Sorry to say this but electro boom purposely shocks himself so people either don’t do his projects or learn electrical safety and the importance of training
Electroboom got masters, suffice to say people don't get masters if they regularly short circuit electronics. He clearly explodes stuff purposely and planned in advance.
I mean, most devices don't have internal circuitry cranking up the ~3.7V of a lithium battery to several times mains voltage. Not sure if that's tied to a capacitor, but if it is, that would be dangerous in exactly the same way a microwave's HV capacitor is dangerous. Photomultiplier tubes and magnetrons are similar in that way - both produce free electrons during normal operation and use high voltage to do it.
Soldering is not that bad but one advice is to hold the tip longer on the pad so you transfer more heat to the pad and the leg of the component. Great video as always! I recommend You watch the HBO miniseries on Chernobyl!
That type of battery likes to stay close to the rated voltage under low load until they're 100% depleted, so I'm not surprised the device didn't know it was dying until it was under load, lol. But 9 years was a good run for a battery
@@AgentOffice Yes, I opened a 90V battery used for the valve radios in the 50s and it was a stack of little cells glued together, 60 of them, I presume.
If somebody is changing this battery, please do learn how to desolder and solder. This method seen here can ruin the PCB. When desoldering, add new flux tin which helps you to remove the old one where the flux has burned off. Newer solder using bare soldering iron tip but always add some tin. Do not use too much of it.
I guess I'll just send mine in to get the batterie replaced and get everything else also checked. I'm pretty sure I could do it myself, but no, I won't mess around with this.
Sorry if it's too late but you can indeed get around it using virtual machines running either Windows XP or Windows Vista. I recommend using Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 since your laptop have Windows 7 built in ( you can also use VMware or Oracle VM Virtualbox ). you need to install the OS yourself though. But for the product key and the install disk you can find it on Google ( or basically any type of searching engines you have ) or just find one for new old stock on eBay or any type of online shop. I actually rate the difficulty around 3 - 5. But after you have successfully install your Operating System then you need to Install the driver for your Gamma Scout, and plug your Gamma Scout in! NOTE : YOU NEED AN RAM FOR AT LEAST 2 GB OR UP OTHERWISE YOU BE LACKING OUT OF MEMORY!!!
Small tip for next time, or for anyone else doing this. Cut out the battery with a pair of snips, as to not need to worry as much about the high voltages during battery removal. Secondly, a note to the manufacturer, a product like this should likely use some form of sensor for seeing if the cover is removed. As to turn off the high voltage section of the device and make it safer to handle. (though, I wouldn't at all be surprised if the transformer doesn't give more then a couple of mA at most. So it shouldn't be life threatening, would only tingle a lot...)
some batteries dont decrease their voltage. You can see voltage but the battery cant provide current. Its called electromotor force. You want current when counting but in this case voltage drops. Because dead batteries like this one has high sefl resistance
6:47 That volt meter in it is too perfect for that purpose. For measuring the Level of a battery you have to measure the voltage under a load. What's actually hapenning in a degrading battery is its internal resistance gets higher - so it lowers voltage and heats up more at a load.
It has nothing to do with heat -- higher internal resistance simply lowers the amount of current it can deliver. If the device tries to draw more than that, the voltage drops.
That is so weird. I was just researching Li-SOCl2 batteries 15 minutes ago. I had never heard of them before I opened up my toll transponder. Sadly, the battery still has a charge so that was not the problem. -$10 for me.
Is the hv of the geiger dangerous? Because when I touch my geiger tube terminals I don't feel anything... The counter just freak out.... Maybe due to low amperes?
Yes, it is more like static electricity. High voltage and high current, but a very short pulse and therefore almost no energy behind it. But how much charge the capacitor has will very much depend on how the geiger counter is designed and I am sure that there are some that will zap you good.
I have the same one and my battery gets low now too. I'm pretty sure I could change the Battery on my own but I think I go safe here and send it to them.
so it doesn't turn off huh? could you imagine the horror of waking up in the middle of the night, hearing a strange noise, and realizing it's your Geiger counter(s) going insane for seemingly no reason? that's the stuff of nightmares
@@exulan9570 You were in toilet. I gave what I measured. Real number is much higher! I don't have TIME for this Mickey Mouse bullshit! *shoots some puppies*
I've seen it with re-chargeable AAA batteries. I had 6 AAA batteries connected in series, and one was either not fully charged or was nearing the end of it's usable lifespan, (or was damaged/faulty) compared to the other 5. This one battery then became the weakest link. The device being powered depleted the batteries very quickly. The other 5 batteries tried to equalize the voltage difference while in use. The order in which the weak battery appeared in the chain of 6 may have influenced how much of a reverse voltage it experienced.
