Archive
This is a repository for previous version of software, Build Instructions and schematics.
In general, this software is no longer supported.
GK-B5 Software - older versions
Below is a history of each previous version with a link to most of them.
New in this version:
updated PROGMEN syntax - compiles with 1.6.x of the IDE
No counts accumulate while in menu mode (caused alerts on monitoring sites)
Fix to Use Radlogger if 8 char display
proper display of CPM in the millions
New in this version:
Uses NEC IR protocol for supplied remote. Sony or Philips supported via #define
New in this version:
Select button: at startup - resets to defaults
Select button: during alarm - silence for 30 sec
removed #defines that were always true
renamed I/O pin defines to match GK-Plus & better comment headers
status LED like GK-Plus: 4x startup, 2x serial out, 1x IR key
Tone adjust pot only read when necessary
switch between pri & sec ratios takes effect immediately
v10.3B added: allowed Select button to switch to Scaler mode if in alarm state
v10.3C added: display "MUTE" to help setup keychain remotes + bugfix for 10 minute scaler "seconds left".
Added #defines and support for analog meter and DOGM display. Disabled scaler mode on startup if it was previously set.
This version added support for Radiation Logger software and the ability to specify as shorter period for serial output to the existing v10 features.
This was a major revision. It was the first version to implement the IR Setup Menu and Tone Mode, both of which were improved in later versions.
(Regarding v10 in general, I owe many thanks to Jeremy who has done the heavy lifting to make these new features possible. Thank you.)
(You may get a warning when you try to download this due to the MSI package in the .zip)
So far, Version 9 adds two features; a #define that makes it easy to convert to a 2x8 LCD, but more importantly, it allows you to set some parameters such as the conversion rate and the type of unit (uSv/hr, uR/hr or mR/hr) without recompiling the sketch. This is accomplished by connecting the kit's serial port to a PC and running a Setup application. (Windows only at this point.)
There is so much that needs to be said about this feature that I made a separate page about Version 9 here.
Version 8 adds two optional features; a settable Alarm threshold, and a change to the alternate display to make it a "second screen". A "quick response" bar graph is also provided. Optional means that you must supply a few pieces of hardware to use these features. For the second screen, you need a push button. For the alarm, you need the same push button and a piezo "buzzer", LED, or other warning device. Details are below.
Alarm (optional): When the CPM exceeds a preset value, I/O Pin A1 (aka 15) will be pulled high. You can connect an LED or "piezo buzzer" to this pin and ground. Do exceed 40mA for any device connect to an I/O pin!. (You will have to use the pin to trigger a transistor if you need more than 40mA.) For the piezo, get one with a built in oscillator such as this one or this one.Pin A1 will go back to low (Gnd) when the CPM drops back under the alarm threshold.
The alarm threshold is configured during power up. After the first few screens you will see a "Set Alarm" prompt. To use this you must have a push button attached between I/O Pin 10 and ground. You can let it time out (3 sec.) to keep the current setting, but pushing the button at this point start a list of alarm settings. Keep pushing the button (or hold it down) until find a setting you want, then pause to set that last value. After the 600 CPM setting, the choices repeat. The possible settings increment by 10 until 100 CPM and then by 50 until the 600 CPM setting. There is also a "No Alarm" setting. The chosen setting is retained in eeprom so it does not need to be set each time.
Second Screen (optional): Unlike Ver. 7, the alternate display no longer alternates! It will be called it a "second screen" now. The same push button used to set the alarm is used to turn on and turn off the second screen. The screen stays on until the button is pushed again. The first time the screen is entered, the totals will begin accumulating from zero. After that, reentering the mode will display the totals that have accumulated.
The second screen shows values for 1 minute and 10 minute periods. While the period is in progress (time not reached) the accumulated counts for the period are displayed. (On the 10 minute line, the elapsed time is also shown on the right side.) When a given period is complete, the format of the display changes . It then becomes the running average of CPM and uSv/h for the last 1 minute and 10 minute periods (as in ver. 7). The alternate display is now updated every 5 seconds.
atomic.dave was nice enough to provide a good diagram on how he hooks up the alarm and switch. You can see it here.
Bar Graph: In all prior versions the bar graph just repeated the CPM for the display period. It changed every 5 seconds. In version 8, I wanted the bar graph to show quicker changes in counts to make it easier to spot trends when surveying. The bar graph now has a sample rate of 1 second. The idea is similar to the "analog display" found on some DVMs. This may be confusing at first. Due to the random nature of counts, you may not see the relationship between the CPM displayed, and what the bar graph is doing. For instance, a quick spike or a quiet period may not show up on the CPM value but it will on the bar graph.
