Hunting Uranium Ore Episode 1 w/ RadiaCode 101

A video about a short trip to the Czech Republic. I was looking for uranium minerals with my small scintillation counter on the tailings of the "Barbora" mine 4 kilometers northwest of Jáchymov.
Of the many samples i found, i took home 16 minerals. Some are quite ugly, others look spectacular with secondary uranium minerals in different colors.
I am glad that most pieces are below 25 mm in size (one inch), so they can be easily stored in glass vials with gaskets. This prevents Radon gas from accumulating in the air.
The small scintillation counter (RadiaCode 101) was a respectable tool for prospecting. The sensitivity is far superior to common geiger muller tubes.

[@anon_226]

Beautiful! As the developer of our wonderful dosimeter, I'm very happy that the changed click sound works as I wanted it to!)

[@RADiOiNactivity]

Хорошая работа!

[@aizono4ki]

В 101 такей же звук?

[@anon_226]

@@aizono4ki да

[@witherspoon1995]

I just got mine. Thing is incredible. I've since discovered elevated radon in my workplace through the presence of Pb 214. Great work

[@GamingAmbienceLive]

Eugene, will 103G have an internal GPS? I am literally waiting for a model that doesn't have to rely on a phone. Also, if you know, is 103G sensor size bigger?

[@promethium147]

I envy people, who live somewhere near mines or are able to go there so, so much. Not only it must be super cool to search and find your own spicy rocks, but you also save 100s of euros. Great high quality video :)

[@RADiOiNactivity]

Thank you. I also don´t live near a mining site like that. I have to drive 330 km (205 miles) to get there. May i ask where you live? Many countries have at least some known uranium deposits.

[@promethium147]

​@@RADiOiNactivity I'm from Upper Austria. I visited a graphite and a silver mine and also a famous gravel pit in the bavarian forest when I was still mobile. Also I was searching for copper ore on the also famous parking lot on the "Hochkönig". Then I was gifted tungsten ore from Mittersill. But beside that I didn't come anywhere, where ore and especially uranium ore can be found. Maybe I'm going to the Erzgebirge one day for holiday, but without car to be mobile from whatever town you go by train/bus, I think it's still hard to get somewhere, where ore can still be found. Guess thousands of other people already moved every single stone there. Also without a local and/or someone who knows places to go there, it makes no sense. Also I guess it's forbidden to search on a lot of places too.

[@RADiOiNactivity]

@@promethium147 Na da wohnst Du doch in der Nähe von mehreren Ländern, die bekannte Uranvorkommen aufweisen. Ich würde Dir einen Ausflug nach Deutschland oder Tschechien empfehlen. In Deutschland musst Du nicht unbedingt ins Erzgebirge, der Schwarzwald ist auch nicht schlecht. Ich kann Dir gerne einige Koordinaten geben, wo Du ordentliche Fundchancen hast.

[@promethium147]

@@RADiOiNactivity Wäre echt sehr lieb von dir für den Fall der Fälle, dankeschön! Hab dir eine Mail geschickt.

[@darkexecutionertr8939]

Uranium fever has gone and got me down

[@RADiOiNactivity]

with a geiger counter in my hand...

[@MyWasteOfTime]

You should watch metal detecting videos to make your search methods more efficient! It is easier to scoop a hand full of rocks at a time and check the handful than checking one rock at a time.

[@KineticCascade]

My grandparents live near the Baita-Plai mines in Romania soon I hope to do this

[@RADiOiNactivity]

Good luck finding something but i think the mine is still in operation.

[@jchan5000]

A shovel would help you a lot, however this way is much more suspenseful ;-)

[@RADiOiNactivity]

I know why you might think that, but a shovel would not help at all. Have you ever dug a hole in the ground when you have more rocks than soil? You use a pickaxe like 90% of the time. A shovel would just bend. A pickaxe is too heavy and big, so i use my hammer. If i had known beforehand that i would dig out a giant piece of pitchblende it would have taken maybe 2 minutes. I was sitting with my knees on the hard gound, holding my hammer and the smartphone while sweating in the burning sun. On top of that i was expecting maybe one or multiple small pieces... Now i have a Gopro and a tripod for my phone, so things are far easier.

