Impossible to get a Geiger counter???

Hi there ATSers,

I wanted to bring you up something that caught my attention today. Knowing what had happened in Japan concerning the reactors at Fukushima, I was on the run to get a Geiger counter so I went on amazon.com. The item I wanted was a Geiger counter named INSPECTOR by radalert. Asking about infos for the shipping of the items here's the answer I received by one of their customer service employee.

Amazon customer service answer to my question :

Hello, I've checked your order and can confirm 'Radiation Alert INSPECTOR ' is now back-ordered (emphasis added). I'm sorry about this delay--we certainly didn't expect this would happen. Our shipping estimates--such as "Usually ships within 4 to 6 months"--take into account the time it takes to receive the item from our suppliers, package it, and prepare it for shipment. Our supply of some items is limited, and these products sell out quickly. we're not sure when we'll be able to get more. When an item is listed as "Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available,"

Ok great amazon doesn't have my item or maybe it was already decided to have these product removed... Anyways so in my search I went on other websites via research of an INSPECTOR Geiger counter by radlaert using google.com.

The second website I went to was www.medcom.com.... I clicked to the contact us tab on the left, fulfilled the infos required and sent them a message to know if I could get an INSPECTOR Geiger counter for a personal use. ( the order infos to full up were only for commercial use ). Guess what? It's been more than a week and still no answer !

Third website, here again they are not taking any orders for any geiger counter. Here's the website : www.geigercounters.com...

I could go on and on, there are plenty of websites saying they are not taking orders anymore or simply not answering questions related to the subject. This bring me to ask myself the following: is there any way to get a hand on a Geiger counter by any mean? What do you guys think or know on this industry right now ? Feel free to enlight me on this as I have no dam clue on what to do right now other than keep on searching.


Thruthseek3r

I think there may have been a big run on geiger counters lately for some reason

Bear in mind it`s not the kind of thing that most outlets would buy and keep in stock in bulk, due to minimal demand in times of non-crisis. I would imagine that the manufacturers simply cannot keep up with the sudden influx of orders from around the world in light of recent and continued developments.

Or maybe THEY don`t want us to be able to measure the levels of radiation which are steadily increasing across the planet.......

But i`m leaning towards the former option myself.

Did you try ebay? I'm pretty sure there a lots for sale there. I would have bought one, but they seem mighty expensive for any decent one.

Originally posted by AnnonymousLurker
I think there may have been a big run on geiger counters lately for some reason

Or maybe THEY don`t want us to be able to measure the levels of radiation which are steadily increasing across the planet.......

Yes that's exactly what I am thinking about. IMO it's part of the cover up within the Japan crysis. There may be some way to get one altough.

try old trusty, www.ki4u.com... if it pegs out you bug out and the kit is nice to have www.ki4u.com... may the rads be low and you not glow.

reply to post by Freezer


I went on ebay and all that I could find were home made geiger counter. Calibration (precision) may be needed to get a correct reading of radiations and I'm no expert on this part. I saw one Geiger counter on ebay called the radalert 50. The thing is the guy said he didn't know if the item was calibrated because it was a used one. He also said he wouldn't ship outside U.S.A. to avoid returns if the item isn't calibrated.

My main question still remains how to get a Geiger counter???

If I search I find loads of results, I can't say if these are actually available, but they seem to be.

Here are some....

compare.ebay.com...

A couple of things I've noticed:

- I was looking at the radiationnetwork website, and noticed that the link to their store for Geiger counters shows that they are all sold out. Obviously a lot of folks don't trust the government to give them honest information about any fallout coming to North America from Japan.

- I am putting together a bit of a disaster kit. The city where I live is in an earthquake zone, and the Japan disaster has me thinking. I went to a couple of hardware/camping gear stores this weekend, and saw that a lot of their emergency supplies and kits were sold out, and many items are back-ordered for weeks. When I talked with the staff about it, they said that while they had an increased demand after the Haiti and Chile quakes, this Japan disaster really seems to have scared a lot of people.

reply to post by ThaLoccster


Well the problem is these are not geiger counter, they are dosimeters which is not exactly the same.