However, the bar graph now correlates much better to the beeps you hear from the piezo.
An interface to the SensorGraph Android app was also added. It has no effect if not connected. See this page for a description.
Version 7: (11/18/11) IDE Rel 0022
Version 7: (11/18/11) IDE Rel 1.0.1
The "continuous counter" in v6 was replaced by a "dose mode". This keeps a running average for the previous 1 and 10 minute periods. (credit and thanks to Marek Schmidt) The results are displayed on a separate "screen" that alternates with the regular screen once every 4 periods. Dose mode is initiated by grounding D10. If a push button is used for this, the dose screen will display immediately. If a switch is used, it will alternate - your choice. Note that Dose Mode will only begin to display once 1 minute has passed.
v7 also fixes some problems caused by the moving average (v6b) and shifting back and forth between SHORT_PERIOD and LONG_PERIOD. With the new running average, two period lengths are not that useful, so now only one period is used.
Version 6b adds a new feature - continuous count. If you ground Pin 10, the software goes into a mode that displays the running count and the time remaining. The default period for this count is 5 minutes, but it can be easily changed. You must restart the Geiger after the count is complete. This version also provides a more realistic estimate of displayed counts by using a moving average. The displayed counts are based on an average of the previous 30 seconds of counts. In order to maintain the responsiveness of the display, the average is recalculated from each 30 second period. Finally, there has been some of restructuring of the sketch.
Oops! Bug fix. When adding the second timer I forgot about the time taken by the serial output. This fix should give more consistent counts on the display.
Version 5: (5/19/11)
Like the Logging Sketch, the counting period for the serial port is now independent of the counting period for the display, and each is accumulated separately. The default counting period for the serial port is set at 1 minute. This means that the serial output will provide accurate counts per minute, while the display will still have a fast refresh but with less accuracy. In addition, the format of the serial output has been changed to CSV to make it easier to process it into logs and graphs.
Version 4 (4/22/11):
Adds voltage monitoring. (Thank you Tomy!)
User Contributed Versions
These are sketches that were created by some of the users of the Geiger Kit. They can be loaded as an alternative to the default sketch. I do not support them in any way. They are also based on older versions of the software and have less features. However they may contain good ideas.
Andrei Komarov's "ZX Counter" (3/10/13)
Among other features it provides:
Automatic and manual averaging interval
The automatic averaging interval depends on the current radiation level
Displays the total measuring time
Displays the total CPM and the accumulated equivalent radiation dose within the measuring time
Displays the maximal CPM and the maximal equivalent radiation dose reached within the measuring time
CPM, equivalent radiation dose, total measuring time auto-ranging
You can see a complete description and download the sketch here.
Kobayashi-san's sketch (5/8/12):
Near the end of the Gallery page is a description of a sketch contributed by Kobayashi-san. He re-wrote most of the default sketch and has added 4 screens selected by a push button. He is happy to share his sketch and you can download the english version here. You may need to download the new MsTimer2 lib he mentions in the header. [6/6/12 Please note, I have changed some "ints" to "unsigned longs" so counts won't roll over at > 32767. I have also updated it for the Rel 1.0.1 IDE].
Frank's 2x8 changes (3/1/15):
2x8 format to show a bar graph instead of the dose reading. (It is based on v7 and not tested here.) It can be downloaded here.
GK-B5 Schematics - older versions
v5.2 schematic is here
v5.1 schematic is here
v5.0 schematic is here
v4.0.2 schematic is here
v4.0.1 schematic is here
v4.0 schematic is here
v3b schematic is here
v2 schematic is here
v1.4 schematic is here
GK-Bx Build Instructions - older versions
Geiger Kit:
GK-B5 with v5.5 PCB here
GK-B5 with v5.4 PCB here
GK-B5 with v5.2 or v5.3 PCB here
GK-B5 with v5.1 PCB here
GK-B5 with v5.0 PCB here
GK-B4 with v4.0.2 PCB here
GK-B4 with v4.0.1 PCB here
GK-B4 with v4 PCB here
a small number of v4.2 boards shipped in early January 2013 had a hard to read silkscreen.
(If you have one, Click here for a guide to help with parts placement.)
GK-B with v3.0 PCB here.
GK-B with v2.0 PCB here.
GK-B with v1.4 PCB here.
Logging Shield:
GK-Mini User Guides / Software / Build Instructions - older versions
User Guide for Software Version 11
(Ships with the v5.5 PCB.)
