Radiation Monitor for Your Home

[@Mr.Fox.92]

Drew, thank you for including micro-Sieverts in all the count rates!! and thank you for comparing it to the Radiacode, which a lot of us are more familiar with! Very cool video!!

[@krz8888888]

It behaved much better than I expected

[@streaky81]

Looks like it works with Home Assistant since 2024.6 too, which is pretty nice. Might pick one up for the heck of it.

[@londonglide]

This is brilliant Drew, thank you for reviewing it. We need a Radon detector for our new house and this company seems to have a good answer.

[@dixiecup3928]

That thing looks so cool to use. Amazing it is so accurate. Lots of fun!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I was surprised it was so accurate as well.

[@markramsay6399]

Nice video. From a practical real life radiation protection scenario, those three monitors are measuring the same dose rate which is very encouraging. Mark,

[@ivoryjohnson4662]

Thank you Drew and very thoughtful review

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks.

[@figueroalabs]

Very cool. I do remember a video from a house that a famous designed built out of a mountain top, and the new owners who rebuilt it had to built a system for air ventilation, because of radon gas. So this seems great for this type of use. And at a good price as well.

[@frederickbowman4494]

Great video!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks.

[@oldminer5387]

Good review Drew, thank you.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@HifiCentret]

That is really cool! Something worth considering. Not really because I'm generally concerned for the levels at my place - geigers and scintillators confirm they're well within normal range (perhaps except a foot or two from my large collection of Nano Wands LOL). But you'll never know if someting suddenly happens. Then it's nice to have a low maintenance low power divice always running to give an alert if something is up. Wether you trust authorities or not - at least they're always behind informing the general public.

[@ariboni73]

Nice!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks.

[@user-tb2jy9lu3d]

9:05 That's an epic alarm. I find that I always get my millisieverts and microsierts mixed up. It reminds me of the 1,000MB = 1GB 1,000GB = 1 Terabyte and such with computers, but of course with radiation. I just seem to always forget which is which. I think it's microsieverts that are the smallest and then millisieverts, right?

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Yes, that's correct.

[@DirtyPlumbus]

I recall coming across this a while ago, and I had intended to buy one but apparently completely forgot about it for some reason. With everything going on in the world, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have one around.

[@NeganFluffyFurry]

sound very useful! i'd like to further expand my collection with a lot more radium lumed items and radioactive rocks, so being able to measure distances to find an amount of rays that i would be comfortable with will be lovely. i have a gamma scintillator that picks up rays well, but it's an analog meter so with the constant background it's very hard to notice any differences! thank you for the showcase, i'll likely pick one up once i expand my collection :p

[@kuhrd]

I kinda wish some of the internet connected weather stations came with a radiation sensor so we could see all the data around the country and the world plotted on a map.

[@lussor1]

Why? Levels are low and harmless

[@kuhrd]

@@lussor1 Because it would be interesting to track the differences throughout the world. For instance, when we had all the wild fires on the west coast of the US and in Canada where the smoke was traveling to many areas of the US, I noticed that the radiation levels went up a bit (23-38CPM) on days when the air quality was bad. It wasn't a huge increase over background (17-21CPM is the average where I live most of the year) but it was measurable. It also went back down when the wind direction changed and the air cleared over several days.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

@kuhrd I agree...it would be interesting to see that data. Even if it is harmless its still interesting to see how the levels change and to understand why they change.

[@NX1984]

​@@RadioactiveDrewCoulda sworn I saw a weather site with radiation setting 🤔

[@RadioactiveDrew]

@NX1984 Windy has a radiation setting. Not sure how they get their info.

[@andrewhamop6665]

Very nice and comprehensive review Drew! I wonder if these sensors could be integrated into a smart home setup to link several of them together throughout an entire building? It sounds like they just use BT so I'm sure a plugin could be developed to grab the data periodically, and that would also mitigate the data loss issue if you don't connect your phone regularly. That radium post is a little scary tbh... I don't plan on adding anything like that to my collection, but it's always cool to see in your videos nonetheless. This is how you do a sponsored video without coming off like a schil!

[@ThePeterDislikeShow]

When I was a kid I used to think you could smell radon. Because it would decay into polonium which I assumed had a sulfur-like smell. I thought a musty basement smell was a sign of radon!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I can see the reasoning behind that.

