cutting open a general electric x ray machine head

[@glasslinger]

Fear itself is the greatest stimulus of fear. It feeds upon itself and can lead persons to cower and hide from life in extreme cases. In all of my experiments I carefully research and study the dangers involved and take appropriate steps to make sure I don't get zapped by high voltage or radiated by the X rays. It is called science. People doing experiments like I do is why humans are not still stinking savages living in the jungle like animals.

[@antney1108]

glasslinger There ARE no X-rays coming from an unenergized tube. It’s called common sense.

[@glasslinger]

When I was a little kid (6years old) my dad would give me old radios to take apart. I would take the glass tubes and break them open and cut them apart to see what was in them. That experience early on got me into the technical end of things rather than the arts or business. (horrors! A little kid breaking open radio tubes! Sharp glass! What uncaring parents!) But those liberal actions by my parents are the source of my curiosity and the driving desire to undertake difficult tasks.

[@erichsh58]

My Dad gave me a 15 kV neon sign transformer for Christmas when I was about 14 years old. His basement was filled with vacuum tubes, electronic components, and test equipment. A few times I hooked up his big Tektronix oscilloscope to my longwire antenna during thunderstorms so I could watch the patterns lightning induced in the wire.

[@christopherthumm7861]

Thank u for inspiring me to accomplish anything i set my mind to

[@erichsh58]

@Frank Roberts Great story. Those early childhood experiences shaped your life, same with me. I agree with your last paragraph as well 100%!

[@SailingSarah]

My parents used to take me to the landfill and I would get toys out of there LOL

[@SailingSarah]

@Frank Roberts that's happening to me and my children right now and all I did was obey a court order.

[@glasslinger]

Unfortunately, I didn't discover the scrap yard until I had already bought 3 of the damn things for $250 each on ebay! I had a friend that worked at a scrap yard and he saw the units in my garage and told me that there was a big stack of them at work! oh well.

[@glasslinger]

Yes, it was good! The short was in the terminals that go through the side of the case.

[@gorillaau]

glasslinger Interesting place for a short to occur. Interesting video.

[@glasslinger]

Nothing made after about 1950 used PCB oils. They are filled with processed mineral oil. Also, the hoopla about PCB oils is drastically overblown, like the hoopla about mercury, lead, and asbestos. You are not in any way whatsoever going to get cancer from occasional contact with these materials! Of course you don't want to slop them all over the place, because then the contact is no longer occasional. And of course wash your hands immediately after getting it on you.

[@T2D.SteveArcs]

yeah I have ground chrome coatings off so can weld, filed down asbestos brake pads drilled and riveted them, handled a good few asbestos sheets on old garage roofs etc and been covered in countless oils fluids etc in my days of playing with cars (engine swaps etc) i didnt know any better back then but im still here 40 years later so im with you Ron i think it is blown out of proportion a good bit although i probly would take more care knowing what i know now lol

[@therealjammit]

I know this is 7 years old, but I'm quite certain no one would use the expensive PCB's in a silly little x-ray machine. You save that stuff for the big stuff, like the "pole pig" transformers that connect the users 120/240 to the main HV line or the sub station transformers.

[@Funkybulb]

Well There PCB oiled filled caps in fluorescent ballast And I actually rewind those old fluorescent ballast.

[@glasslinger]

I am retired now. However I make my hobby pay for itself since I am not rich. Tubes and antique radio replicas are my specialty.

[@glasslinger]

This machine does not have PCB's in it. It is mineral oil. Industry had stopped using PCB's in transformers long before this unit was made. Another thing, the danger of PCB's is extremely exaggerated, like asbestos. It takes a long term exposure to be in danger of cancer from it.

[@glasslinger]

Hello! The filament in the X ray tube emits electrons in proportion to its temperature. By controlling the filament temperature, the output of the X ray tube is set to the desired level. The filament transformer provides the heating voltage for the filament.

[@thomthumbe]

Dunno why it is only now that I’ve found your channel. Total fascination!! If I lived next door, I’d be a willing second set of hands. I too grew up taking things apart to find out how and why it worked. It led my life career, but not to the experimental reaches you’ve gone to. Thanks for sharing!

