Here is the family history as I know it.

Mom died of lymphatic cancer 2003

I have a rare form of immune system disorder (ADEM) that nearly killed me, but
left me disabled, in 2003

Brother has numerous problems with IBS and gastric problems, though he was
carried there by my mother.

Father died in 1955 by self inflicted gunshot.

I spoke with a surviving member of the family that went out with us that day and
she said the place was "off limits" then.   No one was allowed there, but my dad
and his friend brought us out there to see it.   We walked all the way to the
remnants of the tower.   That green glass was all over in large shards crunching
under foot.   She said, to me, we were "stupid 20 year olds, not realizing how
dangerous that site was"   But she has had no adverse effects.

Steve





Please note: message attached

From: "K0FF" <GEOelectronics@...>
To: CDV700CLUB@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [CDV700CLUB] Re: White Sands Missile Testing range
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:40:44 -0000


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This is sort of a continuation of Message #30685.  My son's HS Rocket Club has a
project to launch a science payload a mile high.  They plan to send an array of
10, LND719 G/M tubes up and log data during the parachute descent.  This array
should gather data 50 times faster than a 6993 tube.  The idea is to determine
if there is region of minimum radiation a thousand feet up or so.  I don't  know
if it will work, or even if it has a chance, but it will be fun.

We experimented with a few of the ideas this group discussed:

1) Use a MP3 recorder to log data and CDVcounter to read it.
2) Use a Stamp2 microcontroller to log data
3) Use an inertial switch to begin logging data

#1 worked but was difficult.  Volume (both recording and playback) settings and
CDVcounter threshold settings had to be just right to get consistent results.

#2 required me to learn a little about microcontrollers, which I did.  Miguel V.
on GCE taught me how to condition G/M pulses for the digital world and I will
teach the payload team.  This looks like it is going to work beautifully.  This
was a great suggestion.

#3 will probably be dropped in favor of a $16.00 accelerometer telling the
Stamp2  (or Picaxe) when to start logging counts.  It is all in the code.  This
time, I am going to make the boys figure out how to do this.

Their club put up a website (below) this week, but all it has is their proposal
to NASA.  If you click "Proposal" and go to page 25 you will see the CCFL HV
power supply we built to experiment with and on page 26 is a graph of
MP3/CDVcounter data.  This data shows the same test MP3 file run through
CDVcounter twice.  It was not identical but the basic trend was there.

Regards,

Mike L.


http://rocketry.sths.org/

Miguel, we like the Canary Islands a lot. Some are very dry, due to the winds
blowing off the Sahara. Back when we were doing volcano explorations, Lanzarote
was one of our destinations. You can cook meat on the ground, and if you stick
paper in some crevasses, it will burst into flames on it's own!

Geo

--- In CDV700CLUB@yahoogroups.com, "Miguel A. Vallejo" <ea4eoz@...> wrote:
>
> K0FF wrote:
>
> > Went to the Canary Islands, no canaries! The word refers to dogs, like
"cannine"
>
> Yes, the term Canaria, from the latin word canis (dog). Islas Canarias, Canary
Islands for you, derived from the latin Insula Canaria, something like "island
of dogs"
>
> Greetings!
>

Thanks Doug & Tom.
Taken mine apart and it's definitely a 6A, which seems to be in favor by many
for various reasons in the reading I've done on the web.
The construction of the high voltage diode stack(CR5) is an interesting story in
itself.
I plan to replace it with a couple 1N4007 diodes.
Does it seem to matter if the 400 uF elect cap(C2) is replaced by a 6.3v 470 uF
cap?
Thanks for the high voltage probe tip - I've got one at work I can borrow.
Mike