[@d_juxtaposition_b]

So that’s pretty cool

[@thickernell]

Would be cool if they supported Matter for home automation. I’m sure though the whole category of home radiation monitors will eventually support home automation protocols

[@JewelsoftheTrade]

Another great video! Have you used the Airthings Corentium Home Radon Detector?

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I have one in my home. I have fun maxing it out in my radioactive antiques cabinet.

[@ulfpe]

For Radon you need avdifferent type of detector. You can use a radye or another type of gamma detcor for scanning materials, but to short term monitor you jeed something like rd200p-radon-detector that is purpose built . A proper long term measurment is done with a film canister, but thatvrequires a lab to read it

[@Captain_Char]

here I am still using a ludlum 2 set to 1R alarm, its basically my bench detector

[@kesslerfox]

Nice! I have a Eberline EC4-X Portable area Monitor set as an Area Monitor for Gamma Radiation. The alarm Buzzer is disabled because it’s super loud. I rely on the logarithmic meter and rotating red beacon light for a radiation warning. It’s set at 8 mR/h

[@Stealther]

I have the CO2 monitor from this company and its great

[@RadioactiveDrew]

If it’s anything like the radiation sensor I’m sure it’s nice.

[@ArashiinStormdragon]

Thanks for this great video, what a wonderful little monitor! I smiled at the test on the radium post-I’ve never taken the post out of my Radium Pyrotronics…frankly the thing scares me, but it’s good to see an actual test at point blank; 10 Million CPM is wild! I also wanted to ask you if you have a good source for the rear plate/filters for the B20-ER that doesn’t break the bank.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

The accessories for the Radeye detectors are expensive. I suppose you could get the same filter effect by using a thin piece of aluminum. Not sure on that thickness though. Looked like the filter is an aluminum disk with plastic in the middle.

[@jreid641]

It might be interesting to have one of those at the house.

[@JohnLobbanCreative]

It looks like the response time is much slower than my basic Geiger counters or the Radiacode. It seems only their more expensive models detect Radon.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Yes, this isn't for radon detection. They do have a sensor for radon that's a bit different from this.

[@HesderOleh]

@@RadioactiveDrew What makes this one not work well for radon?

[@Mercury586]

11:13 how did you put the alarms on the maximum right again since it is a brand new one. I tried on my brand new b20 putting to the maximum and only defaults to 600kcpm. Did you use a calibration set to change it while it does not default? Just wondering.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I’m pretty sure I set the alarms at the maximum value in the menu. I set them for max in both CPM and dose rate (Sieverts).

[@Mercury586]

@@RadioactiveDrew did you set them to 9999kcpm?

[@RadioactiveDrew]

@@Mercury586 pretty sure that's what I did.

[@DasTechnomancer]

For something like this being able to connect to an external power source would make sense.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

The batteries last for a very long time. I think up to 4 years on the lowest setting.

[@Elizebazz]

That thorium lens seems more radioactive than a Gladding Mcbean Plate that is 50Kcpm.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Yeah, that lens is my most active piece of thorium glass.

[@Observer_Effect]

@@RadioactiveDrew My hottest lens is 1/2 that, cool!

[@OnTheRiver66]

I had a friend who used to work for Gladding Mcbean, a name I have heard for many years, probably since 1980.

[@dymytryruban4324]

I just found they are based in Latvia. Didn't expect.

[@Live2ride2live54321]

Quick question Drew, I love your channel and I’ve learned a lot however, I’m curious where do you typically store all of your radioactive material? More specifically, I realize a lot of the radioactive antiques can be shielded with simply glass. So my question is not only where do you store it within your house if it’s in your house, but do you shield it or have specialty storage?

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I keep all the really spicy stuff in an old concrete lined safe. Does a decent job at kicking down the radiation level. But it doesn't shield it completely. My biggest challenge has been dealing with gamma emitters, like items with lots of radium in them and some of the uranium ore I have. The uranium glazed plates are pretty easy to completely shield against as they mainly emit alpha and beta radiation.

[@keyu55555]

Hi Drew, I like this geiger product,i have question When we use geiger do we need worry about missing alpha emitter ?(cos alpha radition will not detect by geiger count) thanks!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Having a radiation detector that can see alpha, beta and gamma can be helpful. But not really in a home monitor. Mainly because of how short of a distance alpha radiation can travel. Also in any type of radiological incident you are going to be looking for gamma emitters…mostly.