[@glasslinger]

Hello! A certain amount of the X rays are reflected back. I keep the survey meter going so I can see the power of the x rays coming at me. I make sure they are well within the tolerable level for a one day dose. I have never even come close to a serious level. Also, I only work with x rays a few times a year. Not to worry!

[@glasslinger]

The background radiation is also determined by the type of instrument. A geiger tube instrument will have a lower background at a given sensitivity than a scintillation counter. A lot of the background comes from the sun and can be seen by connecting the integrated output of the survey meter to a chart recorder and recording all day and all night. It about doubles during sunlight. (unless you live in a high natural radiation area)

[@dusterdude238]

LOL I remember as a kid I was one of the victims of this type of Dental X-Ray machine many times over. Always wondered what the inside of the head looked like. now I know. thanks that was fascinating to watch.!

[@johnperry5396]

He's one of the most intelligent, multi-talented, gifted individuals I've ever seen on KZbin, and I just discovered him. I'll be binge watching for days...

[@antigen4]

John Perry hardly

[@johnperry5396]

@@antigen4 He may be a cross dresser, but he's an electronic wizard. You? Just some dumb piece of shit.

[@glasslinger]

Hello! Almost all of the larger diagnostic and all of the theraputic X ray machines use this kind of tube.

[@cengeb]

Warranty void if this seal is BROKEN!

[@adyp81]

cengeb 😂😂😂 that's got a laugh out of me 😂😂😂

[@glasslinger]

The best way is to get to be friends with the junk yard foreman and show him photos of what you are looking for and that you would give a good finder's fee to get one. Also, keep an eye on ebay. They regularly come up. Prices vary from under $100 to around $250, which is what I paid for mine. Some are priced stupidly high of course!

[@glasslinger]

Hello! I use the X ray screens that were used before digital imaging for increasing the brightness of X ray images on film. This is not used any more so these cassettes with the sensitive screen are quite cheap on ebay. A digital camera is used to photograph the screen. Or an image intensifier is used before the digital camera as I do to get a bright image with a much lower X ray dose.

[@dennisk5818]

My background is photo science and I've done a lot of sensitometric eval. While photo emulsions had good sensitivity in blue and near UV, they could be exposed by x-ray. To keep exposure from radiation low, a phosphor panel was placed in contact with the film. When the x-rays hit the film, they also hit the phosphor, which glowed in visible light, which helped to shorten the exposure.

[@siemenstraffic]

This is a mid 1970's GE/Gendex 1000 Panelipse X-ray tubehead

[@glasslinger]

Hello! The detector is very sensitive. It is on the 1 milli r per hour scale which does pick up background radiation. I like to keep the exposure in the room approximately at background for maximum safety. It is not hard to do. The beam is highly directional.

[@DandyDon1]

In which type of X-ray equipment was a spinning target tube common? I remember my general practitioner had a Westinghouse unit in his office. The transformer was in something which looked like a large oil drum with input and output to the tube. It sat on the floor. I remember hearing the motor wind up and coast down in the x-ray head.

[@wardogies]

DandyDon that would be the x-ray machine in doctor offices or hospitals and clinics

[@cyndicorinne]

That was a good demonstration!

[@proxxima038]

Lovely! I still have one with an rotating anode here somewhere.

[@high1voltage1rules]

iv just got one of these the same G.E x-ray heads of ebay and cant wait to get it! that will be my 5th xray transformer ;-)

[@subramaniamchandrasekar1397]

The later X ray films are coated both sides with emulsion and a photo luminescent plate placed below it. With very short exposure, the luminescence plate continue to glow and continue to exposes the films. This method requires a very short dose of x ray unlike the earlier models without the luminescent plate. The only issue is the image is more blurred because of the luminescent glow. Inside the x ray tube, there is a concave mirror behind anode that reflects most x ray in one direction. Without the mirror, the x ray will be emitted in all directions. Any leakage is shielded by the lead housing. Thank you very much for the video. Regards

[@TheWarped45]

I like tubes I have a large collection of vacuum tubes but the tube amps I work on run at about 400 to 500 volts dc I have got good zaps in this lifetime but Xray tubes are really neat to collect I have seen a beautiful tube with a mogal screw base and the anode and cathold at the other end really neat.

