*Nuclear Equipment test*
MANY survivalists have "Radiological equipment"; Dosimeters, Survey meters, etc, but how many folks have actually TESTED them? My motto is, "if it hasn't been tested, it doesn't work."
Recently, due to some health problems, I had to undergo a bone scan. During this test they gave me an injection of Cesium/Iodine 131 in the morning and told me to be back about lunch time. The radioactive element circulates through your body and then later a special x-ray machine can see details about bones and such...
The Cesium 131 cocktail I was given has a very short half life, about 6 hours (From what they told me)...
After I had the test, we came straight home and I decided to test some of my equipment... I drug out the Dosimeters and Victoreen 717 survey meter and V-700 Geiger counter... I zeroed our Dosimeters and then placed the Dosimeter in the crook of my arm where the injection was given. In just a few minutes the scale had climbed to about 22 Milliroentgens!
Next I placed our Victoreen Survey meter over the injection site turned to the millirad scale and watched the needle climb (My V-717 is modified)! The V-700 had NO trouble picking it up
By about 1:30PM the Dosimeter reading peaked out at about 50 Milliroentgens, and by nightfall a second reading was back down to under 20MR... but it told me what I wanted to know.. "my Radiation Equipment works".
BTW.. If you need Samples of Radiation sources to test your gear.. these Science Supply Houses sell them...
Sargent-Welch Scientific has Cesium-137 (Gamma emitter, 30 year half life) Calibrated Radioactive Sources for about 60 bux, with online ordering.
(http://sargentwelch.com/product.asp?pn=CP71200-04_EA)
This can be used to calibrate/test your Victoreen Survey meters and Dosimeters...
Never miss an opportunity to test out a piece of equipment. Where there's a will, there IS a way.
Warlord
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