Clicker mod for STD Counter

This is for products and services from Joe Jarski and Doug Coulter. We've noticed others having trouble on some things, and think we can make a positive contribution to the community by making some of those things available to all at nominal pricing, so people can just get on with their own work.
Here is where these things will be described and sold.
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This is for Joe and Doug to display our joint projects for sale, and for questions and answers about them.

Clicker mod for STD Counter

Postby Doug Coulter » Mon Dec 12, 2011 10:53 am

While the customer who wanted this won't be able to see it (he's blind), this is a mod to the STD counter for clicking output. I adopted Joe Sousa's excellent idea for a "tick to tock" converter here, with a little more malice aforethought - out came the Beranek and I actually designed this more on pupose for a high Q (about 20) and a resonance around 1.5khz. I had a tiny earphone transducer from my Dad's old collection of things to try for tactile stimulators for deaf, that just fit. I cut a piece of 1/2" tubing about .9" long, and used a 3/16 hole through the box as the output "bass reflex" port, on the bottom.
Here's what it looks like topside.
xducer.jpg
Transducer in resonant down-firing chamber

Now, the signal after the voltage divider to take it from ~80v down to TTL levels for the counter input is still pretty high impedance, so a single transistor doesn't have enough beta to drive a 12 ohm speaker directly without loading the signal down too much. Rather than fool with the existing divider circuit, I just made up a darlington pair so as not to load this too much. I didn't use the customary E-B resistor on the second transistor, as I didn't want this to be fast! Since the signal is normally pulled up to 5v, I used pnp's as an emitter follower, with the load between the 5v rail and the emitter of the pair. I gooped this down with hot glue for ruggedness. Since this customer is blind, I also made up a stainless steel screen for the mica tube window so it'll be a little harder to poke it out with a finger or a sample. This is also put on with hot glue, the idea being that if something gets stuck in there, you can peel it back off pretty easily and safely to get it removed.

Here's the driver blob.
driver.jpg
Gooped 2n3906's


Since he's using a screen reader on his computer to get usable information out of it, I'm also adding a command pair to the STD counter software itself - after this, typing a 't' to it will put it in "output only every ten seconds" mode, and typing an 'o' to it will revert to outputs once per second. I can't even read the long lines by eye once a second...The power up state will be the normal one, nothing extra to do for anyone else - the software for the PC will work the same either way, but just get fewer data points in the "ten second" mode.
Posting as just me, not as the forum owner. Everything I say is "in my opinion" and YMMV -- which should go for everyone without saying.
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Re: Clicker mod for STD Counter

Postby Joe Jarski » Tue Dec 13, 2011 11:26 am

Doug, nice mod to the standard counter. It looks like everything fits in there nicely. I hope it works out well for him.
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Re: Clicker mod for STD Counter

Postby Doug Coulter » Tue Dec 13, 2011 1:15 pm

We'll know soon enough, it's about to go out the door in his direction. (and some $ yours). I wish I could find that transducer again - no source other than new-old stock at the moment. This one sounds really nice, like radiation should sound, in some odd way. The further acoustic loading with the table top makes it just right - and if you get tired of it, a piece of tape de-Q's the response so much it more or less can be turned off that way. It' was a pretty tight fit, but it fit.
Posting as just me, not as the forum owner. Everything I say is "in my opinion" and YMMV -- which should go for everyone without saying.
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Re: Clicker mod for STD Counter

Postby Jerry » Wed Dec 14, 2011 8:23 pm

Does the STD counter start clicking faster as you get to the seedier parts of town?
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Re: Clicker mod for STD Counter

Postby Doug Coulter » Wed Dec 14, 2011 8:42 pm

Yes.

Edit:
For those who didn't get the joke - a lot of people have had radioactive seeds implanted in their prostate. Going around, say, a hamfest with a sensitive counter that beeps will have it going quite a lot and attract some serious scowls. So yeah, in a "seedy" neighborhood, it counts more.
Posting as just me, not as the forum owner. Everything I say is "in my opinion" and YMMV -- which should go for everyone without saying.
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Re: Clicker mod for STD Counter

Postby Brian Gage » Tue Jan 10, 2012 1:09 am

Hi to Joe and Doug,
I've only had my Standard Counter a couple of days, and likely already worrying Doug. Lots of "blind guy" questions. The audio 'clicker' adaptation sounds great. Not too loud, pleasant and resonant. Though likely never necessary, I could easily mute the audio with a piece of electrical tape over the small opening. The machining of this detector case out of an aluminum block is amazing.
Okay, so figuring out the Realterm software and data file has been a headache, and remains a challenge.

Latest background for Duncan B.C. (west coast north) is22.9 CPM with the SD and 12 CPM with a SE Monitor 4EC plugged into my PC (I use JAWS 11 screen reader).

Now that I've linked up with the local ham club, I've found volunteers to help me build a few things. Can hardly wait to get my hands on the Phillips PMT and a GM tube I ordered from Richard Hull!
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Re: Clicker mod for STD Counter

Postby Doug Coulter » Tue Jan 10, 2012 9:19 am

Yes, I designed the clicker to "sound like a geiger counter should" whatever that means - sounded good to me, or I'd have changed it. I did mean for it to be adjustable with black tape, and to work with the tabletop to get the resonance. There's considerable leeway there to fiddle it the way you want.

Your background seems right in line - even a little low. Here I got 26.7 cpm in a "cold" place in my lab. Troy and I are working on the "blind guy" stuff now. I think we'll be able to come up with some good stuff, but it stinks you won't see the cool plots.
Posting as just me, not as the forum owner. Everything I say is "in my opinion" and YMMV -- which should go for everyone without saying.
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from the '.Re: Clicker mod for STD Counter

Postby Brian Gage » Fri Jan 13, 2012 4:58 am

Captured text numbers are just fine, as is hearing feedback from the clicker while doing other tasks. Others can help with plots and graphs. 'Looking' inside, I was surprised at the size of the CCFL unit (asuming it's that blocky xfmr on the end opposite the BNC connector? The xfmr inside my Monitor 4 looks tiny by comparison, about 1.5 cm on a side. Looks like a tiny transistor radio audio output xfmr from the 60's (Not complaining).
size of the end of my forefingerLED and switch
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Re: Clicker mod for STD Counter

Postby Jerry » Fri Jan 13, 2012 5:31 am

A friend of mine has a little russian made counter. It makes a pleasant chirping noise.

Wonder if he has the massive scintillator that he was installing for a scrap yard. Guess they hauled an entire shipload of scrap to china only to have it turned around because something was hot.
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