil (THYTC)
Using a hydrogen Thyratron tube to switch a Tesla Coil. The Thyratron tube replaces the noisy spark gap.
Relaxation oscillator using a Hydrogen Thyratron
Some details on the relaxation oscillators and my implementation using a hydrogen thyratron.
Pulse generator (Variable duration, frequency and amplitude)
A very customizable pulse generator built using three 555 timers, to control a relaxation oscillator hydrogen thyratron.
Pulse forming network
My DIY PFN for a relaxation oscillator using a hydrogen thyratron.
Twin Marx Generator
Some pictures with my marx generator throwing high voltage discharges!
Tube: TGI2 400/16 (ТГИ2-400/16), Russian hydrogen thyratron
A hydrogen thyratron is a device capable of switching big amounts of energy. The major advantage over other thyratrons is that the deionization time is reduced by using the hydrogen gas, generated in a small reservoir inside the tube, from a metallic Hydride.
Battery powered high voltage multiplier for gas igniter or stun gun
Learn how to build a compact gas igniter or stun gun, powered by a 9V battery.
Electric Fence – 20KV pulses for perimeter defense
Protect your tent’s perimeter from bears, when in the wild. A 20KV pulse generator will inflict painful shocks to anyone touching the perimeter electric fence wire. Not lethal, but very painful, enough to put unwanted visitors on the run.
Small Spark Gap Tesla coil (SGTC) #4
A small spark gap tesla coil, a good example for an relaxation oscillator.
Rewound Microwave Oven Transformer
How to rewound a MOT transformer for a high current low voltage power supply.
Wireless Power Transmitter
A wireless power transmitter used to send electrical energy without wires. It uses induction, an emitter and a receiver working on the 63.1KHz frequency.
Electronic Ballast for fluorescent lamps
A simple electronic ballast running on 220V designed to work with up to four small power fluorescent lamps
Vacuum tube tesla coil (VTTC) using Russian GI-30
A vacuum tube tesla coil built around the Russian tetrode GI-30. My first VTTC and my first vacuum tube circuit, and some very rewarding results.
High Voltage Power supply – 140KV
A CW High voltage supply that produces up to 140000 volts (140KV) . Simple, clean design, without oil, but with high quality multipliers.
Homemade Flyback secondary -3-
Build a disc shaped flyback secondary. A robust new design, that will do a great job in your High Voltage projects.
DIY/Homemade Geiger Muller Clicker V1
An article presenting a simple DIY Geiger Muller counter using the Russian tube SI-22G and a single transistor regulated inverter that puts out 400V, as required by the tube. A very basic detector assembled in 5 minutes. See an operation comparison to the Radex RD1706.
Thyratrons
An article on Thyratrons and a film showing three energized tubes : the 714, the 309/FG17 and the ELC1B.
Simple DIY Induction heater
A Royer oscillator with 2 IRF540 N-Channel mosfets, a 0.47uF Capacitor and a 1500uH inductor used for an induction heater. The mosfets remain cool, even with such small heatsinks.
A Farnsworth–Hirsch Fusor failed attempt
My first attempt in building an inertial electrostatic confinement device . It didn’t work.
Multitester using ATMega8 and HD44780 LCD
An Atmega8 multimeter that can measure Transistors: Bipolar/Mosfet , Diodes and Double Diodes , Resistors, Capacitors: between 0.2nF to 7300μF, Triacs and Thyristors.
Ion thruster using 50KV Supply
Build a Ion Thruster using light materials and power it using a 50KV supply to see another kind of propulsion.
Homemade/DIY High voltage probe
Using a high voltage 1GOhm resistor to built a DIY high voltage probe, to measure voltages up to 55KV with a normal multimeter, by scaling the voltage down by 1/1000.
X-ray intensifying screen
Get X-ray intensifying/fluorescent screens from X-ray cassettes used for radiography.
NaI Scintillation Probe and Gamma Spectroscopy
A scintillation probe enclosing the regulated high voltage supply, the signal amplifier, the photomultiplier and the scintillation crystal (NaI). Building a DIY counter for a NaI Scintillation probe. AtMega8 and a bluetooth module for wireless data output. A cheap and easy to build homemade dosimeter with applications in spectroscopy.
High Current Invertor using ZVS
Use a ZVS Driver as an invertor for a high current supply.
Marx Generator 200KV discharge – artificial lightning
See a 200.000 Marx generator in action. 20cm discharges!
High Voltage Power supply – 50KV
My homemade high voltage power supply that can provide aprox. 50KV for 12V in.
Android controlled robot (via Bluetooth) – Part 1
Learn to connect a bluetooth module to an ATMega micro controller via the UART serial interface and even further, discover it using a bluetooth enabled Android phone. The 9600bps serial link established, can than be used to exchange data: read sensors or control the robot.
High Voltage Multiplier (Half Wave Villard Cascade) 28 STAGES!
Build a Half Wave Villard Cascade of 28 Stages. That means for 10KV in you get (in theory) 280KV out! An incredible voltage, perfect for physics experiments.
Tube: EM-11 (6U5G) Magic Eye tube (tunning tube)
EM-11 is a magic eye tube, used in old radios for tunning. See some schematics on how to use this tube, for some green, fluorescent effects!
