Is this something i can use in a supermarket to check food for radiation? i don't trust things coming from the pacific ocean because of fukushima.

Testing food in general is one of the most common questions we receive and also happens to be one of the most difficult ones to answer. In short: - Can food be tested with a hand-held Geiger Counter? Yes. - Will it detect elevated levels of radioactive materials, if present? Yes. - Is it absolutely safe to eat your fish after you scanned it and the result was negative? No, not necessarily. This is not a sensitivity issue, but is simply because radiation emitted from a tiny contaminant will be masked by the natural background radiation that's all around us. Technically speaking, everything is radioactive, even we are. So it would be like looking for a specific water drop in a pond. If the natural background radiation around you is .10 uSv/h and contaminant in the fish emits .02 uSv/h, then geiger counter will naturally continue showing .10, because that's how many radiation particles it is detecting in your immediate vicinity. This means that no matter how sensitive, expensive or calibrated your equipment is, the only way to be absolutely sure that food is safe would be to test it in a lab, where a piece of produce is placed inside a special lead capsule that isolates it completely from any background radiation. There is a lengthy scientific procedure of setting up such tests. Many manufacturers will claim that their detectors will works just as well, but as you can clearly tell, that is a marketing scheme. The only sure way of accurately testing food for radiation is in a lab. Period. Having said that, there are still ways to considerably improve you chances of detecting contamination. Here are some practical tips in getting the most out of your RADEX geiger counter. Whenever anything is measured for radiation, the mass / size of the object being scanned matters. Don't try to detect radiation in a single berry, a mushroom or a cup of water. Unless these are highly contaminated, there would be few particle streams emanating from a smaller volume hence the chances of detection are that much lower. Instead, try scanning an entire basket-full of produce, or a tank of water - the number of particle sources would be that much greater and easier to detect. If it's fish your are measuring, try to have as much of that tuna as possible. Turn the unit on and place it right next to the object (you can use a simple plastic bag to protect the unit - that won't effect sensitivity) for about 40 seconds. Then move a few inches to the side, and so on: continue displacing the detector by the distance of its width every minute or so, moving alongside of the object being scanned. So basically from head to tail. That would give you the highest chances of detection. However, please keep in mind, that even if after scanning it this way, there is still a chance that it may contain radioactive elements that are above the permissible levels for digestion. This is why we NEVER recommend to use Geiger counters for food testing unless in dire situations. We hope this clarifies matter a bit.

Does it use a cylindrical GM or a PANCAKE GM tube? What is the best measure of the tube life that you can give parameters to? Thanks!

Cylindrical low voltage SBM20-1 tube. Only does Beta and Gamma. Its does work well. A nuclear plant recently had a leak about 245 miles north of me, and it went bats as I was downwind and it showed elevated radiation at 6 times my normal background for 45 seconds so I know I caught a wisp of it. This is not professional lab equipment, but is good value for what I paid for it. The battery life is awesome too with LSD rechargeable NiMH AAA batteries. I run it 24/7. At this price, I do not really care about tube life.Just do not expect professional grade results from it, but it is good enough and a good value for the money.

what are the minimum sensitivities for beta/gamma? IE: how many KeV in those bands?

Gamma: 0.1 - 1.25 MeVBeta: 0.25 - 3.5 MeV

where is this product poduced and manufactured

According to the radiation certificate that is included in the package, the RD1503+ monitor is manufactured by the QUARTA-RAD Ltd company in Moscow, Russia. http://quarta-rad.ru

Manufacturer	RADEX by Quarta-Rad
Model number	WE-PBNS-P0JI
Colour	white
Item Weight	90.7 g
Product Dimensions	10.16 x 5.84 x 2.54 cm; 90.72 g
Batteries	2 AAA batteries required. (included)
Item model number	WE-PBNS-P0JI
Item Height	1 Inches
Item Width	2.3 Inches
Size Along Diagonal/Diameter	10.5 Centimeters
Are batteries included?	Yes
External Certification	CE Certified

RADEX RD1503+ Geiger Counter (New 2015 Model, White)

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