Author Archives: Bill

Gamma Spectroscopy – Building Your (lead) Castle

Posted on April 12, 2014 by Bill

One of the challenges of doing any kind of quantitative measurement is achieving the best possible signal to noise ratio.   When performing gamma spectroscopy, especially with very low levels of radiation (signal),  background radiation (noise) can easily mask/hide/swamp the desired … Continue reading →

Posted in Radiation | 1 Comment

Get on the map! An “Internet of Things” Geiger counter for $100

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Bill

Do you live near a nuclear facility?   Are you concerned about contamination from Fukushima?  Would you like to chart fluctuations in cosmic rays, or track the solar winds? This post covers building and configuring a net-connected Geiger counter that takes … Continue reading →

Posted in Radiation | Leave a comment

DIY Geiger Counter Compact GK-B5 Packaging

Posted on April 3, 2014 by Bill

You’ve built the kit, you have your GM tube, now how do you get your Geiger counter into the field and have some fun?   Obviously, you have to package it.   From the infinity of possibilities, where do you turn?  Do … Continue reading →

Posted in Radiation | Leave a comment

LND 7317 – Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Radiation Detector

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Bill

This post describes how to build a versatile A/B/G ionizing radiation detector for about $200 using the LND 7317 detector tube. Most Geiger counters are able to detect Beta & Gamma radiation, and perhaps X-rays; these are the more energetic … Continue reading →

Posted in Radiation | 1 Comment

Stopping train wrecks for only $100

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Bill

In the last few months many people have been killed, and many more permanently scarred in easily preventable train wrecks.  These wrecks were the direct result of inattention, loss of focus, or the driver “nodding off”. For about $100 in … Continue reading →

Posted in Information Technology | Leave a comment

Supercomputing 2013

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Bill

As a CUDA developer, Nvidia was nice enough to provide an exhibit pass at Supercomputing 2013 for attending a session at their booth last week. Their new K40 GPU accelerator is quite the chunk of silicon with almost 3000 GPU … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology | Leave a comment

Transmitting Magnetic Fields – That’s Amazing!

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Bill

Physicists have figured out how to transmit magnetic fields via a “hose”.  Of course, it’s not your garden-variety hose, but none-the-less it’s a conduit; one that carries magnetic, not electrical charge (though it might do that too).  It’s a bit … Continue reading →

Posted in Science | 1 Comment

Install your own open source private cloud with ownCloud

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Bill

Do you need cloud storage under your control?   Concerned about cloud providers breaking promises, selling you out, losing your data, closing up shop, cancelling your account, or the feds taking their computers along with your data? Try ownCloud; it provides … Continue reading →

Posted in Information Technology | Leave a comment

MFJ-492X How-To Reset on Fail

Posted on April 20, 2013 by Bill

The other day when I tried to power-up my MFJ-492X memory keyer, all I got was a short, low frequency “bzzz”.    The lights down the left side of the front panel cycled as normal, but it wouldn’t generate any tones. … Continue reading →

Posted in Amateur Radio | 3 Comments

End robocaller, solicitation, and hangup calls with Asterisk & Raspberry Pi

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Bill

Do you have a land-line that is constantly barraged with unwanted robo, solicitation, and “hangup” calls, even though you’re on the do not call registries?   This project uses a Raspberry Pi and an OBi110 voice-bridge to create an Automated Attendant … Continue reading →

Posted in Telecom | 55 Comments