K65-CI180G_LND712 HIRO+plus Geiger Counter

by Atomic.dave Atomic.Dave@yahoo.com
This is a one of a kind custom hand-made Geiger Counter built by Atomic.Dave. It is based on a kit designed by John
Giametti (username: Brohogan) I have been building his DIY Geiger counters for over two years having built and sold
around 60 of them. Much of the information for this kit is available at the developers website. This is more of a kit for someone who knows a little bit about electronics but doesnt have the time or patience to build it, or would rather someone else
do all the dirty work. Having been built by me, of course there may be some imperfections, although as minimal as possible. This particular one is a culmination of its predecessors. It is certainly one of my more advanced kits having more options then all accept the Cadillac, and I will do my best to explain how to use it. Once you have used it a couple times, it
will be a piece of cake.
OPERATION
Four Triple Pole switches- ALL OFF IN CENTER POSITION.

UP
MIDDLE
DOWN

SELECT
ALARM
SCALER

POWER
ON/PC
OFF
CHARGE

LIGHT
ON/ON
OFF
ON/OFF

ALARM
ON/ON
OFF
ON/OFF

SOUND
TONE
OFF
CLICK

NULL
TONE
RESET

A. SELECT switch does 2 thing. When you first power on the unit, you will see:

Atomic.Dave K65
HIRO+plus V10.1
This customized first welcome window can easily be changed if you want, by doing a little programming in Arduino.
Refer to the DIY site for directions at the SOFTWARE section. But the default is now set to my name, Kit 65, and the second line is the Geiger Counter name, and the version of software that the AT328 chip is running V10.1.
The second window will show on first line the current uSv to CPM conversion rate. This is dependent upon the postition of the metal toggle switch just across from the BNC connector. Toggle up for the CI-180G probe (300), and toggle
down for the LND 712 probe (100). Always toggle with the unit off, then power back on.

300 CPM=1 uSv/h

Running at 5.24V

100 CPM=1 uSv/h

Running at 5.24V

I have preset this for your two probes, but later if you wanted to add another probe, you could change this rate with
Arduino, or with the Sony wireless remote control which I will explain later. The second line refers to the current voltage
that your system is running at. This is a 5 volt system. The 3000mAh 3.7v lipo battery is boosted to 5v with a pololu
booster. Everytime you start up your GC (geiger counter) it will show you this so you will always know your current voltage.
The third window will show this:

Alarm Set ?
Now at 200 CPM
At this point, you can hit the Select button to incrementally change the Alarm threshold number. Once you stop hitting
the button and wait, it will be set to the current number shown on the screen and will stay there until you change it either
again restarting and waiting for this part, or by using the included remote control to change it. You can also choose from
units of measurement such as CPM or uSv/h for the Alarm. It also acts like a stopwatch starter for th scaler mode. It has
two preset times of 1 minute averaging and 10 minute. You can change this with the remote, or the sketch when connected
to pc. Much easier with ther remote obviously.
B. POWER switch controls the power and charging of the unit. Up turns on the unit, Middle turns if off, and Down is for
when you charge the unit. When the unit is charging, the RED LED on the lower left side will remain constant RED while
charging, and when charging is complete, it will turn off. If you wish to power the unit with the USB in, and bypass the batteries for extended periods. Switch in middle position, and flip up switch on top right of unit next to the mini USB port.
C. LIGHT switch controls the Event LED (BLUE) and the LCD Backlight. Up turns ON both, Middle turns OFF both, and
Down turns the LED on, and the Backlight off.
E. ALARM switch controls the Alarm LED and Piezo. Up for both on, Middle for both off, and Down for LED only on. This
makes for a silent visual alarm.
D. SOUND switch controls the Event speaker. Up for tone mode, Middle mutes both, Down for Standard Click Mode. More
on Tone Mode later.
F. NULL this is a new switch and works only when in Tone mode for the event speaker. When you are scanning in Tone
mode, you can push this to reset the sensing to zero. More on this later.
LEDS
Right away, you will hear the clicking of the speaker as your GM tube picks up radiation events. There are three LEDs
below the LCD. The Left one is GREEN and is a system status light which comes on when starting up, and when sending
data back and forth to your PC. If the green light ever freezes up, just restart the GC, and it will reset itself.
The middle is BLUE which is for radiation events and coincides with the clicking speaker which can be muted with the
mute switch. The Right one is RED for the Alarm which will only light up when a set alarm threshold is reached. It can be
turned on or off. The speaker for the alarm is located below the grilled port just below the LCD display.
OTHER SWITCHES, BUTTONS, PORTS, DIALS
NEW- Added 2 new switches to the top left and right of the unit. The left top one is used to turn on and off the IR
for the remote control. LEAVE THIS OFF WHEN NOT USING THE REMOTE TO PROGRAM THE UNIT. If you leave it
on, the IR has a tendancy to pick up signals from other remote controls and will cause the unit to not function
properly. The right top switch is used to power the unit with the USB cable plugged in. This must be off DOWN
when charging the unit. Flip this up to turn it on. Down when not powering the unit with the USB. When powering
the unit for long periods, please flip the main POWER switch to the middle OFF position.
A. Starting on the left side top of the GC is the LCD contrast dial. As the LCD is used, it might get to a point for you to
readjust the contrast for it. Not a big deal, while the backlight is on, gently take a small screwdriver and turn it to the left or
right until it appears to have the best contrast.

