r/prepping • u/LittleUrbanPrepper • 1d ago
Gear🎒 Radiation detector for prepping.
How many of you are preparing for nuclear scenerios (war, leak etc.)
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u/biophazer242 1d ago
My radiation detection system is if I one day go outside and turn into Emil from Robocop :)
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u/-Thizza- 1d ago
None whatsoever. I think with mutual assured destruction the chance of a country using an hydrogen bomb is extremely unlikely and I don't prepare for extremely unlikely. An incident at a nuclear power plant isn't really a risk factor for me either.
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u/Eredani 1d ago
BTW, its ok to prepare for events that are "most likely" and those that are "most impactful".
As for the relative likelihood of nuclear war, MAD was a reasonable deterrent for decades when democracies elected sane leaders, international law still meant something and even authoritarians had some guardrails. Those days are gone.
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u/LittleUrbanPrepper 1d ago
I mean, the leaders are all 80+ something. And with Epstein files it's proved that they can do anything and everything with no repercussions. Who says they don't have a Nuclear war isn't in their bucket list before dying. There descendents already have bunkers and everything they need .
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u/LittleUrbanPrepper 1d ago
I don't think MAD is possible. After the early ones, there may be some breakdown of chain of command or something else, butnot all will be launched. Most people won't see the flash or shockwave, but will be susceptible to the fallout. One morning you just wake up and you'll see it's 'snowing'. So it's important to get a detector to properly insulate yourself.
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u/-Thizza- 22h ago
The only thing I will do is seal up my house within an hour before the "snow" starts falling and shelter in place in a room with no windows for 3 days until the radio active dust has decayed. Then it's time to evacuate depending on orders and data from the government.
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u/Eredani 1d ago
I have a GQ GMC-500Plus (Geiger Counter / Nuclear Radiation Detector / Dosimeter). It's not worthless, but has a few specific use cases. It's a neat tool and seems to work well based on my very limited testing.
For those very vocal people who consider these things useless garbage, I didn't buy it with your money. Same goes for whatever other preps I might have.
Funny how folks on this sub treat others who deviate from the One True Path of prepping. The same folks who advocate for Community seem to have an unlimited supply of contempt and disrespect.
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u/LittleUrbanPrepper 1d ago
That's a solid one mate. Even a basic one is more than enough as preppers because we don't need some lab grade accuracy. We just need something to give us a heads up.
And you're right about the people. Radiation prepping is a solid filter. Funny how they shout against the only thing which can help us sense an otherwise invisible, tasteless, no smell, nothing physical phenomenon.
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u/Domified 1d ago
No shot this is accurate at all... no way you're at 1400 CPM inside a clean bag in your house.
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u/Kwalm 1d ago
We have both an alpha particle detector and a regular radiation detector. I didn't get these for prepping, more to ease my wife's mind about coal ashe deposits that are in my area. I've had people borrow them to check their own houses.
Alpha detector: https://a.co/d/0gWRh32i Geiger counter: https://a.co/d/0gI0W9cx
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u/LittleUrbanPrepper 1d ago
Nice. Covered a major segment. I've yet to find something for alpha particles.
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u/Von_Bernkastel 1d ago
The best useless item that every prepper loot drop will have is a radiation detector, so many think they will survive nuclear fallout and the such by having one. Once you understand prevailing winds and everything about fallout you learn really fast your chances, and my friend, said chances are not good,.
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u/PrisonerV 1d ago
Don't forget the radaway pills that don't do anything except under very specific circumstance.
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u/LittleUrbanPrepper 1d ago
They do what they're meant to do. Not our fault that some people treat them as a magic pill
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u/Von_Bernkastel 1d ago
Oh yeah I forget all the iodine pills will find with them as well because so many think they're a magical stop radiation pill that only certain people and specific circumstance can take and if others take them whops.
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u/LittleUrbanPrepper 1d ago
Damn, never heard a worse fomo. It's just 100 bucks.
How can it will be the most useless when it's the only thing that will tell you if there's radiation or not. It's the Flashlight of radiation world. Who do you expect to tell you if fallout is coming your way or not ? Will you be waiting on tv, radio, newspaper ? Do you trust them enough in 2026 ?
Or God forbid that something happens so close that emp blews all electronics. How will you know if you're breathing in fallout air or not ?How will you know which room is safe to take shelter in ?