User Guide for Software Version 1.4
Build Instructions for the GK-mini v1.3 - 1.5 PCB
GK-Plus User Guides / Build Instructions - older versions
User Guide for GK-Plus Software Version 1.14
User Guide for GK-Plus Software Version 1.13
GK-RadMon Build Instructions / User Guide - older versions
The Build Instructions and User Guide for the v1.2 board with v1.4 - v1.5 software are here.
GK-WiFi Build Instructions / User Guide - older versions
The Build Instructions for the v1.1 board are here.
The Build Instructions for the v1.2 board are here.
The Build Instructions and User Guide for the v1.3 board are here.
The Build Instructions and User Guide for the v1.4 board with v1.7b software are here.
RadMon Build Instructions - older versions
RadMon Basic Build Instructions and User Guide for the previous v1.2 board with v1.7 software are here.
RadMonPlus Build Instructions and User Guide for the previous v2.1 board with v2.5 - v2.7 software -are here.
The products below are no longer supported.
GKnet Software / User Guides - older versions
[7/12/14] GKnet_v4b - This sketch adds the following new features:
Added support for data.sparkfun.com
Posting interval is now controlled by the Geiger kit. Use the setup menu to set the Log Period.
When new data arrives from the kit it is sent by the GKnet board.
Added Ethernet.maintain(). This allows for the renewal of DHCP leases. May improve stability.
Reworked TEST_COUNTS - it now has a test posting interval.
support for static IP (not extensively tested)
cleaned up use of client.stop() and client.flush
You can download it here.
[12/20/13] GKnet_Radmon_Xively_v3 - This sketch supports both Radmon.org and Xively feeds.
It also supports either the WIZnet or the ENC28J60 Ethernet modules. See the sketch header for details.
You can download it here.
The v1 Build Instructions are here.
Older software (not recommended)
Radmon.org on WIZnet only here.
Xively on WIZnet only here.
Radmon.org and/or Xively on WIZnet only here.
"Xfrog" version Radmon.org on ENC28J60 only here.
Logging Shield Software - older versions - hardware no longer available
Here for V9
Support for the DHT-22 and DHT-11 temperature and humidity sensors. Temperature and humidity are logged to the SD card with the other info.
The menu system has been standardized with the same system used in the basic Geiger Kit.
GGA sentences are now retrieved, making altitude available for display and logging
New #define for display of altitude and speed on the main screen (alternates with date/time).
MT3339 GPS is now be initialized just like the others (no need for a separate sketch to configure it)
Timestamps on the files written to the SD card are now properly set with the date and time.
Time from RTC if no GPS fix. RTC synchronized with GPS if fic available.
Many improvements to the menu system.
A silent logging mode saves power - turns off the LCD, backlight, piezo, and IR by turning on SW4.
More memory saved for future enhancements.
Here for V8 major nice changes by Jeremy
GGA sentences are now retrieved, making altitude available for display and logging
New #define for display of altitude and speed on the main screen (alternates with date/time).
MT3339 GPS is now be initialized just like the others (no need for a separate sketch to configure it)
Timestamps on the files written to the SD card are now properly set with the date and time.
Time from RTC if no GPS fix. RTC synchronized with GPS if fic available.
Many improvements to the menu system.
A silent logging mode saves power - turns off the LCD, backlight, piezo, and IR by turning on SW4.
More memory saved for future enhancements.
V7 and V6 were precursors to V8.
Here for V5 (older) This version includes some nice enhancements from customer requests.
"Log on demand" - the current display is logged to the SD card whenever a button is pushed.
Improved SW control of piezo. Much less intrusive board mod then used in 4d. Setting is saved in EEPROM.
A new #define "SINGLE_FILE" keeps appending to same file name instead of incriminating the file name with each boot.
If the GPS is not used, the logging shield will output to serial like the Geiger kit.
Support for Adafruit's "Ultimate GPS Breakout" module is provided.
Here for V4d (older) This version includes some nice enhancements thanks to Gerald.
#define to support Phillips IR remotes which use RC-5 protocol.
#define to support the Skytraq ST22 GPS module.
A new menu option to toggle the piezo on and off. (Requires a small hardware change - see the program header.
The backlight can be toggled on and off with the INFO key on the remote as well as DIP sw. 2.
Geiger Kit PC Setup Tool - loading this sketch will allow you to set the menu options using the serial monitor screen in the Arduino IDE instead of a TV Remote.
GK-WiFi Build Instructions for the current v1.4 board with v1.6 software are here.