Geiger counters, and even 'dose rate meters' are all describing instruments that measure exposure rate or the intensity of radiation

Dosimeters, which are also available in high or low ranges, can be in the form of a badge, pen/tube type, or even a digital readout and all measure the total accumulated amount of radiation to which you were exposed.

So basically, the difference between the two is that a dosimeter will tell you how much you have been exposed and the geiger counter will tell you what is the amount of radiation surrounding you. In the first case it's what your body absorbed and in the other case it's what is surrounding the body.

I still search for a Geiger counter because I want to know what's happening in term of radiation around me, not what's the ammount I have inside my body (even if this is important too).

Thanks for the link tough but not so many geiger counter ( even if it is said to be ) which in the description says it is a dosimeter. More awareness is needed out there

reply to post by thruthseek3r


You don't need a Geiger counter. I promise you, you'll live.

reply to post by thruthseek3r


From what I understand about the one I linked, it's exactly what you are looking for...

It is not my intention to reproduce the owner's manual here, but I would like to spend a little more time describing this mode, because it is the most important mode for measurement of both ambient radiation, and for testing an object for radiation.

www.linuxslate.org...

If not better, because not only does it test a particular object for radiation but also background or ambient radiation, which I believe is what you're more interested in.

From what I'm reading about it, it's not "just" a dosimeter or a geiger counter, its a combination of the 2. I could be wrong, but that's what I'm getting.

Interesting, even my local "go-to" science store is sold out.

American Science and Surplus

reply to post by SaosinEngaged


I'm not scared of death if this is what you are refering to. The fact of death is already into my mind that it'll happen a day is no more a concern. Altough I'll do whatever I can to live and getting a hand on one of these will only improove my chances. The thing is everybody is playing it smooth right now regarding Japan, but later the true problems will come. IMO preparation is the key and that's why I want to get one of these valuable instruments.


Thruthseek3r

reply to post by SaosinEngaged


I'm not scared of death if this is what you are refering to. The fact of death is already into my mind that it'll happen a day is no more a concern. Altough I'll do whatever I can to live and getting a hand on one of these will only improove my chances. The thing is everybody is playing it smooth right now regarding Japan, but later the true problems will come. IMO preparation is the key and that's why I want to get one of these valuable instruments.


Thruthseek3r

If you are buying a Geiger counter make sure it can detect Alpha Radiation Particles.

It is a lowest form of radiation, but it can still cause cancer.

It doesn't travel as far as Beta and Gamma Rays, but i still would advise it.

Alpha particles can be blocked by a sheet of paper.

Plus ones that can detect Alpha rays are more sensitive to background radiation.

Also don't forget to buy a radon detector. It is a form of radiation that can not be detected by just a Geiger counter.

happy hunting.

reply to post by Quickfix


Mmh you just said to buy a Radon detector. Could you please explain me further what exactly is this thing for ?

thruthseek3r, just bite the bullet and pay the money for a good geiger counter called Terra-P, which is made in the Ukraine. These have a good reputation and are easy to use. Right now they are going for ~$500 on eBay. Expensive, yes. But how much is your family's health and safety worth?

Originally posted by thruthseek3r

Originally posted by AnnonymousLurker
I think there may have been a big run on geiger counters lately for some reason

Or maybe THEY don`t want us to be able to measure the levels of radiation which are steadily increasing across the planet.......

Yes that's exactly what I am thinking about. IMO it's part of the cover up within the Japan crysis. There may be some way to get one altough.

Erm, you edited my post to completely change the context. Please refrain from distorting my posts if you must quote me. You are making me look as if I am a part of your tin foil hat brigade. What I actually said was that it was highly unlikely that "THEY" were halting the sale of Geiger counters to the general public IMO.

reply to post by MedievalGhost



These do seem to be the best personal Geiger Counter, some info on them on this site:

Geiger Counter

reply to post by AnnonymousLurker


Erm sorry if you were taking it like that but I was quoting only part of the post that I considered significative to talk about. I have seen many users doing this and since I'm not so used to this website maybe it's a mistake.

2 questions comes in: is it against ATS T & C? and is it right to do this or it is a big mistake in a post to do this as it could be considered a bias?

Thruthseek3r