Slashdot Mirror
Retrofitting an iPod into a Geiger Counter
Doug writes "An enterprising hardware guy known as JavaMoose on Flickr has created an amazing case mod for his iPod by modifying an old Geiger counter to house the iPod and remote. The photos are up on Flickr with descriptions along the way.
Very cool, if a little big to fit in ones pocket"
Of course my first thought when scanning a post apocalyptic radioactive wasteland is: Will I have my iTunes?
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
Hmm, interesting yes, amazing, I'm afraid not. It did require some skill to make it a clean fit, but the geiger counter case was so large, I can't really consider it a technological feat to have done this. Now had he did this and kept a working geiger counter (recording the sounds and playing them back on the ipod to allow the ipod display to properly show levels, or something like that), now THAT would be cool.
Next thing you know someone will put one in the keypad of their microwave (you enter time via song lengths, i.e. big meals you'd set to "Freebird"), or stick one in an original walkman case. I know, how about someone sticks a shuffle inside a Gen1 iPod? oooh, aaaah.
I've been thinking about retrofitting an iPod into my ass. Do you think that would make a good slashdot story?
... and then they built the supercollider.
Why?
Turn in your geek badge.RIGHT NOW.
I suddenly had this visual of him visiting the blast site of a meteor. All of his fellow scientists whip out their Geiger counters. He whips out the iPod, pretends to take readings. His colleagues stare at him, because they really know he's listening to music, humming like that, and they all read Slashdot. Also, it's the white headphones.
WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
Personally, I think an iPod mod that made it function as a Geiger counter would be way cooler. After all, everyone's iPod already plays music - but to have yours detect radiation levels? How cool would that be?
And you only have to move a radioactive source just a teensie bit closer to get a built-in metronome.
Soon, you too will be "glowing" with your musical talent...
bang goes my karma... again...
Idiot: I started with a vintage Geiger Counter that I have had since high-school. It actually still worked too.
Idiot: so I turned it into a sparkly piece of gayware why not!
(pause)
why-would-anyone-want-to-do-that
Because until now we did not have the technology to make a really big and unwieldy mp3 player?
I think I can beat this guy though. I'm going to figure out how to install an iPod in a full size tower case.
KFG
Nothing quite like taking something known for its compactness and ease of use and making it bulky and awkward. Go-go engineering!
What is music when you despise all sound?
....he shouldn't have painted the case or buffed up the tube. In the old rusty yellow it looking intimidating and cool. Now it looks like a sandwich box that has asperations to be a model of the star ship enterprise. Still, respect to the guy for doing it. I wonder if he has a track on this ipod that plays Geiger counter noises.
I used to have a better sig but it broke.
He didn't really mod anything. He didn't have to take apart the remote or the iPod, all he did was put mounts for them both.
Eh, slow news day.
Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
Totally useless and does not look cool. Let's hope that at least it is more scratch-proof.
Ha! I have you beat. I'm going to make an MP3 player out of a discarded shipping container. Using Vacuum tubes baby, vacuum tubes!
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
From one of his captions:
"I just love how they used to include the schematics when you bought electronics. Kinda open-source...they encouraged DIY repairs back then."
Aaaaah, the days before "Intellectual Property" became synonymous with "classified."
I hope the land around you yields, a crop like all the other fields, and then your waiting might make sense...
Next week I'm going to try and retrofit an iPod in my A Team lunchbox.
Simply the use of the word retrofit should ensure slashdot status!
The problem with slashdot is that most of its users were bullied and stuffed into lockers as kids!
Cool! A combination mp3 player, nightlight and bagel warmer.
Just might be a market for that.
KFG
I used to work around nuclear reactors and monitored them for years using equipment similar to the model in the article. The desire for such a mod is alien to me as I can't imagine ever voluntarily carrying around one of those things.
Before the time of commonplace computers, the Nuclear trained personnel in the Navy were the geekiest ones on the sub or ship. Carrying around a geiger counter was tantamount to wearing a pocket protector and sure to earn few jokes from passing workers.
At least he has an iPod with a built in detector for the presence of the RIAA.
It was actually for a modding contest and I wanted to do something just plain odd...
It would have been a lot cooler if it had been a working Geiger counter in an iPod case.
"Actually, I should have mentioned this, I made sure there is enough room under the iPod to store the Charger/Cable and Earphones in the GeigerPod when all closed up. Makes it nice to travel with."
Guy's got a good sense of humor.
"We shall grapple with the ineffable, and see if we may not eff it after all." - Douglas Adams
Maybe I'm a purist, but I don't see the point in destroying a working CDV-700 Geiger to simply put an iPod inside. There is a lot of room in there if you move the batteries around, it would be possible to do this and keep it functioning.
:)
Even scarier: That thing still has a live test source on the side of it (or it should). Scarier than that, if he removed the test source, what did he do with it!? I wonder if he even know there was radioactivity there, and it was probably old, decrepid, and dust from it poorly contained.. I think those things had a bit of Cesium or Uranium on the side. I know mine still pegs the meter.. (haven't used it in a while and it was last calibrated a few years before that so I don't remember the exact mr/hr) Not the strongest source in the world but generally I think it is good practice to avoid messing with radioactive substances that are poorly contained no matter their strength.
If the counter still worked, it might be neat.. but then, why repaint it so that no one knows what it is? That CD Yellow and characteristic shape is pretty recognizable to anyone familiar with the civil defense counters, and generally the 700 is the most desireable because it is the most sensitive (the other models were used to measure background radiation).
I used to have fun taking mine to flea markets and "Scanning" over everyones tables with a clip-board in hand, making "notes". Probably get me arrested these days, but funny as hell then
I may just have to add speakers at a later date - would increase the functionality a bit, eh?
I had a mini-itx system in an A-Team lunch box which I used as a firewall (also did NAT and had a built-in hub). It has since been replaced with a linksys wireless router that does the same job. However, I do miss being able to say "I pitty the foo who tries to hack my network".
Oh no, I got you beat. You think putting something small in something larger than the small thing and not altering the mechanism (in this case iPod) you want to have continue working is easy? Check out what you can do with an iPod, a doctorate in mechanical engineering, and some balls. Behold my amazing, infinitely customizable iPod retrofitting job!
A B A C A B B
I think it would have been cooler if he had restored the old paint job, and used the original earpiece. As it is, it's just an interesting shaped box.
Si vis pacem, para bellum
The only thing more annoying than a Libertarian is an (un|mis)informed Libertarian
Dear Javamoose,
I mean it in the best possible way, in admiration of your creativity and technical acumen...
but ...
YOU ... FUCKING ... NERD!!
Over the top and outta sight, she's outta here, baby :D
I didn't think the house band in Hell would play this badly.