[@norandois]

I have the bettergeiger over here in Canada, I’m defenetely buying the radiacode 101, it was very sensitive and fast response, for radioactive stuff, i’m prospecting rare earth here, its a LOT different than prospecting for gold, feel great walking along river for any radioactive rock, you have a good past time! I’m wondering how it would be satisfying straight on uranium stuff!

[@RADiOiNactivity]

Isnt the bettergeiger already a scintillation counter? If it is it should be pretty sensitive already. Finding uranium should not be too difficult in canada i suppose. If i remember correctly canada has quite extensive reserves.

[@norandois]

@@RADiOiNactivity exactly its a scintillation detector, it work well, we have uranium deposit north saskachewan, in eastern canada in Quebec, its a quite ride to get to there, the closest uranium camp is elliot lake here, I’ve been here one time without own a geiger, unfortunately I don’t bring any U ores.

[@RADiOiNactivity]

@@norandois Here in germany most uranium mining sites have been recultivated.

[@norandois]

@@RADiOiNactivitythat’s quite different than our regulation over here, they build house straight on the waste because nobody own geiger counter 😆

[@user-zh1xj7my1h]

​@@norandois A famous screw up here in USA was the use of (cheap) mine tailings in fill material while grading and as concrete aggregate for building foundations of a GRADE SCHOOL near a mine. Growing children being among the most vulnerable to ionizing radiation, over some years time this created a (radioactive insult related) "cluster" of disease which FINALLY was noticeable statistically and so lead the radioactive source to be investigated & found.

[@zoltankovacs6390]

How did you get into the Barbora tailings? Because it's a restricted area, and I'm curious if they let you in there.

[@RADiOiNactivity]

It is kinda restricted but only if people work there. On weekends nobody cares. You don´t have to take the main entrance you can climb up on the dump from the surrounding forrest.

[@jitterspec]

Is a scintilator better for looking for ore than a geiger counter? I was at an old claim in AZ and was only getting 50 CPM (0.3 uSv/h) about double background using my GMC-320 PLUS geuger/muller data logger

[@RADiOiNactivity]

Yes a scintillator is usually better for searching. They are more sensitive and respond much faster to gamma radiation and x-rays. People always think they need an alpha and beta sensitive device, but that doesn´t matter at all. None of that makes it through the top ground layer anyways. I start digging at hotspots with > 0.5 uSv/h. The count rate is different for each specific device. For me that works quite good. Slightly increased dose rates like 0.3 uSv/h can also be caused by K-40 (radioactive potassium).

[@Serpiph]

An example how to catch a uranium fever. 😉

[@RADiOiNactivity]

That would be bad, because i already suffer from hay fever :)

[@Serpiph]

​@@RADiOiNactivity an additional fever to your collection. 😉 Like a gold fever long long ago.

[@LegacyVision.]

Like charles david young you can get a cutting board or knee pad and lay out a handful of dirt each time to check much faster

[@RADiOiNactivity]

That sounds like a good idea.

[@NathanaelNewton]

Nice hammer! I need to get a proper rock hammer but for now my estwing hammer will do 😂 Some spicy rocks! Almost as spicy is the one I found a couple days ago (300 usv peak)

[@RADiOiNactivity]

This hammer is nothing special, it is from a german hardware store similar to home depot i guess. My next video will feature a specimen with almost 300 uSv as well, i am in the process of rendering right now

[@thematronsmilitia]

Does it detect alpha radiation? All of the cheap geiger counters i see online mention beta gamma and xray, but most of the radiation from natural uranium and thorium would be alpha. Can uranium ore be found from the gamma radiation of it's decay products?

[@RADiOiNactivity]

This is not a geiger counter, it is in fact a scintillation counter made to register photons. It is roughly 10 times more sensitive to Gamma and xrays than a ordinary sized geiger counter. It has however no sensitivity whatsoever to alpha particles. You can easily detect uranium by the daughter nuclides. Some of them are Gamma emitters.

