rft-mkd va-z-221 Tube info
Hello, what are the odds you found a Geiger tube like this! Well luckily for you.. I have answers! I got a Geiger counter from one of my Ham radio club members
From what they told me, it was used in silos that stored ash from a power plant. Apparently the ash was radioactive.. Isn’t that something! (For anyone wondering, its “Fly Ash” that seems to be the ever so slightly more radioactive part) It was used to close and open silos somehow, I didnt fully understand what exactly it “closed” but oh well, I think the device was made by Polon Alfa, because i found a very similar device but ever so slightly different
The markings on the pcb are as follows:
- GF-287B
- GF-286D
- UPR-11
- Z-4
Voltage for the tube seems to be 415v, Quite high compared to modern tubes which are ~300v, (J321 is 330v)
And a video showing the tube in action: As you will see and hear, if it detects some threshhold of radioactivity, a relay clicks and “closes” something. You cant see anyware here but the traces of the pcb were burnt up and replaced with some good ol’ wires which is kinda funny.
I might make a smaller pcb to drive the tube and make it battery powered, we will see..