Bubble vs. Quantrad Ranger Plus

This area is for discussions involving any fusion related radiation metrology issues. Neutrons are the key signature of fusion, but other radiations are of interest to the amateur fusioneer as well.
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David Kunkle
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Real name: David Kunkle

Re: Bubble vs. Quantrad Ranger Plus

Post by David Kunkle »

I'll have to re-read those. I have read ALL the FAQs, but it's been a while.

Anyway, I've decided against the Ranger. Looking at the manual closer, it appears that the count maxes out at 65,000 and won't go any higher. Seems it's designed more for identifying isotopes in the field than for research. Thanks again for the help. Off for vacation for a week.
If your experiment needs statistics, you ought to have done a better experiment.

Ernest Rutherford
George Dowell
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Re: Bubble vs. Quantrad Ranger Plus

Post by George Dowell »

Bob Reite wrote:You can send it to a calibration lab that has the necessary source. It should not cost more than $200.00 plus shipping both ways. The calibration should be good for several years as long as the instrument is treated gently.
I find that the sodium iodide detector part of the Quantrad Ranger needs calibrating frequently, and daily testing. There's a backdoor manual way to do it with Cs-137 but you have to take the cover off to do it. I wrote that up maybe 10 years ago, it should still be on the web.

The He3 neutron detector is a good one and fairly sensitive, as the whole design was done at LANL and licensed out for manufacture to the private sector (no longer made or supported evidently).

The isotope identification program is superb and adjusts it's time factor depending on the strength of the signal, and statistical confidence levels. A typical check source can be identified in 10 seconds, as long as it is in the library.

Overall not as good detecting Gammas or Neutrons as the SAM 935, which can be used with standard software control.
Quantrad Ranger Plus info:
http://www.qsl.net/k0ff/01%20Manuals/Qu ... er%20Plus/

George Dowell
richardmeek
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Real name: Richard Meek

Re: Bubble vs. Quantrad Ranger Plus

Post by richardmeek »

I find that the sodium iodide detector part of the Quantrad Ranger needs calibrating frequently, and daily testing. There's a backdoor manual way to do it with Cs-137 but you have to take the cover off to do it. I wrote that up maybe 10 years ago, it should still be on the web.

The He3 neutron detector is a good one and fairly sensitive, as the whole design was done at LANL and licensed out for manufacture to the private sector (no longer made or supported evidently).

The isotope identification program is superb and adjusts it's time factor depending on the strength of the signal, and statistical confidence levels. A typical check source can be identified in 10 seconds, as long as it is in the library.

Overall not as good detecting Gammas or Neutrons as the SAM 935, which can be used with standard software control.
Quantrad Ranger Plus info:
http://www.qsl.net/k0ff/01%20Manuals/Qu ... er%20Plus/
Mr George Dowell,
I own a Quantrad Ranger Plus and cannot purchase Bi-207 for calibration as it is not exempt. I would appreciate the instructions for the back door calibration with Cs-137 very much! Thank you.
George Dowell
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Re: Bubble vs. Quantrad Ranger Plus

Post by George Dowell »

I'll have to look it up, it's been maybe 10 years since my work with that.

Meantime do a gamma scan of Cs-137 and show me the screen. Specifically where does the 661.7 peak show up?

Thanks
richardmeek
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Real name: Richard Meek

Re: Bubble vs. Quantrad Ranger Plus

Post by richardmeek »

George Dowell wrote:I'll have to look it up, it's been maybe 10 years since my work with that.

Meantime do a gamma scan of Cs-137 and show me the screen. Specifically where does the 661.7 peak show up?

Thanks
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Kevin
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Real name: Kevin Fay

Re: Bubble vs. Quantrad Ranger Plus

Post by Kevin »

richardmeek wrote:
George Dowell wrote:I'll have to look it up, it's been maybe 10 years since my work with that.

Meantime do a gamma scan of Cs-137 and show me the screen. Specifically where does the 661.7 peak show up?

Thanks

In case it's of any use, that big spike (according to the Ranger) occurs at 313-319 KeV. I'm borrowing the thing from Richard and thought I'd do the scan again for kicks.

If it's not possible to calibrate with Cs, perhaps it would be possible to non-destructively hack a pulse output jack into the amplification stage for the Scintillation tube of the ranger somewhere and use it with PRA?
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