[@keyu55555]

@@RadioactiveDrew i see ，thanks for answer ！

[@RadioactiveDrew]

@@keyu55555 no problem.

[@Chris-ut6eq]

If i understand correctly, this would not detect Radon? Noticed they are releasing a Radon specific device but it's much more costly and adds very cheap common temp/RH type stuff. Disappointing there does not seem to be a way to use USB for external power. Batteries not useful for long term sensors around the house.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

If you were in a high radon environment, like a uranium mine I’m pretty sure this detector would show an increase in the dose rate. But for normal residential radon levels, no. They do have a radon detector they have coming out. Not sure if they are going to let me test that one.

[@Chris-ut6eq]

@@RadioactiveDrew It would be good if they did let you test. As you already have a pre-filtered group who is interested in radiation and in not becoming a Fallout Ghoul :)

[@Fuzzyfull]

All the sensors we make have extremely long multi-year battery life. It kinda seems to me that they are OK long-term sensors around the house :) Radon sensor, indeed, is more costly. However compared to competition (Airthings, Ecosense) it has similar pricing, but much better value proposition - it is the only battery-powered ion chamber radon sensor in the world. It ensures it has exteremely good accuracy figures and fast response time. Source: I am the product manager of both of these sensors.

[@scottcapron1873]

Just bought on Amazon for $96.34 total It states battery last for 4 years. Is the battery rechargeable or can it be replaced????

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Yeah, the batteries can be easily replaced.

[@StephenEmert]

Does anyone else who has these notice a completely random chirp? I have two, and they both do it, which drives my wife nuts. I have bad hearing, so I do not hear it, but I brought it to work, and a coworker listened and jotted down times, and mine was doing it 16 times an hour.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

That chirp is suppose to be the detection of radiation events. But it doesn't seem to be lined up with actual radiation events detected. You can turn off the sound using the switches found in the battery compartment.

[@StephenEmert]

@@RadioactiveDrew Thanks for the clarification. I interacted with support about it, and they asked me to put in an RMA. I had hoped it could be addressed via firmware. I want the thing to be quiet until it is in the alert zone. Turning off the speaker via the dip switch sort of negates its functionality. Overall, it is a design failure on their part that can surely be resolved via firmware. I put in the RMA a week ago and have heard nothing, so I am starting to get queasy about the company and may look at doing a charge-back.

[@velninja6356]

I always get nervous when you bring those metal scary things.

[@TheAuriconGroup]

Hi Drew... Well rats! The Amazon price now (7/26/24) is $119.00. I thought the $80 some dollar price might last a bit longer....

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I think the $89 price is on the Aranet website. Also if you use that code RDREW I believe you get 5% off.

[@TheAuriconGroup]

@@RadioactiveDrew Thanks!

[@CDmatt]

I would get one but I have too many radiation detectors now

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I think that's a problem for a lot of people with a strong interest in this subject.

[@Patschenkino]

Can it detect radiation from radon in the basement?

[@glennsmith5470]

You are going to need a radon detector for that at about the same price. Radon, in the USA, is measured in pCi/L ( picocuries per liter). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends an action level of 4 pCi/L for indoor radon concentrations. This upper limit of 4 pCi/L was arbitrary set and is based on uranium mine workers and their exposure. That's my 2 cents. You can look it up on the internet at the EPA site and Drew even has an early video on it.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

It can detect the daughters of radon decay if the radon is in a high enough concentration. But usually that level of radon is only found in uranium mines.

[@TheTarrMan]

"For your home" implies radon but that's ionizing radiation which this detector doesn't detect, right? I hope no one gets confused by that. Other than that this is pretty cool.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Sounds like you’re a little confused about radiation. Radon emits ionizing radiation, this detector detects ionizing radiation and that’s what all those sources in the video emit.

[@Dazdigo]

Looks like it integrates with Home Assistant.. over Bluetooth.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

That’s pretty cool. I’ll have to look into to that a bit more.