Voltage doesn't kill, current does. To put that in perspective. Things like stun guns are typically around a million volts, so I don't understand the fear mongering behind this 450v
Because the capacitor can deliver quite a lot of charge at a high voltage and a low impedance. Try shorting out a 500V photoflash capacitor sometime. Then replace your screwdriver tip.
I don't know if it's the case in your country, but here in the U.S., those "warranty void if sticker removed" things are completely false. In fact it's illegal for companies to void a warranty here just because you fixed something yourself (which, obviously, necessitates removing the sticker they put on there to prevent you from accessing things). They can, however, (and rightfully so), void a warranty due to you making a mistake when fixing the thing, or damaging something while working on it.
In most of the EU, including denmark, for the first 6 months the company has the burden of proof you broke the thing and for the remainder you'll have to prove it wasn't your fault. Whether you opened it or not, doesn't make a difference. Proving that the other is at fault is quite difficult for both sides. That are the terms for the warranty required by law, they don't care about the terms for an extended warranty some might grant you.
I think the sticker is just a way to make it crystal clear that you didn't mess up with the device, and therefore the problems in it can't be caused by you. So having a sticker is better for the consumer because this way it's impossible for them to refuse warranty if the sticker is intact.
And plus, Flydrop88, if you tamper with the device (or just remove a sticker covering a hidden screw or hinge) and a defect occurs, unless the warranty is still valid, the company will often automatically assume that the defect was caused by the (apparent) tampering of the device, and they will refuse to issue a refund.
Not every battery powered circuit has large exposed contacts at 600+ Volts :D At those voltages it is very easy to get a shock, not even touching the contact but just by getting close to it. Luckly the amperage would be low, but still, it would hurt.
Man screw thionyl chloride batteries. I work at a battery store and needed one with solder tabs on it. I was new to thionyl chloride batteries (lisol2) but not to tab welding so I thought "I'll get add solder tabs" I put on safety glasses and did the positive terminal first. No problem. The battery was a button top battery and when you weld a button top battery it usually sends out a lot of Spark because of the shape. So after doing that I took off my safety glasses to do the negative as they rarely spark (on nicd and nimh batteries). I weld the tab and pop lots of Sparks. I then turn the battery to look at the spot and psssssss I get sprayed in the face. Thank God I had my Normal glasses on. I saw the lenses get sprayed and closed my eyes and started coughing and eyes watering as i ran to the eye wash station. I got really lucky in that I only had minor burns afterwards and still have both my eyes. Thionyl chloride turns into hydrochloric acid when exposed to oxygen and this is an extremely exothermic reaction so I got both chemical burns and temperature burns on my face but no scars.
Oh boy, that's not good x( Thanks for sharing. I did see a warning about not soldering directly on the end caps of a thionyl battery in a safety data sheet. Glad I found one with axial wires...
@@brainiac75 yeah I won't every try spot welding or even soldering on one of those ever again. When I started working at the battery place I was told "do not weld on lithium batteries" but saw other people welding on coin cells and 18650s so I assumed it was one of those warnings they have to give but obviously I was wrong.
Glad you are ok. I once got sprayed with the insides of a glow stick and with no safety glasses. Man that burned for a while. Did no damage but wasn’t very fun!
@@stargazer7644 yeah, kinda like RTC batts. but still worthed adding a switch, it may be useful in case the software jams (this is possible during the insertion of the new on) and also some reliable connectors on the posts to make the operation easier in every sense and also for the future EDIT: i support this idea of customizing one own's appliance and stuff once you maintain it, a lot of times you really want a simple feature like that switch (but there's a reason why it's always on :D)
Will there be any more episodes of the Exotic Elements vs. Magnet series? I think novaelements sells samples of technetium, so that could be an interesting exotic addition to the elements you've tested thus far.
Sort of. I do plan more episodes, but it's unlikely that there will be new elements of high-purity. Novaelements' technetium samples are a metal foil with a tiny, tiny amount of technetium on it. Not really useful for a magnetic test, but still an interesting sample of course. But I will revisit the rare earth metals with much better tests than shown in part 1. Thanks for watching!
