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Global Radiation monitoring system

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radhoo

Mon Jul 08 2013, 03:45PM

Registered Member #1938 Joined: Sun Jan 25 2009, 12:44PM
Location: Romania
Posts: 699

Jan 09, 2014 Google maps integration
I've implemented a very basic radiation map on the server side. See it here:
[

Uradmonitor Google Maps Radiation Data Geiger Counters S

Nov 26, 2013 Model A for SI29BG ready
I completed a variant of the Model A for SI29BG geiger tubes, that will be distributed with the one using SBM-20U tubes. Next is the uRADMonitor model B, featuring an LCD screen to also allow offline use as a dosimeter, and a battery pack, but that's going to happen in 2014. Until then, I wish you all a Happy new year!
Here are a few pics with my recent work:

More pictures on

Oct 8, 2013 uRADMonitor Model A Ready
I now have completed the second unit, and have the first two units of the uRADMonitor unit Model A ready. The last hardware job was to complete the case lids to make space for the two connectors, the Ethernet and the DC plug. For the next units, a chinese manufacturer will take care of all the details so these two first units are entirely hand made (pcb+smd soldering+case power tools work). I am quite happy with the result and the robustness of this product so far.

Progress also tracked here:

Jul 08, 2013 First post
The last few months, I've been very busy preparing a larger scale project. After the success of some of my previous titles, the Microspot soldering tool, the uRadMonitor radiation monitoring station or the Robo-dog companion, I decided to push my skills to a next level, and build a global distributed tool, to serve the community, for the benefit of us all.
Kickstarter Project Cool 2

A project of this size can get expensive, both in terms of time and resources. While I can handle the first, for the latter I plan to use Kickstarter, and make my project known there. As you know, Kickstarter is a crowd project funding system, that helps fill the gap between vision and reality, making cool projects happen.
Kickstarter Project Cool 1

And this is all about a very cool project that I am working on. I am not disclosing the full story at this point, but for now, enjoy the pictures showing one of the prototype boards, and stay tuned for more details to follow!
Kickstarter Project Cool 3

More to follow soon - I am curious what is your opinion on my initiative?

Sulaiman

Mon Jul 08 2013, 05:57PM

Registered Member #162 Joined: Mon Feb 13 2006, 10:25AM
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 3140

I've no idea how you plan to imlement this, but for me to join I'd want;
. no need for my P.C. or latop to be permanently on ... e.g. cable or Wi-Fi to my internet hub/router
. low power consumption
. a weatherproof housing

Due to the cost of the enclosure I guess that the pcb should be as compact as possible
Since you want each node to be permanently operational the 'brains' should not be a PI or similar which would tempt folk to re-program it or use it for other purposes.

I'll add more random ideas later, if you keep the topic alive..

GOOD LUCK WITH THE PROJECT !

radhoo

Tue Jul 09 2013, 07:13AM

Registered Member #1938 Joined: Sun Jan 25 2009, 12:44PM
Location: Romania
Posts: 699

Sulaiman, thanks for the nice feedback!

The monitor exposes an Ethernet connector, and is DHCP capable, meaning all you need to do it to plug it to your internet router . The Ethernet cable and a 3V power supply is all it takes for it to work!
The power consumption is a few tens of miliamps at 3V, and plan to improve that even further.

Regarding the casing, you got a good point with the pcb size, another issue is that I won't be able to use large detector tubes such as SBM-19, STS-6 or SI-22 . My plan is to use a nice aluminum casing, not bigger than 11cm in length. This implies I'll be either using a smaller Geiger tube, or switch to PIN photodiode detectors (currently testing this as well).

These monitors will act as nodes, connected to a central server . The communication will be encrypted, to prevent tempering with the device or the data stream. The central server will also expose a webpage for user interaction and data visualization. Email alerts and notifications are also possible (I might be able to include SMS alerts too) - for dangerous amounts of radiation or for strange readings or variations.

Now here are a few issues where some community feedback would help:
- my first idea was to make this as a stationary device, in the nice aluminum case, suitable for mounting outside, including in rain/snow conditions. Then I thought what if this could be also used as a mobile detector, meaning the user takes it in his/her pocket for a detection session. This implies having a screen and a few buttons, that break the integrity of the case; What do you think: should I build two variants, one with a screen for indoors, and one with a compact case for use as monitoring station only? -or- should I make some kind of impermeable pouch for when the device is used outside?
- for mobile use, when a network connection cable is not available, my idea was to use a microSD external memory to log all the data, and when later connected to a network, this buffer would be sent to the server. But because we are talking about mapping radiation levels per geographic areas, knowing the location is a must . This can be done by tracking the IP (when connected to the internet) or by using a GPS module. The GPS Module would be the only option when using the device as a mobile detector. But let's not forget we have an aluminum casing, so what to do about the GPS signal? (One idea was to make a plastic cover window in the aluminum casing, and place the GPS beneath).
- should I monitor temperature, humidity , pressure and luminosity as I did with my original uRADMonitor project?