[@TheAuriconGroup]

Hi Drew... Amazon says "battery life of up to 4 years". Does this have a end user replaceable battery? Perhaps a AA, Ni-MH rechargeable battery? What happens after the battery goes dead? Do I have to mail this into the company to have them replace the battery? And if so, what is that cost? Is this a battery that you plug into a charger to recharge it, or the battery works for about 4 years and you never recharge it? Great review! Thanks for sharing.

[@TheAuriconGroup]

I just saw you pull the back off and saw what looked like two AAA batteries? Can you confirm please? Also, are the batteries in it rechargeable batteries? If so what is the mAh ratting of the batteries in it? Thank you!

[@Fuzzyfull]

This sensor features two regular alkaline AA batteries. User replaceable. And achieves multi-year battery life! When batteries goes dead, total dose reading is maintained!

[@TheAuriconGroup]

@@Fuzzyfull Hi Fuzzyfull... Thanks for the good info. So, no charge port on this device for rechargeable batteries? But it takes two AA batteries. Good to know. I like devices where the end user can change the batteries. For me, I would replace the two alkaline batteries with two lithium batteries. And in independent tests I have seen, it appears that the energizer line of lithium AA batteries come out on top. But probably any name brand lithium AA battery will do. That would more then double the run time of this monitor. Thank you for the help!

[@michaelloving8004]

fyi I like nerding out about nuclear medicine lately

[@OcRefrig]

Good Video ! i'm looking for a Home Radiation detector that i can plug 🔌 into a Wall outlet ( No Batteries ) that i can leave plugged in 24/7/365 to Monitor & Record 30 days of Radiation ☢️ Level in my Apartment since i Live 10 Miles away from a Nuclear Power Plant. Does anybody Have any recommendations ? anybody is free to reply. Thanks to anybody that Puts a Link up that i can check out. This one - would be ok. But , Replacing Batteries all the Time is so 1980. Home detector should have a cord. Thanks again.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

The batteries in this detector last 4 years on the lowest setting. I’ve had mine on for over two months and the batteries haven’t gone down at all.

[@glennsmith5470]

GQElectronics, RadonPro 2-in-1 Radon Gas and Radiation Monitor, $148 at the GQ online store. (Radon and Radiation and plugin!) There is a cheaper one for about $100 but it only has radon detection.

[@OcRefrig]

@@RadioactiveDrew i'm Just trying to stay away from throwaway batteries. Really Bad for the Environment & My Bank account.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

@OcRefrig I get it. I hate wasting batteries…or anything for that matter.

[@24hourgmtchannel64]

We live one mile from a nuclear plant so constant monitoring is of interest to me.

[@IndianaDipper194]

they are already monitoring it in about 500 different places around that plant with so many meters it would hurt your brain and they are way more sensitive than these. you would be evacuated before your meter moved at all honestly.

[@24hourgmtchannel64]

@IndianaDipper194 Correct. I see one of the many the pole mounted detectors not far from my house. What I would like to detect if any are small atmospheric venting. Three Mile Island AND Chinobyl documentaries also makes me wonder at what threshold would they sound the alarms and initiate evacuation.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

@24hourgmtchannel64 even with the power station monitoring everything around them, its still nice to keep track of the radiation levels.

[@IndianaDipper194]

@@24hourgmtchannel64 ok just making sure your not deathly afraid for your life or anything lol

[@24hourgmtchannel64]

@IndianaDipper194 actually, my interest in studying radiation started many years ago with collecting vintage watches with Tritium and radium. Then we moved within a mile of a nuclear plant so it about the fascination with all things radioactive and, of course, brought me to Drew's channel.

[@cosmicgreen]

How about Radon?

[@RadioactiveDrew]

They have a detector specifically for radon. Might do a video about it in the future.

[@cosmicgreen]

@@RadioactiveDrew Thank you

[@brianmunyon5669]

Maxed out; 3.6 roentgen not good, not terrible...

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Not even close to that reading.

[@TheAechBomb]

37 seconds and it's on my front page, cool

[@kellenkrider9099]

@@TheAechBomb it was seven for me! Just goes to show how much I love this content😎

[@chambersbros1]

Will it detect radon?

[@ulfpe]

No, not well. You need to detect Alfa , there are dedicated radon loggers

[@Fuzzyfull]

@@ulfpe Aranet, the makers of this device, has launched a radon sensor as well!