B. Below the contrast pot on the same side is the output multi-port used for Geiger Bot (with the included G-Bot
cable), and for Geiger Graph and RAD OSX (with the optional USB/FTDI cable) Just plug in the Geiger Bot cable into this
with the 3 conductor plug, and the 4 conductor into your iphone or ipad. Or plug the optional 3.5mm to USB cable into the
port, and into a USB on your mac or PC, then follow instructions to run those programs. It also serves as an mono audio
output for silent listening with headphones, or with the included 3 conductor to 3 conductor M-M audio cable, you can run
sound based data logging software.
C. On the right side of the GC is the Mini USB FTDI output/input for programming in Arduino. This also is used to
charge the internal Lithium Ion battery (with the power switch in the bottome position.) Or it can be used to power the GC
for extended periods, however when you power it this way, I would advise to turn off the LCD backlight. But its ok to turn it
on once in a while, but I wouldnt leave it on for extended periods. When uploading any new changes to the program
sketch, you will need to have this switch in the up position white it is plugged into your pc with the USB cable.
REMOTE CONTROL SYSTEM: ONLY TURN ON IR WHEN PROGRAMMING SYSTEM. TURN OFF AFTER.
This is the second system I have built with a wireless remote control. It adds some conveniences such as the ability
to adjust certain things on the GC without the need to plug into your PC or mac. It is already setup to work. All you have to
do is point the remote towards the IR window, and push the power button to start. As soon as you do that these options
will pop up. Use the channel button to move thru each option, and use the volume buttons to move up or down within those
options. You can also use the number pad to input numbers rather than using the up down of the volume. After you reach
the desired amount you push ENT to enter it into the system. After you are done, hit power again to get out of this mode.
The keys on the Remote Control perform these functions:
On/Off enter or exit the menu system. "DISP PERIOD (MS) is the first prompt you will see.
CH Down moves to the next menu option
CH Up moves to the previous menu option
VOL Up increments the value already set for the current option or toggles an option
VOL Down decrements the value already set for the current option or toggles an option
ENT finalizes the entry in the current menu option if changes were made
When used out of the menu, it acts like the "null" button to reset the tome.
Digits 0-9 for direct entry of values (instead of Volume or Arrows) must use Enter after using digits.
PERIOD enters a decimal point - used when setting the ratio.
MUTING used when out of the menu mutes the speaker when in "tone mode"
RECALL used when out of the menu - switches between the main screen and the scaler screen
Menu Options:
Initially, menu options are set to defaults. Settings made will be stored in EEPROM on the ATmega328, so they will be in
effect when you power back on. Here is a brief description of each menu option:
DISP PERIOD (MS) The number of milliseconds before the display refreshes. 5000 (5 sec.) is a good setting.
(Display counts are based on a "running average" I do not recommend settings of less than 5 seconds.)
LOG PERIOD When to write the CPM, 'dose', and MCU voltage to the serial output. Zero means logging is turned off.
CPM->[DOSE] RATIO Sets that ratio for the type of GM tube used. Note this ratio will depend on the dose unit being displayed - see DISPLAY UNIT. Use the DEC PNT or AV/TV key to set a decimal point.