--- In CDV700CLUB@yahoogroups.com, Tom Herman <n1bec@...> wrote:
>
>
> Hi Mike!
>
>
>
>   Congrats on your purchase and welcome aboard!
>
>   The Vic 6A is fairly robust. In fact, other than a Lionel, I would next
prefer the 6/6A, as the Vic 6B has a Unobtanium coupling transformer that goes
pffft! with all too much regularity.
>
>   What I would do is check and clean battery contacts, switches, and heat
shrink sleeve the battery clips.
>
>   The clips were designed for paper clad batteries, and will eventually cut
through the thinly plastic insulated batteries and cause a meltdown. It's not a
matter of "if" but "when". You have been warned!
>
>   Beyond that, the HV diodes do go bad often. You can replace it with a string
of 2 or 3 1N4007's in series.
>
>   Transistors will fail, check the junctions, all of them!  They can be
replaced by 2N404, 2N404-A, and other PNP Germaniums...
>
>   Listen for the popwer supply oscillator: You should hear the mosquito sound
of the PS transistor working. If you hear it, you probably have B+.
>
>   If you measure the HV, use a DMM or VTVM with a 990-1000 MegOhm "HV"
isolation probe.
>
>   The supply is high voltage at fractions of a microamp, so any leakage at all
or any loading such as from a directly connected voltmeter, will pull the B+
down and give you wrong readings.
>
>   The HV blocking cap does break down once in a while, slagging the metering
transistor.
>
>   This is for starters. I highly recommend Doug's advice of replacing the
electrolytics.
>
>   Let us know how you make out!
>
>
>
> -Tom
>
>
> To: CDV700CLUB@yahoogroups.com
> From: mikeberg@...
> Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:38:52 +0000
> Subject: [CDV700CLUB] Looking for a troubleshooting guide
>
>
>
>
>
> Greeting to the group.
> I'm looking for a link to a troubleshooting guide for the Victoreen CDV-700
No. 6A detector.
>
> I'm a electronics tech by trade and just bought an "as is" unit off of Ebay,
intending to restore it to full functionality.
>
> Regards,
> Mike N0QBH
>

K0FF wrote:

> Went to the Canary Islands, no canaries! The word refers to dogs, like
"cannine"

Yes, the term Canaria, from the latin word canis (dog). Islas Canarias, Canary
Islands for you, derived from the latin Insula Canaria, something like "island
of dogs"

Greetings!

Went to the Canary Islands, no canaries! The word refers to dogs, like "cannine"


Went to White Sands, no white sand. It is gypsum crystals.

Went to Virgin Islands.............they have white sand there.


Geo

Went up to the Grand Canyon with Dave, my uranium-cigar smoking buddy, to test
my two PRI 117 scintillators.   Gamma only reading, one has a plastic crystal,
the other a restored crystal by Allyn Goshy.

It is amazing how sensitive they are.   At least 50 times as much as a CDV-700.
I read background readings at El Tovar that were 2 to 3 times normal background
of ~.02 mRHR  We went to the Orphan Mine, which is a super-fund site, and the
road leading there was covered over with a tarp, and sandbagged down.   I got
readings there that were 4 to 5 times normal background.

Then along the tracks, near the El Tovar where the mine once sent ore, the
readings were the same significantly higher than background.   Even some of the
bushes were radioactive!  Registering to peg the most sensitive scale at .25
mR/HR above background.

Then on the way out I went to a rock shop and did some exploring.   I discovered
a pile of obsidian that was quite a bit above background, about 3x.   The whole
pile, but not one piece alone.

Then I put it to the real test to see if I could spot some radioactive wood.  
Amazing, from several feet on the most sensitive scale the needle was pegged
when I went over a piece buried in the pile.    Not strongly radioactive either,
and such pieces barely register on the CDV-700.   But they are nevertheless have
significant and measurable amounts of uranium.

Got several pieces of radioactive petrified wood, and two chunks of dinosaur
bone that show activity.

On the CDV-700 these pieces register only 300 to 1000 CPM close to the probe
with beta shield open.   And barely measurable with beta shield closed.   But
with both the PRI 117 scintillators, one with a plastic scintillator and the
other with NaI, the samples I found can be detected from several feet.

These two old scintillators are great, and some nice things will be found with
these.

The plastic scintillator has a slower response on the meter than the one with
NaI crystal.  But that aside both responded very close in the overall readings
that I got.    And it is odd that some samples registered exactly the same,
while with other samples from the same area the plastic scintillator was off by
about 20%.   (Must be due to a different energy spectrum from the samples.)  
But the scintillator with the plastic crystal is many times more sensitive than
a standard CDV-700.   I would estimate at least 50 times more so, and close to
the NaI which is a bit more sensitive.

Plastic scintillator material  is a viable option for units where their original
crystals are beyond repair.

I will be trying some other plastic scintillator designs to see if I can arrive
at the best shape to further enhance the response.


Steve.

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--- In CDV700CLUB@yahoogroups.com, troglodite@... wrote:
the native population in the Marshall Islands did indeed suffer
> many ill effects as a result of the testing there, especially the children.
> Lawsuits and compensations are still being negotiated today. They probably
> did  not have the protection that most of the scientists had.

