Geiger Counter Shop guides
Geiger Counter Shop guides: readings, units and uses
How a Geiger counter counts, what µSv/h and CPM mean, how background varies, and what a pocket counter cannot measure, explained with public sources.
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Are Bananas Radioactive? Potassium-40 and the Banana Dose
Bananas are very slightly radioactive because of potassium-40. The EPA puts one banana at 0.1 µSv. See how that compares with flights and UK averages.
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How to Choose a Geiger Counter: What Matters Under £100
Choosing a Geiger counter under £100: the tube, beta and gamma detection, µSv/h and CPM, alarms, a USB-C battery, and the EMF gadgets to avoid.
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Radiation on a Plane: Flight Doses and Your Geiger Counter
How much cosmic radiation a flight adds in µSv and mSv, what changes it, and what a pocket Geiger counter can and cannot show you on board.
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Is Granite Radioactive? Worktops and a Geiger Counter
Granite can hold traces of natural radioactive elements that give off a little beta and gamma. How to compare a worktop with background, and the limits.
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Radioactive Household Items: What a Geiger Counter Picks Up
Which household items are radioactive, which make a pocket Geiger counter react and which it cannot show: uranium glass, granite, bananas, radon.
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How Does a Geiger Counter Work? What It Measures and Detects
A Geiger counter turns each ionising event in its gas-filled tube into a click. What it detects, what CPM and µSv/h mean, and what it cannot tell you.
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How to Use a Geiger Counter: First Readings and Quick Checks
How to use a Geiger counter: charge and set it up, take a background baseline, measure objects at a fixed distance and check that it really works.
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Who Invented the Geiger Counter? Hans Geiger, 1908 to 1928
Hans Geiger invented the Geiger counter: a 1908 paper with Rutherford, an alpha counter in 1911, then the 1928 Geiger-Müller tube made with Walther Müller.
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Can Your Phone Be a Geiger Counter? Apps, Watches, Limits
No: a phone has no Geiger tube. What camera-sensor apps and radiation watches can and cannot show, why EMF and 5G differ, and what to check first.
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Portable Geiger Counter UK: Pocket and Handheld Detector
A 160 g pocket Geiger counter shipped from UK stock: µSv/h, CPM, trend graph and alarms by sound, light or vibration. Battery life, flying and limits.
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Radiation Detector UK: Handheld Nuclear Radiation Meter
Handheld radiation detector with a glass Geiger tube: beta, gamma, X-rays, µSv/h and CPM, trend graph, adjustable alarms. What it reads and what it can't.
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Radiation Map UK: Compare Your Geiger Counter Readings
How UKHSA figures, ukradon.org maps and the US RadNet network work, why your pocket counter reads differently, and how to log your own background.
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Radioactive Rocks and Minerals: What a Geiger Counter Finds
Which rocks and minerals make a Geiger counter click, how to compare a sample with your background in CPM, and what a pocket counter cannot tell you.
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Can a Geiger Counter Detect Radon? What It Shows and Misses
No. A handheld Geiger counter does not measure radon in your home. See why, what it can still show, and how to test with a UKHSA radon measurement pack.
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Smoke Alarm Radiation: Americium-241 and Geiger Counters
Ionisation smoke alarms hold a very small americium-241 alpha source. What the EPA says, why a glass-tube Geiger counter cannot see it, and disposal.
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Geiger Tube Explained: GM Tubes, Pancake Probes and DIY Kits
What a Geiger tube is, how glass GM tubes, short tubes and mica pancake probes differ, why tube size matters, and what to know before a DIY Geiger kit.
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Geiger Counter Units: CPM, µSv/h and Background Readings
What CPM, CPS, µSv/h and µSv mean on a Geiger counter, how sieverts relate to rem, and how to read background with UKHSA figures as context.
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Uranium Glass and Radium Dials: How to Check Old Objects
How to check uranium glass, uranium-glazed pottery and radium dials: a UV torch first, then a Geiger counter against background, plus EPA handling advice.
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Geiger Counter for Uranium Glass: Check Your Collection
Yes, a Geiger counter reacts to uranium glass held close. How to check a piece against background, why to read CPM, and how to handle old glass and dials.
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Old Geiger Counters: Do Vintage and Cold War Units Work?
Do old Cold War and civil defence Geiger counters still work? Why many read zero at home, what ages inside, check sources to leave sealed, what to use now.
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Dosimeter vs Geiger Counter vs Scintillator: The Differences
A Geiger counter estimates dose rate now, a dosimeter totals dose over time, a scintillator is more sensitive to gamma. What each does and when it fits.
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Our guides are based on the supplier's listings and public documentation. We have not tested the counter ourselves.