ALARM THRESHOLD When the CPM or DOSE units is greater than this value the alarm is triggered. Unlike the button,
any value may be entered.
DOSE UNIT Use the arrow keys to select the name of the unit for the dose value - "uSv/h", "uR/h" or "mR/h".
ALARM UNIT Sets whether the alarm is based off of CPM or the DOSE unit. Use the arrow keys to select.
SCALER PER (MIN) Sets the period for the second scaler.
BARGRAPH MAX CPM Sets the CPM that will give a full scale reading on the bar graph. This also affects tone mode
TONE SENSITIVITY Determines how sensitive the tone is to changing activity. Low numbers are more sensitive.
USE RADLOGGER? When "Yes" serial output is compatible with Radiation Logger application - see Android / PC BT
Graphing page.
REG. VOLTAGE Displays the voltage powering the MCU (Vcc). To a large degree, this represents the state of the battery.
Note that each menu setting has a minimum and a maximum setting. Entries that are out of bounds will revert to the minimum or maximum.
DISPLAY BAR GRAPH:
The display has a new bar graph style with placeholders and is much more responsive. It now updates 20 times per second. The tone is also updated at this rate when used.
Auto-precision - decimals are dropped from the displayed dose rate as it gets larger.
Beginning with v10.1 the LOG PERIOD can now be set to intervals of less than 1 minute. Valid settings are OFF, 2s, 3s,
4s, 5s, 6s, 10s, 12s, 15s, 20s, 30s, and 1 minute intervals up to 720 minutes.
"Tube Select" is still supported where grounding I/O pin 9 will use an alternate ratio for CPM to Dose unit. The CPM>DOSE RATIO in the menu will set and save which ever ratio is selected at the time it's used. This allows setting of both
the primary and alternate ratios.
The current state of the the mute button and the scaler mode are saved in EEPROM and the Geiger kit will come up in
those states the next time it's powered on.
A "reset all" #define can be set. When uploaded the EEPROM is reset to all the default values. This may be useful if the
EEPROM contains invalid data from a previous release.
Another #define can put the counter in a test mode. 360 CPM is simulated. Interrupts are not producing the count so it
can be affected if tone mode is on.
Major restructuring of the code base including use of tabs and memory saving techniques.
ABOUT DOSE UNITS:
The menu allows you select the name of the dose unit that appears on the display. However, to be clear, there is no
built in conversion between them. Instead the CPM->[DOSE] RATIO is adjusted depending on the name of the DOSE
UNIT selected. For example, 175.43 is the default set for the SBM-20 with uSv as the dose unit. Suppose you pick "mR"
as the dose unit name, and want to measure in milirems. ("mR" more correctly abbreviates as milliroentgens but is used to
save display space.) The rem is defined as .01 seivert. Therefore, to use the same ratio that was designed for the tube,
you would multiply that ratio by 10. You would enter a CPM->[DOSE] RATIO as 175.43 x 10 or 1754.3. Likewise if you
wanted microrems ("uR") you would divide the ratio by 10 and enter 17.54.
If you do want to use roentgens (used in older instruments) this source states that they are .96 rem in soft tissue. So
the CPM->[DOSE] RATIO for actual mR would be 175.43 x 10 x .96 or 1684.1. (for uR it would be 16.84)
PLEASE REFER TO THE DIY GEIGER COUNTER DEVELOPERS WEBSITE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