That's for sure.

Doug,

I ordered from it from:

http://www.vce.com/video_music.html

http://www.vce.com/atomic.html

The movie is apparently now called "The Atomic Filmmakers".
It was directed by Peter Kuran, the guy who did "Trinity and Beyond".

The link below shows an aerial photo of the studio.

http://www.vce.com/LookoutMt.html

Regards,

Mike









> Mike,
>
> Where did you get that DVD? I'd love to find a copy. An interesting thing
> about "Lookout Mountain" is that there were several peaks in the Hollywood
> Hills  that seemed to acquire that name. I think the studio may have been
> part of the  installation at Mount Lee, the peak on which the HOLLYWOOD sign
is
> mounted. This  was originally owned by Don Lee, W6XAO, who set up the first
> experimental TV  broadcast station there. Later, it was a research
> facility, apparently pretty  fancy at one time, they even had a pool.
>
> The "other" Lookout Mountain was a WWII Radar Site at the top of Sunset
> Plaza Drive near Beverly Hills. I have pictures of this site as it existed in
> 1956 when our High School Radio Club, K6CXI conducted Field Day operations
> there. There was one structure left, a concrete building with windows
> PAINTED on  the side, so it would look like an ordinary house viewed from the
> air. There  were two poles probably used to support a wire antenna, and a few
> other  leftovers. Here's a shot of the peak from the approach road:
>
>
>
> And from the other side:
>
>
>
> Sometime in the late 60's the mountain top was leveled, and expensive homes
>  were built up there. The only thing left was a telephone company repeater
> to the  East.
>
> If you want more pictures of this site I can send them to your personal
> E-mail address. I didn't want to clutter the forum, but thought other users
> might find these interesting as well.
>
> Regards,
>
> Doug Moore
>

--- In CDV700CLUB@yahoogroups.com, Nick Andrews <nickjandrews@...> wrote:
>
> Hmm,
>
> We have 8 different jobs on different parts of WSMR right now.  I need to
> take mine with me and see.
>
> A couple of jobs are up at Stallion near Trinity Site.  Also have jobs at
> Holloman AFB, too.  Saw some Predators flying low last week over there,
> along with the F-4s and F-22s.  And of course, the old relic German
> Tornadoes the Luftwaffe stationed at HAFB still fly.  Those damn antiques
> are loder than the F-22s!
>
> The background here in Las Cruces for me is usually around 10uR/hr with my
> PM1703.  Had it deer hunting SW of Deming this weekend, and it got up to as
> high as 24uR/hr climbing in the hills.  Not too unusual.  I get the same
> thing up in the Organ Mtns, from the granite, I would guess.  I almost took
> mine with me on the Bataan Memorial Death March on WSMR back in March, but I
> decided not to carry it the 27miles...
>
>
>I would be curious to hear what readings you got from the areas on the range.
We went to Holloman's air show a couple weeks back. They had a Predator parked
on the tarmac, along with all the rest. The F-22 Raptor wasn't parked where we
could walk up to it, though it taxied right by us. All the readings at Holloman
were normal background.

Doug,

I have a great DVD, "Hollywood's top Secret Film Studio", that is documentary
about Lookout Mountain Air Force Station.  This was a Defence Dept. production
company in L.A. that was used to film all the surface testing in the 40s and
50s.  There is a scene that shows these rockets lined up on a beach (Eniwetok?)
prior to the Wahoo Umbrella test.  They look to be 8 feet long or so to me.

Incidentally, the video starts with a Film Institute party honoring these film
makers.  The room was full of nuke veterans in their 70's.  One old fellow, a
Mr. Woods, says he was often sent home for having "too much radiation" for the
year.  He claims he filmed 80% of the shots, starting with Operation Crossroads
in 1946.  Mr. Woods did look well tanned, but otherwise OK.

Regards,

Mike Loughlin










--- In CDV700CLUB@yahoogroups.com, troglodite@... wrote:
>
> Justin Case,
>
>     Have you seen the documentary "The Atomic Cafe?"  There is a film of a
> test in Nevada where troops come up out of trenches  after a nuclear device
> detonation and proceed to walk right into the  fallout cloud. Do you know if
> these people were monitored for later  effects?
>
>     Also, in a lot of the blast pictures, I see  vertical trails next to
> the "stem" of the mushroom. I believe these are  rocket trails, the rockets
> being possibly sent up seconds before the blast to  monitor some parameter.
> I've never had anyone confirm this, however. You can see  them clearly in the
> classic B&W shot of the Trinity test.
>
> Doug Moore
>

--- In CDV700CLUB@yahoogroups.com, troglodite@... wrote:
He died  of Cancer as well.