[@Dozymetria]

Great achievements! I'm waiting for a package with my RadiaCode 102 :)

[@RADiOiNactivity]

Thanks! It will be a nice addition to your collection :)

[@HNN_CBEPXCNCTEM_CCCP_NM._COBbl]

А точно 102, а не 101? :)

[@HNN_CBEPXCNCTEM_CCCP_NM._COBbl]

Хм, прикольно, оказывается реально существует версия 102 :)

[@jtcustomknives]

This seams so painfull. I can see using the radiacode to find and area but switching to a standard point source Geiger muller tube when digging would save so much time in pinpointing the location.

[@RADiOiNactivity]

I don´t see any advantage using a GM counter. I am also not sure what you mean by "point source" regarding geiger counters. Every piece of u-ore is a point source when you are sufficiently far away with your measuring equipment due to the inverse square law. Sometimes large and strong pieces cause an extensive radiation field. The same is true for multiple small sources in close proximity to each other. The hard part is to differentiate those two cases. Being close to a heatstroke doesn´t help, which was the case in this video :-)

[@Ligh7Bulb]

Instant subscribe and not because I own a couple of RC102 as well

[@RADiOiNactivity]

A couple...? How many do you have exactly? :)

[@jayytee8062]

Shine a uv light on those samples.

[@RADiOiNactivity]

I should do that... some of the secondary minerals should glow under uv light.

[@jayytee8062]

@@RADiOiNactivity Yes. Uranium also is supposed to glow under UV.

[@karhukivi]

@@jayytee8062 Uranium metal does not glow under UV, nor is it found as a metal! Some uranium secondary minerals e.g. phosphates, will glow but they are bright yellow and easy to spot in daytime too.

[@jayytee8062]

@@karhukivi Uranium fluoresces under UV light because the UV excites the electrons above the ground state and gives off photons as the electrons transition back to the ground state, (Naomi Marks, a research scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.)

[@karhukivi]

@@jayytee8062 If you mean uranium as the element and metal uranium, then you are misinformed, it does not fluoresce under UV. Some compounds and minerals of uranium do fluoresce, notably phosphates like autunite and silicates e.g. uranophane, but uraninite (UO2) does not fluoresce, nor does pitchblende a common uranium mineral.

[@anupkumarlathar]

How much radiation exposure was and measurement unit of radiation ?

[@RADiOiNactivity]

I didn´t calculate my exposure but it was within safe limits. The unit of measurement is sievert. The ambiet (gamma) dose rate is usually measured in microsievert per hour (uSv/h) which is a millionth of one sievert.

[@anupkumarlathar]

@@RADiOiNactivity thank you very much

[@rchilds527]

"a shit-ton" in technical terms, but the user doesn't realize it. If he does that once in a lifetime, no big deal. If every weekend? He will be dead of an ionizing induced cancer within 20 years, probably sooner as he gets better/faster at finding "hotter" rocks. Dose limits are low because it is a "lifetime risk" associated with every dose. Also, the "Radiacode" says it has a dosimter with it, so dose "calculation" isn't required.

[@RADiOiNactivity]

@@rchilds527 The danger of low doses of ionising radiation are not as well understood as you think they are. Besides that the Radiacode is by no means a dosimeter just because it can display a accumulated value. A real dosimeter has to be worn on the chest and should not be sensitive to any beta radiation. If you measure the dose rate on the rocks the value is completly worthless since this is not a full body dose.

[@Desertprophit83]

Nice video !! Enjoyed it !! I have the better gieger s-1. Was wondering if i would need to get this one too.or is the better gieger s-1 good enough to just have that one .

[@RADiOiNactivity]

That´s a hard question. If you are happy with the Better Geiger i see no reason to upgrade. However the RadiaCode has definetly more to offer in terms of functionality. The app is very rich in features, for example data logging, track recording, gamma spectroscopy, and so on. If you compare both devices in terms of sensitivity, the RadiaCode is a quite a bit more sensitive and also more responsive in identifying radioactive sources. In the end it all depends on the use case.