http://www.sites.google.com/site/diygeigercounter/

ARDUINO Software and Serial-USB connection information:

ON the cd you will find the FTDI driver and Arduino program version 1. Install both and restart your mac. Copy the Geiger Sketch folder to the same folder as your
Arduino program is and remember where that is as that will be where you go to save your sketch everytime you make a change to it. There will also be a Library
folder that will also need to be in the same folder. Just remember that the folder has to be the same exact name as the sketch name is. And also within Arduino, you
will have to go to preferences and show Arduino where your default sketch folder is.
ARDUINO SETTINGS: Brohogan Software system version 10.1
1. Open Arduino
2. Open the saved sketch .ino file, connect your Geiger counter to the USB with power switch off.
3. Verify the file by clicking the little check mark icon.
4. Click TOOLS, and Select Board type as Arduino UNO, and select serial port as the top tty choice.
5. Click Serial Monitor (top right looking glass icon). Set Baud rate to 9600 and you should see the CPM, uSv and geiger counter voltage data coming up once per minute.
For more info go to website under Software section on the DIY geiger counter website. Or go to Arduino.cc
GEIGER BOT SUGGESTED SETTINGS: (You may have to play with it to get it just right) GO TO: https://sites.google.com/site/geigerbot/

Select options

Select Geiger Counter

Select LND712 CS137

Adjust Conversion
factor to your tube:
123 for LND712
175 for SBM-20
360 for LND7317
Select I/O Settings

Auto Adjust OFF

(you may need to play
with this setting)
RMS Window 1
Delay Window 30
Volume Thresh 20000

Ultrafast Rates ON

OTHER SOFTWARE LINKS:

http://www.blackcatsystems.com/GM/download.html
http://www.imagesco.com/geiger/geiger-graph.html
GEIGER GRAPH FOR PC NETWORKS: (cost is around $60. Use the OPTIONAL FTDI 3.5mm to USB cable)
This is a PC only software.
HARDWARE
1. DIY Geiger counter kit V5.1 by Brohogan, Running operating system 10.1
2. Internal CI-180G Geiger Muller Tube, and External RED probe with LND712 GM tube.
3. Power System by Seeeduino, Sparkfun and Pololu (please charge the unit until the RED light goes out)
A. You can power the Geiger in a couple different ways
1. With internal Lipo battery (Power switch in UP position)
2. With PWR switch OFF (middle), USB cable plugged into USB port on RIGHT side of geiger, USB PWR switch on right side of unit switched UP, then plug
USB cable into:
a. Computer or laptop USB
b. Wall charger block (included)
c. Standard 5v USB Cigarette adapter
d. To power and operate the unit this way for long periods, TURN OFF BACKLIGHT
POWER and OTHER SYSTEM ITEMS: This system is capable of producing 900+ volts, so be careful or you may get zapped when handling the system
while it is powered on.
A. Seeeduino Lithium Ion battery - 3.7v 3000mAh
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/lithium-ion-polymer-battery-pack-3a-p-588.html?cPath=178_183
Full recharge in 3 hours, provides approximately 40 hour constant use of geiger counter with backlight off.
Charge with PC/USB will take about 5 hours or more.
B. USB Lithium Polymer battery charger
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10401
C. Pololu 5V Step-Up/Step-Down Voltage Regulator S7V7F5
http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/2119
D. Sparkfun 5V FTDI Basic Breakout
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9716

HIGH VOLTAGE ADJUSTMENT AND MEASUREMENT

When you remove the battery hatch on the lower part of the bottom of the unit, you will see three small holes on the top lip of the compartment. These are the
HV checkpoints, Negative and Positive, and a screw head that is used to decrease and increase the amount of HV this unit is sending to the GM tubes. You will
need a Multimeter with aligator clip ends, that is capable of handling this. Please go the the HV Test & adjust section of the DIY Geiger Counter website. In this section it will explain in more detail. I am providing you with a free 1Gig ohm resistor probe that plugs into the test point holes as shown below. Then use the aligator
clips on your multimeter to clip to the Red and Black leads on the probe. I have set it to about 450V since that is about midway between the two tubes. This is also
used for calibrating the unit.
ENCLOSURE
Dimensions: New Age Enclosure - S784114 - 7.8" x 4.1" x 1.4" (not including handle or feet)
http://www.newageenclosures.com/files/784114_r5_2.pdf
REPAIRS:
If the unit fails for some reason with six months from purchase, I will be more than happy to do any maintenance you need at no charge except shipping.
PACKAGE CONTENTS:
In your package you will find: Geiger Counter, LND712 Probe, (4) Cables: Geiger bot 3 to 4 conductor, Audio 3 to 3 conductor, 2ft BNC Cable, Mini USB to standard
USB2 with wall charger and 2 FREE BNC connectors. CD with software and documents, Manual, RAD sticker, and extra faceplate labels. Rad samples upon request provided in micro lead pig. BONUS- 1G ohm resistor probe for HV measuring. If you ever need to replace the faceplate label, you will need to open up the
unit, remove the bnc, toggle, and handle. Remove the old label, then place the new label on, they punch holes thru for these parts that you removed.