[@glasslinger]

The oil in these machines is pure mineral oil, no PCB. It is as safe as your cooking oil.

[@edpappy1371]

It is a step down transformer, for heating the filament. It steps down the voltage and increases the current

[@glasslinger]

Hello! None in this model. The oil is mineral oil, no PCBs. Biggest risk is cutting your finger on the sharp metal of the case!

[@asdgasdf9580]

I was just going to say...hope it doesn't have pcb in it.

[@Captain_Char]

out of curiosity what is the reading on the survey meter off that tube?

[@glasslinger]

I use the transformers. However, these units come up routinely on ebay and you can get one for around $250. (that's what I paid for mine) I have never gotten one that had a bad transformer. The tube is what goes bad.

[@whywhyzedernie]

@siemenstraffic, I agree that this intra-oral tube head likely comes from the old GE 1000 system or a predecessor. The Panelipse was an extra-oral machine and this is not an extra-oral tube head.

[@Mikkel324]

I've had good results opening these x-ray heads by unsoldering the seam. It's a pretty quick job if you use a screwdriver to pry the seam apart while using a propane burner for the unsoldering. It's gentler on the tube compared to splitting with a chisel, although the tube can handle a lot of abuse without breaking, I've had several where the cathode has become unaligned from knocks. Do you need any info on the transformer? I've done a lot of measurements on these transformers so just ask.

[@dedo20]

does this GE tubehead contain PCB's?

[@Sygorg]

Amazing ... you really opened my eyes ... with an x-ray tube. Never knew how those things worked and now I do ... so "simple", the basics i mean. I admire your skill and all-round knowledge, very impressive and educational ... besides practical! If I may ask, how did you come to all this knowledge, how do you start making vacuum tubes in the first place, where did you learn it? I mean how does a man start doing what you do? greetings from Slovenia

[@glasslinger]

Wow, what country do you live in? I have heard that in some countries it is really overregulated. Here in the USA x ray machines are like computers, microwave ovens, TV's etc. You just dispose of them to a recycling place for that kind of junk. Of course there are strict regulations on USING an x ray machine on humans!

[@TylerWynn]

Hello, so I'm getting ready to buy an x-ray head of my own, the one thing I'm worried about is trying to figure out which wires go to the high voltage transformer and which wires go to the heating filament. Do you have any suggestions on how to figure this out? The answer is probably super obvious once I get it, I just want to know before I invest money into the head. Thanks!

[@FALAKRAS1332]

hello !! good construction!! I would like to ask you from what is material and what phosphors shows the x-ray ?

[@KB4QAA]

Very interesting Ron! What are you going to do with all these parts?

[@stevenking2980]

LOVE your videos mr slinger! I subbed a year ago. The Nixie tube one was great too. Thanks for the videos! Steven

[@flatbrokefrank6482]

Are you ok Ron not heard from you in a while?

[@_Ramen-Vac_]

yeah, where IS Ron? sick? any updates?

[@scosha371]

lol

[@dennisk5818]

You have just answered my long time curiosity about x-ray equipment. The tube was much different than I thought. I expected an angled target inside of a globe, that was hit by electrons thereby generating x-rays which were then diverted out through the tube. Does the tube leak any x-ray from the open end of the tube housing (the access for the HV and filament power)? Or is it only produced in the central area of the tube and directed out through the aperture? What use are the functioning tubes ?

[@glasslinger]

The x rays radiate out equally in all directions. Various parts of the target and envelope absorb a lot of the radiation not going out the side port so there is a cone of much stronger radiation in that direction. One use was to see inside a circuit board where internal traces in the multilayer board ended up. This enabled repair of a $30,000 instrument that had no schematics available!

[@bpark10001]

Most of the directivity of the X-rays is due to the (most likely copper-coated tungsten) target in the tube, not any surrounding shielding. There will be less directivity in other directions of the cone. The oil you are collecting is most likely Pyranol (PCB), the toxic oil that persists in nature forever! Its advantage is that it is not flammable.