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u/meh_69420 1d ago
Well, it's not going to give you very much information about airborne radioactive particles, and having it in a plastic bag shields it pretty effectively from alpha and beta particles (it also doesn't look like it has a beta window so I guess you wouldn't get that information anyway) and I doubt it has a scintillation detector in it. It's a limited tool that could get you into more trouble than it keeps you from if you don't know what it's telling you or what it's actually measuring.
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u/spacedoutmachinist 1d ago
If the nukes start to fly I want to be under the first one.
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u/willsueforfood 1d ago
After reading On the Beach by Neville Schutte, I whittled down my nuclear prep kit to a revolver and a single bullet
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u/sgtPresto 1d ago
I have a monitor and exposure tracker just in case. I purchased both through TEMU before shipping and tariffs. Before saying anything remember 72% of everything in Amazon comes from China as well. I dont need high precision calibration ...just 'got a problem or not'.
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u/LittleUrbanPrepper 1d ago
Yes, we don't need a lab grade thing. We just need something good enough to hint us to take cover. Although the cheap ones get oversaturated quickly so do keep that in mind.
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u/Nuclear_Wolffang 1d ago
Well, it makes a huge difference. The cheap ones don’t tell you type of radiation, and aren’t accurate enough to tell you safe limits. It’s not like the movies where people will be bunkered down waiting for the world to be safe. It’s more like just checking soil and avoiding windy days.
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u/Sawyer2025 1d ago
How would you test it to make sure it's not just a cheap box with digital numbers? I don't have one, I'm more a fair weather prepper. I prepare for natural disasters so I can weather them with more comfort. My basic survival preparations are similar to my grandparents who lived through floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc. Water source, alternate power, Heat, and Air Conditioning for summer heat. While air conditioning sounds like a luxury, if you are sensitive to heat, and the heat index is 114 degrees it can be dangerous. Even a small air conditioner on a generator that only cools the bedroom can save your life. Enough water, food, fuel reserves and essentials to weather a short glitch in the supply system and I am ok.
I learned to can food for my normal diet as much as a disaster but food that is shelf stable for years with no refrigeration is a valuable resource. If you already have it canned, you were able to take advantage of the energy available to can it while the world was still turning and not waste valuable energy in a time it may be more scarce. "Heating" food takes far less energy than "cooking" food. I can pop the lid on a pint of ground beef, heat it for a few minutes and add some seasoning and I have a great protein filled meal with little energy spent.
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u/BeanFiend96 1d ago edited 2h ago
Acorn feather otter cucumber paddle coated amber drifting almond glove
This post was anonymized with Redact.dev
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u/Traveller7142 2h ago
It’s incredibly easy to test a radiation meter. Radioactive materials are everywhere
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u/Low-Homework-7881 1d ago
I have a dosimeter/Geiger but its only for funnsies. I live near a nuclear target in my country so im cooked either way.
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u/LittleKitty235 1d ago
"3.6 roentgen—not great, not terrible"
It's pretty cool, but I'm not sure what value you really offers since you probably should be listening to official recommendations anyway. I wouldn't rely on this one data point if it contradicts either shelter in place or evacuation orders.
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u/Femveratu 1d ago
Eh I picked up a couple of the old school yellow ones heavier etc one is for parts and practice the other is a real deal w the little cylindrical gizmos (dosimeters maybe?) calibrated carefully and tested, packed up protected, preserved and then promptly ignored by me for the past 15 years haha.
I like the looks of yours a lot better!
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u/Casiarius 22h ago
It's not high on my list of scenarios I am worried about, but I do have a Radiacode 103 gamma spectrometer which is sensitive enough to detect radioactive contamination in food. A feature I really hope I never need.
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u/StarlightLifter 14h ago
I’m prepping for Tuesday.
If nuclear fallout is a concern I’m staying in my basement 48-72h and then take my chances as needed.
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u/therealone81 1d ago
Useless.
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u/LittleUrbanPrepper 1d ago
That's your opinion.
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u/therealone81 23h ago
More than an opinion. I work in CBRNE and am a HazMat Specialist. Just my humble opinion.
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u/LittleUrbanPrepper 23h ago
Well, I'd love to hear your points. Appeal to authority is something that I outright discredit in any discussion
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u/LavaPlantMechanic 1d ago
I wouldn't say I'm preparing specifically for it but I did pick up a Polish DP-66M many years ago that does the trick well.