[@Desertprophit83]

@@RADiOiNactivity thank you very much for the reply, yeah I want the radiacode need to save up some money .I mean I want a sensitive detector ,I mostly got it for just testing background radiation incase of an emergency event .but youre hunting videos seems real fun..what is the highest limit the radiacode detects? I believe the better gieger detects 20 x times higher then some of the cheaper models .I paid 182$ without water case or test material.

[@RADiOiNactivity]

@@Desertprophit83 The highest dose rate is 1000 uSv/h. That is enough for general usage in my opinion. If you want a device for a post nuclear war scenario you should get a emp hardened counter for dose rates up to 1 Sv/h. For this purpose relatively insensitive geiger muller tubes or ionisation chambers can be used.

[@bbrockert]

For the impatient: 13:15

[@stargazer7644]

You're a saint. This was really hard to watch. Continuously thinking tiny pebbles would be giving off a field like that.

[@RADiOiNactivity]

There is a red cross in the top right corner to close boring videos.

[@stargazer7644]

@@RADiOiNactivityYou should thank him for making this one watchable. I gave up long before 13 minutes.

[@RADiOiNactivity]

@@stargazer7644 No i don't. To be honest i don't care at all how long people watch this video or if they watch it at all.

[@SergeyShek]

Amazing!

[@RADiOiNactivity]

Спасибо!

[@pshtiwanabdulmajeed6731]

How can i get one of thic smal detector .link please

[@RADiOiNactivity]

Here you go: www.radiacode.com/

[@nxtlightdesign7440]

Is the "102" a new version, or a different product? Please advise.

[@RADiOiNactivity]

It is basically a new version with some minor advantages. The 101 was something like a pre-production model, if i understand this correctly.

[@Xi_The_Dictator]

@@RADiOiNactivity will the GQ GMC-300S work?

[@RADiOiNactivity]

@@Xi_The_Dictator Work for what? You need to explain that a little better please.

[@Xi_The_Dictator]

@@RADiOiNactivity uranium hunting?

[@RADiOiNactivity]

@@Xi_The_Dictator oh okay...It kinda depends on your ambitions. Every working geiger counter can probably identify a rich piece of u-ore. The problem is how well that works. The GMC-300S has a small glass tube inside, if i am informed correctly. These glass tubes are not very sensitive so the device wil take quite some time to inform you about varying radiation levels. I would probably save the money and buy a geiger counter with large pancake tube (for example GMC-600+) or a scintillation counter...or both :)

[@chevchellios84]

your gona end up on some state watch list if you carry on collecting uranium 🤣

[@RADiOiNactivity]

Perfectly legal in most countries...as long as you store it safely and don't process the ore.

[@6trb801]

Sooooooo.... And how much do I need for and bomb? Question for my friend Abdullah.

[@RADiOiNactivity]

Tell your friend to ask the FBI. They will help him out for sure :)

[@techpriest4787]

I am no expert. Judged by how small the core of a bomb is. It can not be that much. Maybe 10x it to account for refining weight loss?

[@techpriest4787]

​@@RADiOiNactivitygood thing that the Fargot Beuro of Investigation has no authority here. They need more military bases first...

[@RADiOiNactivity]

You need a large amount because only 0.72 % of natural uranium is fissile uranium-235. You can have a look at the "Little Boy" device for example. The core was only 64 kg (141 lb) of HEU (highly enriched uranium). To quote the wiki article: "Most of the uranium necessary for the production of the bomb came from the Shinkolobwe mine in the Belgian Congo, and was made available thanks to the foresight of the CEO of the High Katanga Mining Union, Edgar Sengier, who had approximately 1,200 short tons (1,100 t) of uranium ore transported to a warehouse in Staten Island, New York in 1940. At least part of the 1,200 short tons in addition to the uranium ore and uranium oxide captured by the Alsos Mission in 1944 and 1945 went to Oak Ridge for enrichment, as did 1,232 pounds (559 kg) of uranium oxide captured on the Japan-bound German submarine U-234 after Germany's surrender in May 1945."

[@cavramau]

Why havnt you started android screen recorder and spliced the recording onto the video?