Webcam Surveillance with motion detection algorithm
A homemade/DIY security system using a webcam, a low power server and a surveillance software.
Kvarts DRSB-01 Dosimeter
The DRSB-01 is a simple Geiger Counter device that can be used to detect normal vs. dangerous levels of ionizing radiation (gamma and beta).
Homemade mini-itx server
See how to build a case for a mini-itx computer board. A lot of processing power in a tiny box.
Peltier thermo-electric cooler
Use a Peltier cooler and electricity of pump heat and freeze water.
Victoreen CDV-700 6B Dosimeter Mod (Audio/BNC Connector)
The CDV700 dosimeter variant 6B (newer) and a few mods to improve functionality: audio connector and bnc connector.
Tube: SI14B Pancake Geiger Muller
A highly sensitive pancake geiger muller tube, the Russian CI14B/SI14B
Radex RD1706 dosimeter
A short review on the Radex RD1706 dosimeter, how good it is, and how can it be compared to other dosimeters, eg. the Terra-P MKS-05.
Homemade Flyback secondary -2-
Build your own indestructible flyback secondary
Variable 0..30V 20A Regulated Power supply using LM317
A variable 0..30V power supply for max 20ampers! See how to handle all the power and build your own reliable lab power supply.
Marx generator
My first marx generator that gives 5cm sparks.
EDIT: >20cm sparks!!!
Terra-P Radiation dosimeter MKS-05
The terra-p Radiation dosimeter can be used to measure Gamma, Beta and X-rays.
High Frequency Solid State Tesla Coil (HF SSTC)
My first SSTC as a high frequency solid state tesla coil.
Mains hum sensor – detect the power lines inside walls
Detect the power lines route inside walls with this simple Mains Hum sensor
CdS Photosensitive Vacuum tubes
A collection of a few NOS photosensitive vacuum tubes.
ATMega8 LCD Game
Create a simple game board and write a little software game for your ATMega8 LCD board.
First Atmega8 bot – (Arduino board)
An article about a differential Arduino robot by Rodrigo Nascimento Hernandez
ATmega8 and Hall Sensor A1302
Atmega8 and an A1302 Hall Sensor for sensing the magnetic fields in close proximity.
Perseus 3 Advanced Robot (using Windows Mobile)
Perseus 3, a 4×4 advanced robot featuring an Atmega8 for sensor interfacing and motor control, and a I-mate SP5 smartphone (200MHz) running Windows Mobile 6.0 as robot’s brain. Small weight, powerful trust, and lots of features including WLAN, Bluetooth, Camera, Speaker, Phone-interface (GPRS, 3G), Microphone (for voice commands) and more.
High Voltage Power supplies
An article on various high voltage sources. Includes schematics, construction details, high resolution images and videos.
Homemade Capacitor 19nF/10KV
How to make a high voltage capacitor in a few steps. See a video with my 19nF/10kV capacitor, with under 1$ cost.
ARA – differential robot platform
A new differential robot platform, with strong gear motors and low power consumption.
Atmega8 with Bluetooth radio module
Add Bluetooth functionality to your microcontroller project (atmega8).
Ultraviolet Light
Powering UV light tubes. A short comparison between UVA and UVC.
Homemade Flyback secondary
An easy way to built a high performance flyback transformer. Custom and perfect to fit your needs.
Tesla Coil #3
ZVS Powered tesla coil with a nice setup on two decks
Robo Evolution – how to build a better robot
A not-so-short article on various robot platforms I’ve experimented with. See my latest designs, and learn about my findings on robotics.
A simple H-Bridge design
How to build a microcontroller to control a motor in both ways.
Win Mobile Tech Seminar in Lisbon, 11-12 March, 2009
A few words on the Windows Mobile Seminar held in Lisbon, Portugal, during 11-12 March 2009.
As a speaker at this seminar, I’ve presented a Voice Command Recognition system for Windows Mobile, in my topic named “Extending your Smartphone’s functionality”.
ATMega8 and DS18B20 (digital temperature sensor)
How to use a digital temperature sensor (DS18B20) with a microcontroller (ATMega 8). Source code included.
ATmega8 and 2×16 HD44780 LCD
A tutorial including source code on how to use a 2×16 LCD (HD44780) with the ATMega8 micro controller. LCD Interface as C++ Class.
First steps with micro controllers (ATMega8)
My first microcontroller (Atmega8) experiments, tools, software, tips and photos.
Tesla Coil #2
Tesla Coild powered by a ZVS driven flyback
My first TEA Nitrogen laser
An attempt on building a TEA N2 Laser and an innovative idea for positioning the high voltage electrodes.
Tesla Coil #1
Here’s how I’ve built my first Tesla Coil for a few tens of thousands of volts.
ZVS Flyback Driver
My first ZVS high voltage driver. A lot of current, and a lot of hot plasma. Includes YouTube video.
Glass and… Uranium?!
UV fluorescence of uranium doped glass marbles.
Laser photography
A few interesting laser photos showing their intense beams.
100mW Burning Red Laser
This is about lasers, a short article where I speak about a 100mW red laser that I’ve recently built. Lots of interesting photos included.
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How to make metallic sodium
Programmatically Injecting Events on Android - Part 1
Tube: USN-5J29
Atmega8 and enc28J60 for ethernet support