[@VoidHalo]

These should be as mandatory as carbon monoxide or smoke detectors for areas prone to having radon. But the question is, once you discover you have radon, then what? Especially if you're renting. You really have no recourse. Unless you go through a lengthy legal process and MAYBE get a favourable ruling.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

This radiation sensor won't detect radon. Aranet does make a Radon Sensor. If you have radon in your home you can open a window. The level of radon in residential homes isn't high enough to be a problem. Inside some uranium mines that's a different story.

[@BRADH-xw8sw]

NOT Happy. If you order from their OEM site its $89 minus the RDREW discount code BUT THEY SLAP you with and $28 shipping charge. Ridiculous. If you order from Amazon its $119, the RDREW doesn't work so its full plrice + tax, no shipping with Prime. Think they just lost me for a few months - I will look at other options.

[@Provocateur3]

About $120 on Amzn as of today.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I looked on the Aranet site today before posting it and the radiation sensor is $89. Maybe the deal is only on the site and not Amazon.

[@Provocateur3]

@@RadioactiveDrew: Yup. Thanks.

[@HODGKINSON.]

Needs WiFi, cloud integration, an app, notifications, and an ability to plug in with battery backup. Cool idea. Just needs a total overhaul to be convenient and usable.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

It could be improved upon for sure. But for the price it’s not bad.

[@Fuzzyfull]

It has an app; app has notifications and device has dose rate notification buzzer. It works with a single set of alkaline batteries for several years. Cloud data option will come soon if clients enable it. Currently we focus on complete privacy and client-end solution without stealing your data :) Source: I work with the company and am the product manager of this device.

[@kellenkrider9099]

first comment!

[@TomKappeln]

What if i buy a DeLorean ? lol

[@marcohoekstra]

The most common radioactive material in house would result in radon gas, but this is Alfa radiation… and this it can’t measure?

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Radon gas does emit alpha radiation. But when it does this it turns into other radioactive isotopes. This radiation sensor isn’t for detecting radon. Aranet is coming out with a Radon sensor.

[@marcohoekstra]

@@RadioactiveDrew that’s a good choice, because it has been proven that radon in buildings can cause lung cancer.

[@cashmoneysledpulling]

38 seconds

[@michaelloving8004]

Drew got nuke twice in the hospital tc99 Nuclear myocardial rest And stress Spect scan two day test day one rest tc99 then the next day 12 lead ecg bp sp02 adenosine analog injected into my iv followed by Saline flush then tc99 followed by saline technologist told that tc99m has half life of +/- six hours however, It's only like 4 biologically then excreted by the renal system an voided.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Yeah, it doesn’t stay in your system for too long. But when it’s in there freshly administered then it’s crazy active.

[@johnwald1714]

Let's be honest about this gimmic and it's insane price point. Asking. $269 for one of these is fucking insane given the outdated technology it uses. Claiming to calculate Seiverts is also bogus because the energy of incoming particals varies and is a direct result of that measurement. Which that device simply isn't capable of. There are cheap dosometers online that are $30 that do the exact same thing. Red indicates 10 uSv/h? SERIOUSLY? WTF? it's clear that the company does not even slightly understand anything about radiation. 1 uSv/h should be in red especially in Someones HOUSE!. That adds up quickly to higher risk of the big C word. Which is already the highest in the world for democratic countries. A few bucks more gets you current MODERN technology at the same $300 ish price point with amazing features. Coughs (radicode) clears throat. I saw the review and the internal battle you had not wanting to praise this bogus overpriced POS gimmic. . You needed to give it good review but you couldnt quite get there. It's clear that they paid you. The fact that you're teetering on the edge is already bad! Don't put the uneducated in harms way for profit. We have enough companies already doing that.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I gave my honest opinion on the detector and the pluses and shortcomings it had. Yep they paid me and sent out a free unit. But they don’t get to edit my videos or control what I say or show. They offered to have me do another paid video on their radon detector but I told them that I think residential radon is a joke. I would still do the video showing the product but then follow that up with you don’t need it to keep your house safe. I have a couple different radon detectors in my house tracking levels in different areas. Mainly because I’m curious about all of this.

[@kc0eks]

This was such a boring review. Basically it works but it's not great. Over and over.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Well I guess I can’t make everyone happy.