[@glasslinger]

You are correct on the beam direction but testing shows the oil to be simple mineral oil. Pyranol was not used in medical devices.

[@edpappy1371]

the first discovered by Thomas Edison was Barium Platinocynide and that was later replaced with Cellulose nitrate. Digital imaging systems use Cesium Iodide. All of these scintillate when exposed to x-rays.

[@edpappy1371]

X-ray tubes are use in the range of 22,000 to 150,000 VDC

[@EphemeralProductions]

DC? I thought they ran on AC. learn something new everyday.

[@Atomshamradio]

You can make a cool flood light for outside. The housings

[@high1voltage1rules]

cool video thanx for sharing, hey you dont want to sell the high voltage transformer do you mate?? or have one for sale?? THUMBS UP*

[@NOBOX7]

is that Bakelite plastic with lead powder aggregate?

[@ianpool3990]

What sensor do you use here to get the imaged? where can i buy it?

[@glasslinger]

my skin is turning green! LOL!

[@midevilmayhem976]

lol

[@antigen4]

i wonder what kind of voltage is induced in a wire exposed to x-rays?

[@glasslinger]

Not much. X-rays are ionizing so that tends to neutralize a charge.

[@65gtotrips]

This is pretty darn cool❗️

[@high1voltage1rules]

Thankyou my friend for getting back to me ;-) love you videos. I do get the od ones of eBay. I just wanted to try and get that one as it looks nice ;-) THANKYOU Anthony

[@colt45peacemaker]

Tube looks like a high voltage TV rectifier diode tube.

[@glasslinger]

Hello! Ebay of course!

[@Sygorg]

Well there are always two sides of a coin as I see, the "carelessness" of your father being quite a catalyst to something quite unique. Hey it's America :) But just out of curiosity, do you do this for living or as a hobby, do you have orders coming in, do you make like custom tubes for anyone, radios, audio amplifiers and what not?

[@abdullahmahmoud3389]

Thank you very much But i have a question .. how i can vacuum oil to monotank of this tube

[@TheAnothernow]

very nice and educational. Thank you for sharing the video. Where would one get one of these X-ray cases. I checked out the metal salvage and they were completely destroyed. Thank you again. I too am working on a Marx generator. love and bless

[@glasslinger]

Hello! These units have mineral oil for an insulator. It is no more dangerous than car oil. PCB oil was outlawed in the USA long before these units were made. ron

[@TheAnothernow]

Thank you. I put the word out there and hopefully will get some HV coils. Love and bless

[@dansteffee9759]

Have you ever built a Crookes tube ?

[@glasslinger]

Yes. I used to sell them on ebay but never made any money at it.

[@NOBOX7]

What kind of oil is in that? pcb's?

[@cengeb]

normally no pcb's..Shell Dialax, or similar

[@edgeeffect]

I'm intrigued by this oil... I've never heard of it's use in electrical installations before.

[@cengeb]

been used for decades, it insulates and also cools ...

[@linuxmintman]

Surfer hexa-fluoride

[@erikas6874]

@@linuxmintman That is a gas, not oil.

[@NOBOX7]

wow , you have the coolest tools , they all cost thousands of dollars it seems lol

[@dedo20]

Hi does this tube head have PCB's? Polychlorinated Biphenyls?

[@glasslinger]

no. Mineral oil.

[@hydrolisk1792]

Where is there a junk yard that has stuff like that?

[@damotty]

i've got sufficient radiation exposure just by watching the vid

[@wardogies]

Andrey 😂 lol

[@SailingSarah]

That came from your phone buddy :-) every time you pick up your phone your eyeball gets radiated LOL

[@spookisghostly4619]

There's not significant radiation when the machine is off otherwise he wouldn't have this machine

[@nejiniisan1265]

Gave up opening one similar because of the PCB content of the oil in old machines.

[@subramaniamchandrasekar1397]

Never saw that London pattern screwdriver for many many years.