[@RADiOiNactivity]

Because my first video was filmed with the smartphone in hand and nothing else. Besides that what would you like to see on the android phone?

[@GamingAmbienceLive]

i wish these units had internal GPS, i dont want to kill my phone battery and rely on bluetooth, this needs to be self sufficient unit

[@RADiOiNactivity]

I don´t agree. If including a GPS module makes the device bigger or reduces the units battery life what´s the benefit? Recorded tracks need to be viewed on a phone anyways. The small internal screen is sufficient for searching and displaying simple settings but that´s about it. The main feature, namely the dose rate or CPS/CPM display including audible clicks doesn´t need a phone. If you are concerned about your phones battery just use a powerbank. For longer trips you´ll need one anyways.

[@GamingAmbienceLive]

@@RADiOiNactivity im more concerned about the fact its not an apple made device and it will probably suck at connecting on boot, then you have to fiddle and open the app on the phone i dount it will pair and immediately log with GPS, unless you open the app, and how long before the phone force closes the app in the background, androids are notorious for force closing apps for no reason. GPS modules are insanely small and efficient, there would be absolutely negligent power draw especially if the location update rate is once every minute however often it saves logs

[@RADiOiNactivity]

I get what you mean, but it would still make the device more expensive without adding any new features. In my experience the bluetooth pairing works well and force closing can be avoided with certain settings. Of course bluetooth can always cause some issues. The apple software is not as developed as the android version. I think they work quite hard to catch up. I´m glad that i don´t own any apple products :)

[@GamingAmbienceLive]

@@RADiOiNactivity third world developers usually focus on android since that's the only thing that is accessible, but often times apple applications end up being multiple times better, I'm glad you can tolerate android though, personally i was never into torturing myself

[@antonioblackfox]

Oof I have land in CA and use those texture of rocks to make light post because I have much prettier quartz on my property oh the irony of me using those for permanent cement post both because I would want to destroy said light post and second because they may also be valuable lol oh well.

[@RADiOiNactivity]

Can you tell me which "texture of rocks" you are referring to? Preferably with a timestamp in the video. What do you mean by "CA"? California or Canada?

[@antonioblackfox]

You play fallout? NCR origin state

[@RADiOiNactivity]

If i say "California" i answer both of your questions at the same time, right? Now i still need to know which type of rock you mean :)

[@antonioblackfox]

@@RADiOiNactivity 16 and 19

[@georgiy0077]

🎉Я построил дом пока вы раскапывали его)

[@RADiOiNactivity]

Это русская поговорка?

[@nen.user.3764]

I think my buddy here needs some help .. some one please tell him

[@RADiOiNactivity]

Yes please tell him he needs help!

[@powersurge91]

...I'm going out to stake me some government land!

[@RADiOiNactivity]

Uranium fever has done and got me down Well, I had talk with the AEC And they brought out some maps that looked good to me And one showed me a spot that he said he knowed So, I straddled my Jeep and headed down the road I reckon I drove about 100 miles Down a bumpy road out through the wilds When all of sudden I bounced to a stop At the foot of a mountain, didn't have no top Uranium fever has done and got me down Uranium fever it's spreadin' all around With a Geiger counter in my hand I'm a-goin' out to stake me some government land Uranium fever has done and got me down Well, I took my Geiger and I started to climb Right up to the top where I thought I'd find A hunk of rock that would make it click Just like I'd read about Vernon Pick On the second day, I made the top And I'm tellin' you, Steve, I was ready to stop The only clickin' that I heard that day Was the bones in my back that had gone astray Uranium fever has done and got me down Uranium fever is spreadin' all around With a Geiger counter in my hand I'm a-goin' out to stake me some government land Uranium fever has done and got me down Well, you pack up your things, you head out again Into some unknown spot where nobody's been You reach the spot where your fortune lies You find it's been staked by 17 other guys Well, I ain't kiddin', I ain't gonna quit That bug's done caught me and I've been bit So, with a Geiger counter and a pick in my hand I'll keep right on stakin' that government land Uranium fever has done and got me down Uranium fever is spreadin' all around With a Geiger counter in my hand I'm a-goin' out to stake me some government land Uranium fever has done and got me down

[@tomt6480]

Hi nice video, I need uraninite samples for study, would you send some samples? Thank you

[@CT1JRZ]

Were I can buy a small uranium ore?

