Survey Meter - Functional Design

Functional Design

The instruments are designed to be hand-held, are battery powered and of low mass to allow easy manipulation. Other features include an easily readable display, in counts or radiation dose, and an audible indication of the count rate. This is usually the “click” associated with the Geiger type instrument, and can also be an alarm warning sound when a rate of radiation counts or dose has been exceeded. For dual channel detectors such as the scintillation detector it is normal to generate different sounds for alpha and beta. This gives the operator rapid feedback on both the level of radaition and the type of particle being detected. These features allow the user to concentrate on manipulation of the meter whilst having auditory feedback of the rate of radiation detected.

Meters can be fully integrated with probe and processing electronics in one housing to allow single-handed use, or have separate detector probe and electronics housings, joined by a signal cable. This latter is preferred for checking of convoluted surfaces for radioactive contamination due to the ease of manipulating the probe.