[@cengeb]

the tube could be gassy and a leaking pinhole in Be window

[@JPMontello]

I have a coolidge type X ray tube but I can't seem to make any X-rays with my 22kv power supply. Wikipedia says 30 kv is the minimum to make xrays (soft x rays) is this true? Maybe your power supply was higher than 30kv at the start?

[@glasslinger]

Xrays will begin at about 10kv and be VERY STRONG at 30kv. These tubes are "soft vacuum" tubes and can go bad. You should not have purple glow between the cathode and anode. There may be slight blue glow but if it is a purple stream the vacuum has deteriorated and the tube may not ever produce X rays again. (without re-evacuating the tube) Be sure the positive of your power supply is on the anode. (the electrode with the sloped surface.)

[@JPMontello]

@@glasslinger thank you for the advice! Mine has an aluminum heatsink on the anode side and maybe all the pointy surfaces are causing a voltage drop? I don't see any arcs or plasma inside the x-ray tube at all; I think this tube is in great condition

[@glasslinger]

@@JPMontello If the tube is up to atmospheric inside there will not be any glow. (or X rays) The heatsink will have no effect on the tube if the tube is good. You can use a high frequency induction coil to see if the tube is still under vacuum. It will give slight phosphorescence holding the electrode near the glass envelope. The tube will give a slight blue glow near the electrode from internal gas. (if at the correct pressure.) If the tube is at atmospheric, there will not be any glow at all. I suspect you have a tube that has leaked up to atmospheric. :(

[@JPMontello]

@@glasslinger I can't get an arc to form at all. My power supply can definitely bridge the gap between the electrodes in normal air. Maybe I should get my filament brighter? I've been using 4 volts and it draws 2.7 amps. Should I go higher? Something is probably wrong with it

[@glasslinger]

@@JPMontello I thought you had a coolidge type tube. No filament in that type tube. If the tube is a normal high vacuum type then the filament will need to be very hot, like a light bulb. Be sure to monitor the emission current so you don't overdo it and burn out the filament.

[@dtiydr]

Ok then im calm. :) I have a longer tube that i used to listened to the background radiation once and it was about 3 times as low as you so thats why i wonder since i thought that you might had a highers background radiation by what ever reason, but then it all made sens. Thanks for the info!

[@NoahSpurrier]

I wondered about this, too! Some x-ray heads made before the 1980's did use oil with PCBs. I'm not sure if it was commonly used in relatively small x-ray heads similar to the one you dismantled. Good luck finding what a manufacturer put into a given piece of equipment manufactured over 30 years ago. If you have more insight on this topic I'd love to learn more. In the mean time, I look out for Ritter J-series heads. They were filled with mostly harmless Sulfur hexafluoride gas as a dielectric.

[@Atomshamradio]

Love to find one good find

[@wisteela]

Very interesting and great demonstration

[@devicemodder]

@6:07, put legs on it and you'd have a gonk droid from star wars

[@Atomshamradio]

Hopefully that transformer oil is not poisonous

[@PcrHV]

Just seeing this comment now! Interesting, i have just done a teardown video of a ritter xray head, j series meaning J. Morita?

[@NaturalKiller]

-Tommy what are you doing? - Nothing mom just playing with an x-ray machine - Ok then you wash your hands well

[@glasslinger]

AMAZING! You described my childhood! My mom let me play with all kinds of dangerous stuff! I think back about how many times I did LETHAL experimenting! But here I am doing what I am now doing; not a lump of mindless flesh in front of a TV set!

[@DolezalPetr]

why are you wearing a dress and where did you get this really cool xray head?

[@frediew8010]

Hello" i just got eight dental x ray machines heads could you tel me if ther is any Au, pt, pd, copper, in theys heads ? your help would help me thank you"

[@glasslinger]

They are full of copper windings. Maybe ten bucks or so. Might not be worth the effort to dismantle them.

[@treegasmicthearborist5763]

yeah you could sale them to ron for what you can scrap them for! lol

[@flash51050]

Is the oil contaminated with radiation

[@glasslinger]

Yes! These old units are heavily used so they have had x ray radiation blowing through the oil hundreds of times. It must be contaminated I guess! He, he, he!