As a radiation detector element, my idea is to use a geiger tube, such as SBM-20 , SI-180G , SI-1 , STS-1 or SI-29BG. More sensitive tubes such as SBM-19, STS-6, SI-22 cannot be used because of their big sizes.
I might be using a PIN photodiode and save considerable boar space, components and time , if I am happy with the tests I'm currently caught into.

The first prototype was been finished yesterday, with extremely positive results. It is composed of the basic stuff: the microcontroller, the inverter and the LCD . Will be adding the other modules (gps, sdcard) soon and post some pictures.

More soon! Cheers!

Shrad

Tue Jul 09 2013, 07:44AM

Registered Member #3215 Joined: Sun Sept 19 2010, 08:42PM
Location:
Posts: 780

I think the benefits of having a GPS module and other monitored values like temp and such would be a nice tradeoff if you use a PIN for detection

you can always design a breakout board with either PIN+environment or GEIGER+inverter so you can have a less sensitive but mobile version, and a more sensitive permanent mounting version, all with the same motherboard and firmware

a flash EEPROM of several megabytes shouldn't be hard to implement as an internal buffer, and a simple read-only virtual filesystem for accessing data in a micro webserver would be easy to achieve

radhoo

Tue Jul 09 2013, 10:55AM

Registered Member #1938 Joined: Sun Jan 25 2009, 12:44PM
Location: Romania
Posts: 699

Sounds good.
Please, keep the feedback coming. I still have time to change the design.

What about the case for indoors/outdoors?

radhoo

Tue Jul 09 2013, 08:17PM

Registered Member #1938 Joined: Sun Jan 25 2009, 12:44PM
Location: Romania
Posts: 699

Moving on:

Linas

Tue Jul 09 2013, 08:57PM

Registered Member #1143 Joined: Sun Nov 25 2007, 04:55PM
Location: Vilnius, Lithuania
Posts: 721

all parts should be smd.
go for MSP430 (cheaper)

radhoo

Wed Jul 10 2013, 09:13AM

Registered Member #1938 Joined: Sun Jan 25 2009, 12:44PM
Location: Romania
Posts: 699

Hi Linas,

I'll try to go for smd, but for the MSP430 I'm afraid I don't have time to learn how to use it. For AVRs I have all the specs in place,

Maybe for another version.

radhoo

Thu Jul 11 2013, 11:35AM

Registered Member #1938 Joined: Sun Jan 25 2009, 12:44PM
Location: Romania
Posts: 699

Here is where I got so far:
Uradmonitor Kickstarter Mockup3

The next few weeks I plan to finish the final prototype and start my Kickstarter campaign where I'm counting on all the support I can get!
The idea behind this project is to help people gain access to radiation measurement devices but on a global scale, by providing the uRADMonitor devices that anyone can install simply by plugging in the internet router network cable and a DC power supply. The data is then centralized, and the server located at www.uradmonitor.com allows free access to the data collected. With a few clicks you'll be able to see the levels in your city, or any other place.
At this point the first prototype (3.3.2.100) is ready: the microcontroller board, the counter circuit, the 400V regulated inverter, the display (84x48 pixels, graphical display with backlight).
URADMonitor Digital Geiger Radiation Monitor 5b

URADMonitor Digital Geiger Radiation Monitor 5b

I wrote the software to take the maximum out of the 84x48 display: special characters have been added (defined with 0 and 1 like in the the old BASIC days) for micro symbol, CPM, radiation sign or battery icons. Printing text, there's a total space of 14x6 characters: first I show the internal time (hh:mm:ss), the battery level (4 indicators for charging, full battery, discharged and empty), the accumulated dose registered since the device was powered on (measured in micro,mili or Sieverts, depending on the value size), then there's the battery value in volts, under the battery charge symbol. The third line shows the equivalent dose (measured in micro,mili or Sieverts per hour, again, depending on value size, the software does the switch automatically), a text description of radition level with 4 states (LOW, NORMAL, HIGH, DANGER) set to <0.10uSv/h, <0.20uSv/h, <0.30uSv/h and more than 0.30uSv/h for danger indicator. Finally the last line shows Geiger tube voltage (regulated to a constant of 400V +-5V), the inverter duty cycle (aprox. 34%) and the CPM, or counts per minute (measured as CPM, Kilo CPM or MegaCPM, depending on value size).

More on this available on the project log:

The dedicated website:

Or on facebook:

Like if you like, or spread the word, as I plan to finish it in one month, and give it a go on Kickstarter. Should it be a success, we'll see this project come to life very soon.

Wastrel

Thu Jul 11 2013, 06:32PM

Registered Member #4095 Joined: Thu Sept 15 2011, 03:19PM
Location: England.
Posts: 122

radhoo wrote ...

... and more than 0.30uSv/h for danger indicator...

Really?

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