Geiger Counter Data Logger with LND712


Posted on Feb 6, 2014

Here is another little circuit I designed for radiation logging purposes. It is based on an Atmel 168 Microcontroller and a small and precise RTC device called RV3029. I also used an AT45DB41 Dataflash for this Circuit, as I had the sourcecode for communicating with this device already written. This is a very compact design that uses a modern LND7


Geiger Counter Data Logger with LND712
Click here to download the full size of the above Circuit.

12 counter Tube. This kind of tube is also widely used in modern commercial geiger counters, and its alpha sensitivity is also a very nice to have feature. The only drawback is its price, I paid around 100 Euros for it. The high voltage generation is done by a nice little circuit I found in an application note provided by Maxim. It is a very efficient Low Power Design that only draws several microamperes. The onboard RTC can provide very flexible Timing and Alarm Signals, the Atmel external Interrupts INT0 and INT1 are connected to the RTC to make use of this feature. The power consumption of this circuit is very low when using the Power reduction modes of the Atmel controller. Depending on your program, it can be as low as several 10 microamperes. So this circuit is ideally suited for standalone long term measuring of radiactivity. Other sensors can be easily connected by using the I2C protocol, so this board is also a very good starting point for your own Ideas.




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