[@NOBOX7]

you have a very cool job, i would imagine your not an employee but a specialist , any why i am very curios if you was to build that x ray tube {just the tube } not the x ray machine how much would you value that component parts and labor, i have guess in mind of about $1,350 u.s 2014 dollars , very amazing devices ,pure art work, only 1 out of 10000 people have the craftsmanship to construct such elegant machines , i mean this thing is made out of a glass vacuum tube and runs on 40,000 volts probably to produce an amazing atomic particle by electro acceleration of electrons , AMAZING as you can tell i am quiet the nerd i could talk to you for hours

[@cengeb]

tubes for XRF end window type are about $30K... XRD glass tube are about $3,500, medical tubes are probably as pricey, they need FDA and other certs, which jacks the prices...Moly or Tungsten

[@Ben-rj7xs]

this is a great way to see the northern lights right inside your workshop lololololol...

[@high1voltage1rules]

Hey there mate' you up for selling that transformer then ?? ;-) Thanx Ant

[@flash51050]

Most interesting video, all ways wandered what was inside that x ray box 🗃

[@cengeb]

the hV oil is not valuable, Shell Dialex or similar, nothing special, no pcb, unless......the Be window is still intact?

[@Nuker-jc6qo]

Hello, I was wondering if you know how that machine was wired before you took it apart I have one of my own but I have no information to wire it, love you videos! Any information would be very helpful :D

[@glasslinger]

X and XC are the filament transformer primary. Use a small variac to control the voltage. A1 and P1 are the primary of the HV transformer. Use a large (10 amp) variac to control that. MA to ground (case) is the Xray tube beam current. Connect a 10MA DC milliamp meter between MA and case to measure tube beam current. There is no temperature monitor on these units since they were rated at 1 second maximum on time. Be careful, use only enough filament voltage to get the current you need. Try about 50 volts on the HV and adjust the filament until you read beam current. Most soft materials use less than 1 MA. For thicker materials run the HV to 75 volts or 100 volts. (100 volts will give about 80KV peak X rays) The peak KV will vary with beam current loading. Don't publicize you are operating one of these!

[@Nuker-jc6qo]

@@glasslinger Thank you for your very quick and informative response Much appreciated 👍

[@Super8Rescue]

very interesting, thanks for sharing the video

[@glasslinger]

The transformer is going into a 50kvdc power supply to drive a Marx generator.

[@erichsh58]

Did you ever post a video on that? I saw your video about how you converted a 16 kV neon sign transformer into a 50 kV one.

[@_Ramen-Vac_]

funny, usually scrap co's won't buy something full of oil.. compressors, I guess the net weight in a car ain't nothing compared to overall weight .. plus, usually all the fluids are on the road?

[@Luzt.]

Sir, you ROCK!

[@high1voltage1rules]

and i forgot to say i payed including postage 150 uk pounds thanx

[@SailingSarah]

Man I'm trying to take care of business and then I see this video! D:

[@high1voltage1rules]

AWSOME MATE. Loved the video ;-) Subscribed* Thumbs up*

[@Kc8qdq]

Nice. Love learning

[@Kc8qdq]

Men like this make the world work. But people with suits and ties get all the money and credit

[@justicelut]

Gee Ron I hope the oil is not full of pcb’s!

[@glasslinger]

The oil in these is purified mineral oil.

[@roentgen226]

Today you can make your own x-rays! so now you can fucking everything up in your room when you turn it on.

[@Rev22-21]

Ron, Is it possible to have a private conversation with you? Thanks

[@glasslinger]

KZbin has discontinued messaging due to abuse. The few rotten apples in the society ruin things for everyone.

[@Rev22-21]

@@glasslinger : Hey Ron, thanks for your kind reply.....at the risk of opening a can of worms... here's one of mine. [e-mail] If you can (or would be willing to). Thanks and best regards

[@qzorn4440]

great info.

[@benjaminastormiscomin3229]

He should have good chem gloves, dioxins are present in these old X-ray heads, his workshop is now contaminated with nasty stuff , Mercury also.

[@erikas6874]

Mercury? In which part?

[@dtiydr]

Either the radiation detector is very sensitive or you have a quite high background radiation.