[@RADiOiNactivity]

You can send me an email and give me some specifications what exactly you are looking for (size, looks, and so on...).

[@CT1JRZ]

Were I can find your email?

[@RADiOiNactivity]

Looks like it is no longer visible in the channel description... here it is: [e-mail]

[@TheMrGREENRay]

watch the criminal code of your plca about sending such a things through postal service: crystals of detectors are much larger there (if to compare with RadiaCode 101)

[@TheMrGREENRay]

also airports, train stations (underground too)

[@SOVIET_NIET]

Is the radiacode 102 good

[@RADiOiNactivity]

This is the "old" 101 model. I received a new RC-102 today and it is pretty much the same. Key differences are: better resolution @ 662 keV (9-10% instead of 11-12%), higher sensitivity to low energy radiation and higher resistance to electromagnetic interferences. I have not verified this information yet, but this is basically what the manufacturer told me via email.

[@Pemon]

wateresistant is more interesting

[@RADiOiNactivity]

@@Pemon I would always recommend using zip bags to prevent contamination and increase the water resistance. Another benefit is that you dont have to clean the device afterwards.

[@Pemon]

@@RADiOiNactivity but we like to clean the water ways buddy ... GQ gmc-300 E in use ✌🏻 thanks

[@SOVIET_NIET]

@@RADiOiNactivity do you recommend the device for antiquing?

[@MrHero-ir9nx]

for what you can use it?

[@RADiOiNactivity]

Do you mean the uranium? You can´t use it for anything that is beneficial or legal :) The only exceptions are using it for experimets with radiation or as a check source for your Geiger counter. Collecting uranium minerals is just a fun activity and most of them look quite beautiful.

[@MrHero-ir9nx]

ah ok good to know, I just read that in the Czech glass industry at that time glasses were colored with it, the addition of uranium creates a yellow to greenish color. Good luck with the search@@RADiOiNactivity

[@RADiOiNactivity]

Yes uranium compounds were used as a color for glass and as a glaze for porcelain. The glaze is often orange in color.

[@MrHero-ir9nx]

nice to now maybe you can even measure the radiation in the glass or porcelain?@@RADiOiNactivity

[@RADiOiNactivity]

With a geiger counter you can detect the radiation easily. The glaze is often quite radioactive whereas the glass only produces weak emissions. It depends on the purity of the uranium. Uranium itself is not very radioactive, but natural uranium contains all the daughter nuclides that build up due to the decay of the uranium atoms. For example Radium, Radon, Polonium, and so on. For the glass people used chemically purified uranium and because of the very long half-life of uranium it takes ages for the daughter nuclides to build up again.

[@thexfile.]

Do you sell that material?

[@ISLAMIC_Channel-7]

I have if you want to buy

[@wenkoibital4779]

enough to make mushroom or little boy??😂

[@RADiOiNactivity]

I am not sure about the mushrooms since i don't grow or eat them :) However i really like that you didn't mention "Fat Man", which was the implosion design using plutonium 239. On the other hand depleted uranium was used as a neutron reflector, so you should have mentioned Fat Man after all...

[@wenkoibital4779]

​@@RADiOiNactivity N.K. great general Kim may concentrate uranium for you.😁

[@TheMrGREENRay]

UV 365nm

[@RADiOiNactivity]

Sadly there was no fluorescence on any of those pieces.

[@Roberto1Dade1-eu7ok]

salut mwen anvi vann ou l'uranium

[@obama618]

oof hope no cancer

[@RADiOiNactivity]

Since there is no ocean nearby, you will probably not encounter any type of cancer....

[@skd999100]

💚💪🙏🔥🤙👍

[@pasuggun9438]

방사능,피폭으로 백혈병걸리길 바랍니다

[@RADiOiNactivity]

이미 백혈병에 걸렸기를 바랍니다!