I have built many counters and serviced them, the high voltage in most battery powered units can only source a low current and it’s just not that scary I have been across the HV in several counters it gives you a little shock but it’s not super dangerous. Personally I wouldn’t hesitate to change that battery myself ofcourse the RU-vid safety police are getting crazy!
Electronic fly swatters generate around 1600v dc from two 1.5v AA batteries connected in series. Have yet to kill a fly with it... pretty useless IMHO. Tazer guns on the other hand....!
you should of Clipped (CUT) the leg of the old battery before removing it from the case,, and on reassemble,, solder the ground or neg last,, Safety First always !
I once met the professor who designed this. Needles to say he was unimaginably proud of his invention and of how "simple and user friendly" it was. I had my doubts then but I think there's a rechargeable version available nowadays?
Some older software / hardware will only work properly on native USB 2.0 controllers. If you plug it into a USB 3.0 port, it won't work. Also, if the drivers are really old, they may be 32 bit only, and require you to use a 32 bit version of windows. This is less likely but still a possibility.
250/500v G/M tube is not that dangerous, in most cases not even enough current to measure on a multimeter without overloading it, especially when it's stepped up from 1.5/5v. Overall a badly designed geiger counter, who thought it would be a good idea to have to solder in a new batt every time it drains?? almost as bad as apple
The battery is soldered in for reliability. The battery lasts its shelf life - ten years. Show me another battery operated product that runs for ten years between battery changes.
@@stargazer7644 even an on/off switch would be good for when replacing it. The unit could have been sitting in a warehous for 2 years before being sold, or even more. In my opinon it's not the best soloution around
@@edg6779 My Gammascout is an original model (mine doesn't beep), it was purchased in 2002. It had a 12 year guarantee on the battery when I got it. It is still running fine on the original battery 17 years later. You think this isn't a good solution? Show me another product that gets 17 years on one battery. Seriously, the power system for this product is one of the best things about it.
An MSP430 microcontroller .. I knew it :D Back then those were practically the only sensible choice for long-life battery powered devices. Also, ZP1401 is just the european (Philips) name of the LND712.
I know you said you're not interested in the data-logging function. But you could try running the software in a virtual machine if you ever changed your mind, and pass through the USB.
The MSP430 is an extremely low power microcontroller; it can work at voltages as low as a few hundred millivolts. This is why they are used in thermopile powered gas controls like those made by Honeywell. Is that an Am-241 source you were testing it with?
Yep. Normal, swappable batteries are such a convenience. At least, I only have to change the battery every 9 years or so. That's rare. Thanks for watching!
Why didn't you just snip the leads of the old battery? That way it would have disabled the HV and it would have been safe to handle for the trickier desoldering of the legs...
It also would have been less likely to damage the circuit board with less thermal mass to heat. Also, Brainiac75 should get some good solder wick. Thanks for the video Braniac75. I'm glad your meter works again.
3.6 volts, not great, not terrible. 3.53 volts?! Call Copenhagen, status emergency! I will try to circumvent problem and replace the battery core comrades!
Yep, these thionyl chloride batteries are not exactly user-friendly and rarely seen. They certainly aren't informative about their charge. Thanks for watching!
I have a GammaScout of a similar age. I also need to replace its battery. I have the battery but I haven't been confident enough in my soldering abilities. There is a python software project for reading the data, gammascoututil. I don't know how well it works in Windows but I've used it on Linux. I took my GammaScout to an MRI appointment a few years ago to see if anything would happen, and something did! I had it in a metal locker for my personal belongings, approximately 10 meters away from the ring, and while waiting my turn, it began to alarm as though exposed to very high radiation while the 1.5T machine was imaging a patient. The field was obviously strong enough to pull electrons off the cathode and to collide with the tube walls. Moving it a further five meters away stopped the alarming.
You could have just soldered a capacitor parallel to the old battery, cut wires to old battery, charged cap to the same voltage as new battery (just use a small resistor) and then soldered in new battery.
Would you recommend the the SI GCA-06W? or, will you be able to do a demonstration using it? Reason I'm interested is that I heard it has the capability to interface with computer software.
I was wondering about that myself. There are six header pins on the top of the device, I was wondering whether any of those actually turned it off, or defeated the HT side?
These batteries tends to increase internal resistance over years, they are used also in PLC (Rockwell and Siemens), Siemens KB suggests to make a brief short on older batteries to destroy passivation layer. See page 144 of this KB. cache.industry.siemens.com/dl/files/849/1117849/att_23817/v1/424ish_e.pdf