I bet they both drank milk too.

Half the people around you will die of cancer.  The other
half from plumbing --pumps, pipes fail.  A few will die
in cars or from invisible agents called germs.

Unusual cancers are noteworthy.  Otherwise, you're just
guessing.

Some famous athlete just declared leukemia.  Bet he's never
cleaned up after a criticality.

I'm not saying there might be a causal link sometimes --military folks are
disposable after all-- but kneejerk associations are to be avoided.
IMHO.

Greeting to the group.
I'm looking for a link to a troubleshooting guide for the Victoreen CDV-700 No.
6A detector.

I'm a electronics tech by trade and just bought an "as is" unit off of Ebay,
intending to restore it to full functionality.

Regards,
Mike  N0QBH

Yes those are rocket trails, pout there to monitor certain parameters in the
air, later were replaced with advanced sensors. This is a fact, verified by a
long time worker ( and tour guide) at the Nevada Test site. He had personally
observed some 80+ air detonations all over the world!

I had a very good friend who was in charge of the cleanup of fallout on the
target ships, at Bikini. They went out immediately after the detonation with
brooms, swept the debris off the decks, and gathered up the goats and pigs that
were tied up there, for checkout.

He always bragged that he had never been sick in all those intervening years.

One day he quite coming to lunch. He had gotten some super rare cancer and soon
died.

Rough.

Geo
--- In CDV700CLUB@yahoogroups.com, troglodite@... wrote:
>
> Justin Case,
>
>     Have you seen the documentary "The Atomic Cafe?"  There is a film of a
> test in Nevada where troops come up out of trenches  after a nuclear device
> detonation and proceed to walk right into the  fallout cloud. Do you know if
> these people were monitored for later  effects?
>
>     Also, in a lot of the blast pictures, I see  vertical trails next to
> the "stem" of the mushroom. I believe these are  rocket trails, the rockets
> being possibly sent up seconds before the blast to  monitor some parameter.
> I've never had anyone confirm this, however. You can see  them clearly in the
> classic B&W shot of the Trinity test.
>
> Doug Moore
>

Trinity Site has preserved a section of Trinitite, covered by a low shed, and
visible thru a window during tours.

Mostly all gone now.

" I wonder how hot that site was back in 1955?

Steve."

Steve, out of morbid curiosity, how has that family group fared health wise over
the years? There may have been a reason the area was off limits back then??

Justin Case

--- In CDV700CLUB@yahoogroups.com, "dannypaul02" <dahur1@...> wrote:
>
>
>
> --- In CDV700CLUB@yahoogroups.com, "Steve Schoner" <schoner@> wrote:
> >
> > in late 1954 or early 1955, my father who worked on V-2, and Viking missiles
at White Sands sneaked out to the Trinity site.   It was off limits then, but I
remember him taking me, my mother, younger brother, and some family friends out
there.
> >
> > We went right to the remnants of the tower and there was green glass
everywhere.   I remember it crunching under foot.   My dad picked up some of it
and put in in a plastic box.   I still have it to this day.
> >  > I wonder how hot that site was back in 1955?
> >
> > Steve.

>> >
> > Cool story. Thanks for sharing.  The Trinity site is open twice a year, the
first Saturday in April, and first Saturday in October.  I plan on checking it
out next April. No Trinitite glass though. I read they bulldozed over all of it.
> My neighbor across the street has lived all his life here in Alamogordo. He
was 8 when the Trinity event happened, and he remembers it, although all he
remembers is a glow in the sky.
> >
> > Dan
> > ____________________________________________________________
> > Graphic Design Degrees
> > Free info on online degrees in Graphic Design, Game Arts or Web Design
> >
http://thirdpartyoffers.mybluelight.com/TGL2341/c?cp=f7AVrHuT0kD998bZzpt5NwAAJ1K\
AQtrutqd4IvPVbiFze7nrAAQAAAAFAAAAAOkmcT4AAAMlAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABUROAAAAAA=
> >
> > Correction. The Trinity site is 10x background, not 2x.
> >
> > http://www.atomictourist.com/trinity.htm
> >
>