External probe Tube SI-180G

External probe Tube LND 712

GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
Recommended Working Voltage:
Initial Voltage:
Plateau Length:
Plateau Slope:
Interelectrode Capacitance:
Load Resistance:
Working Temperature Range:
Length:
Diameter:

ELECTRICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Recommended Anode Resistor (Meg Ohm):
Maximum Starting Voltage (Volts)
Recommended Operating Voltage (Volts)
Operating Voltage Range (Volts)
Maximum Plateau Slope (%/100 Volts)
Minimum Dead Time (Micro Sec)
Gamma Sensitivity Co60 (Cps/Mr/Hr)
Tube Capacitance (Pf)
Weight (Grams)
Maximum Background Shielded
50mm Pb + 3mm Al (Cpm)

360 - 420V
290 - 330V
100V
0.1% / 1V
10pF
5 - 10 MOhms
-500 +700
100mm
18mm

10
325
500
450 - 650
6
90
18
3
8
10

SELECT

POWER

LIGHT

ALARM

SOUND

NULL

ALARM
SCALER

ON/PC
OFF
CHARGE

ON/ON
OFF
ON/OFF

ON/ON
OFF
ON/OFF

TONE
OFF
CLICK

TONE
RESET

HIRO+plus

PROBE

atomic.dave

RADIATION DETECTOR

LIPO
LIP
CHA
CHARGER

In

O
ut
Out

LIPO

LCD Diode
Voltage
V
oltage Limiter
Band to left

5V Up/Do
wn
Up/Down
BOOST

270 OHM
RESISTOR
RESISTOR

300 OHM
RESISTOR
RESISTOR

C
onversion Rate
Rate
Conversion
Togg
o gle Switch
Switch
Toggle

LED/SND
ON/ON
OFF
ON/OFF

AL
ARM
ALARM
LED

LED/BKL
LT
LED/BKLT
ON/ON
OFF
ON/OFF

EEVENT
VEN
NT
LED
LEED

S
Red LED POS

PWR/CHG
P
O
ON/PC
O
OFF
C
CHARGE

OPEN

BRD Pin 15
5

ALARM
Threshold
TTimer
imer

LCD Jump L

S
Red LED POS

ALARM

LCD Jump R

Blue LED POS

LIGHT

OPEN

LED BRD POS

LIPO Chrg 5V Out

Blue LED POS

PPOWER

LIPO Chrg USB POS

5V Boost IN

FTDI 5V

SELECT

3.5mm
Socket
Socket

4
6

2
3

OPEN

OPEN

ST
TATTUS
STATUS
LED

680 OHM
RESISTOR
RESISTOR

SPEAKER
TONE
OFF
CLICK

O
56K OHM
ap
Cap
RESISSTOR .1 uF C
RESISTOR

.1 uFF Cap
Cap

SOUND

MUL
LTTI-SOFTWARE
A
MULTI-SOFTWARE
OUTPUT PORT
OUTPUT

1K OHM
RESISTOR
RESISTOR

ALARM
PIEZO
PIEZO

OPEN

BRD Pin 15

Alarm Piezo POS OPEN

Piezo Jum
mp B
Jump

Piezo Jum
mp A
Jump

Board Pin
n 12

F
1

TONE
Reset

NULL

BRD FTDI 5V

7
6
5
4
3
2

8
9
10
11
12
13

FTDI

ON/ON
OFF
ON/OFF

ALARM

atom
atomic.dav
dave

PRO
Ex2
PROBEx2

HIR
+plus
HIRO+plus

ON/PC
OFF
CHARGE

EXT

LIGHT
ON/ON
OFF
ON/OFF

POWER

TUB
BE
TUBE
SELECT
SELE
CT

TONE
OFF
CLICK

SOUND

NULL

HV
Adjustment
Adjustment
Pot
Pot Under
Battery
Battery Panel
Panel

HV Check
Points
Points Under
Battery
Battery Panel
Panel

IR SENSOR

O
OFF

O
ON

O
OFF

O
ON

IR SENSOR

USB
Power
Power

TONE
RESET

RADIATION DETECTOR

ALARM
SCALER

SELECT

14
15
16
17
18
19

L R