Alpha on a Budget: Lowering the Barrier to Entry in Radiation Instrumentation

In recent years the availability of low-cost Geiger-Müller (GM) detectors has greatly increased, resulting in a variety of radiation detection instruments available at a price-point that is friendly to hobbyists and educators. While GM detectors are suitable for detection of gamma, x-ray, and some beta radiation, access to alpha particle detection is still limited by the high cost of specialized instrumentation, restricting hands-on experimentation and research in educational and hobbyist settings. This project demonstrates a practical, low-cost approach to high-sensitivity radiation detection by modifying a commercially available Geiger counter frequently marketed as the MOESAPU/BOSEAN FS-5000 

This presentation will discuss the YAPR: a custom instrument created through the integration of a Soviet SBT-11A pancake GM tube and customized firmware into the FS-5000 housing. Comparative tests using standard sources measured the performance of the stock and modified detectors. Additionally, the YAPR was also compared to a professional-grade instrument, an Eberline HP-210 pancake GM detector. The YAPR demonstrated greatly improved sensitivity, response time, and overall particle detection capabilities as compared to the FS-5000. Initial tests of the YAPR’s detection efficiency suggest similar performance for qualitative characterization when compared to the HP-210. 

The resulting device delivers alpha detection at roughly one-third the price of the lowest cost alpha detector on the market. The presentation will provide the results of initial detector testing, as well as discuss our work toward developing modification procedures to empower students, educators, and citizen scientists to reproduce this work and build their own advanced detectors.

Our goal is to lower the barrier to entry for advanced radiation detection and provide a framework for extending these modifications to broader applications, ultimately making powerful instrumentation more accessible across the physics community.