I had a little time this weekend to work on my MCA project. Its based on a PIC18F4550 Microcontroller with USB. It uses the built in 10-bit ADC and USB port to capture and send data. I wrote a Windows App. as an interface. Below are two snapshots. The first one is a run was about an hour with an reuters-stokes HE3 tube next to a small Uranium ore sample. The second images is a 12 hour run with just background radiation with the same HE3 tube.
I also have a BF3 tube and a NaI scintillation detector. Although the driver/detector board for PMT (NaI) has negative voltage power requirements. I need to build a power supply to power it.
HomeBrew MCA
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Wilfried Heil
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Re: HomeBrew MCA
Congratulations. Can you add a photo of your MCA electronics to admire?
It appears that your detector reacts well to gamma rays.
It appears that your detector reacts well to gamma rays.
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Richard Hull
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Re: HomeBrew MCA
Huh? What is the significance of what we see here. Any calibration data? What is this telling us? We sort of know the tube repsonds to radiation but a lot is not told here. You must have had your threshold set awfully low to see gammas in an He3 tube. What are the peaks and what do the mean?
The PMT with a good NaI Xtal would be more heartwarming and give some calibration info.
Richard Hull
The PMT with a good NaI Xtal would be more heartwarming and give some calibration info.
Richard Hull
Progress may have been a good thing once, but it just went on too long. - Yogi Berra
Fusion is the energy of the future....and it always will be
The more complex the idea put forward by the poor amateur, the more likely it will never see embodiment
Fusion is the energy of the future....and it always will be
The more complex the idea put forward by the poor amateur, the more likely it will never see embodiment
Re: HomeBrew MCA
>Wil:Can you add a photo of your MCA electronics to admire?
Unfortunately I don't have a working digital camera. The last one I had broke. Currently the prototype is two seperate wirewrap boards: one for the detector (HV source+Charge Preamp+Amp+SCA) and the other for the Capture (PIC18F4550 USB->PC). Once I completed the software and testing I move the hardware to a single PCB.
>RH:Huh? What is the significance of what we see here. Any calibration data?
This was just a basic hardware test. Getting data from the tube to a PC and displaying the results. I haven't done any calibration yet. This is just some very raw test runs. I figured some one here might be interested in this. The milestone is the development and construction of the hardware and software, nothing more.
>RH:You must have had your threshold set awfully low to see gammas in an He3 tube.
Yep, I disabled the SCA so I could see the gammas to get some data into the program. It has no problem seeing gammas.
>RH:The PMT with a good NaI Xtal would be more heartwarming and give some calibration info.
Yep, I have a NaI + PMT, I just need to build a power supply to get it up and running. I could use some pointers on how to calibrate a MCA with it.
Unfortunately I don't have a working digital camera. The last one I had broke. Currently the prototype is two seperate wirewrap boards: one for the detector (HV source+Charge Preamp+Amp+SCA) and the other for the Capture (PIC18F4550 USB->PC). Once I completed the software and testing I move the hardware to a single PCB.
>RH:Huh? What is the significance of what we see here. Any calibration data?
This was just a basic hardware test. Getting data from the tube to a PC and displaying the results. I haven't done any calibration yet. This is just some very raw test runs. I figured some one here might be interested in this. The milestone is the development and construction of the hardware and software, nothing more.
>RH:You must have had your threshold set awfully low to see gammas in an He3 tube.
Yep, I disabled the SCA so I could see the gammas to get some data into the program. It has no problem seeing gammas.
>RH:The PMT with a good NaI Xtal would be more heartwarming and give some calibration info.
Yep, I have a NaI + PMT, I just need to build a power supply to get it up and running. I could use some pointers on how to calibrate a MCA with it.