Canberra UltraRadiac User manual

UltraRadiac™
Personal Radiation Monitor
User’s Manual
9236123G

Body: 9236048G
Copyright 2006, Canberra Industries, Inc. All rights reserved.
The material in this document, including all information, pictures,
graphics and text, is the property of Canberra Industries, Inc. and
is protected by U.S. copyright laws and international copyright
conventions.
Canberra expressly grants the purchaser of this product the right
to copy any material in this document for the purchaser’s own
use, including as part of a submission to regulatory or legal
authorities pursuant to the purchaser’s legitimate business
needs.
No material in this document may be copied by any third party, or
used for any commercial purpose, or for any use other than that
granted to the purchaser, without the written permission of
Canberra Industries, Inc.
Canberra Industries, 800 Research Parkway, Meriden, CT 06450
Tel: [phone] FAX: [phone] http://www.canberra.com
The information in this document describes the product as
accurately as possible, but is subject to change without notice.
Printed in the United States of America.
UltraRadiac is a trademark of Canberra Industries, Inc.

Table of Contents
1. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2. Basic Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Powering the Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Turning Off an Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Checking Your Stay Time . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Checking the Accumulated Dose . . . . . . . . 6
Clearing the Accumulated Dose . . . . . . . . 7
Reading the Alarm Thresholds . . . . . . . . . 7
Changing the Alarm Indicators . . . . . . . . . 8
Using the Backlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3. Controls and Indicators . . . . . . . . . 9
The Function Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
The Battery Life Indicators . . . . . . . . . . 11
Attaching the Belt Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
The Carrying Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4. Operational Verification Tests . . . . . 14
Turning the Unit On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Turning the Unit Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Instrument Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Display Test Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Ending the Display Test . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Backlight Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Sleep Mode Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Completing the Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
GM Tube Failure Indication . . . . . . . . . . 22
Operation at Low Temperatures . . . . . . . . 23
Error Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5. Setting Up the Unit . . . . . . . . . . . 24
The Rate Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
The Rate Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
High Threshold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Low Threshold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Reading the Rate Alarm Thresholds . . . . 26
Changing the Rate Alarm Indicators . . . . 27
Changing the Rate Alarm Thresholds . . . 27
The Dose Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
The Dose Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
High Threshold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Low Threshold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Reading the Dose Alarm Thresholds . . . . 32
Changing the Dose Alarm Indicators . . . . 33
Changing the Dose Alarm Thresholds . . . 33
The Source Finder Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Enabling the Source Finder Mode . . . . . 36
Exiting the Source Finder Mode . . . . . . 36
The Sleep Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Enabling the Sleep Mode . . . . . . . . . . 36
When the Unit Wakes Up . . . . . . . . . . 37
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iii
Exiting the Sleep Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 38
The Data Logging Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Capturing Data Pairs . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Viewing the Data Log. . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Clearing the Data Log. . . . . . . . . . . . 40
6. Maintenance Procedures . . . . . . . . 41
Cleaning the Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
The Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Installing or Replacing the Batteries . . . . 42
The Battery Compartment . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Latching the Compartment Door . . . . . . 46
A. Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Detector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Environmental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Physical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Qualification Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Ordering Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

B. Default Alarm Settings . . . . . . . . . 52
C. Display Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
D. Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
E. Disposing of This Equipment . . . . . 57
iv

1. Introduction
READ THIS If you don’t read anything
else in this manual, read
Chapter 2, Basic Functions,
and Chapter 3, Controls and
Indicators. These cover the
basics of using the
UltraRadiac™ Personal
Radiation Monitor.
Note: Operational procedures are the respon-
sibility of the UltraRadiac’s users. In-
structions provided in this manual are
“how to’s”, not procedural recommen-
dations.
Your UltraRadiac can measure and display
both the instantaneous radiation dose rate
(Rate), the amount of radiation being mea-
sured at this moment, and the total accumu-
lated radiation dose received (Dose) since the
dose memory was last cleared.

The Alarms
The UltraRadiac’s presettable alarms for both
instantaneous Rate and cumulative Dose can
alert you to hazardous conditions. When an
enabled alarm’s threshold is exceeded, a vi-
sual indicator will begin flashing and, option-
ally, an LED will blink and/or an audible
alarm will sound. Some units also include a
vibrator alarm.
The Radiation Units
Depending on the model, your UltraRadiac is
factory-set to display the Rate and the Dose in
one of these units of radiation measurement:
•R(roentgen) – a measure of radiation
exposure.
•Sv (sievert) – a measure of absorbed
dose equivalent.
Most illustrations in this manual show the ra-
diation units as µR(microroentgens, one mil-
lionth of a roentgen). The units are defined on
pages 54–55.
Equipment Check
If your organization’s procedures require peri-
odic equipment checks, refer to Chapter 4,
Operational Verification Tests.
2

3
Setting Up the Unit
The UltraRadiac has five modes: Rate, Dose,
Source Finder, Sleep, and Data Logging.
Chapter 5, Setting Up the Unit, describes
them and tells you how to set and enable the
Rate alarms and the Dose alarms.
Maintenance Procedures
Chapter 6, Maintenance Procedures, lists the
UltraRadiac’s preventive maintenance checks
and describes how to install or replace the bat-
teries.

2. Basic Functions
The first time you take your UltraRadiac™
out of its shipping carton, you’ll have to in-
stall its batteries. See “The Batteries” on page
41 for instructions.
Powering the Unit
!To turn the unit on, press ON/OFF until
000 is displayed.
!Release ON/OFF.
!In a few seconds, the instantaneous rate
will be displayed, with the word RATE at
the top left of the screen.
!If a or a blinking BAT indicator ap-
pears in the display or if the display is
blank, refer to “The Battery Life Indica-
tors” (page 11).
!To turn the unit off, press ON/OFF until
–––is displayed.
Turning Off an Alarm
The UltraRadiac has two alarms, Low Level
and High Level for each of two modes, Rate
and Dose.
4

5
If any alarm sounds, the next four sections tell
you how you turn it off.
•Clearing the Low Rate Alarm
!Press the CLR/TEST key to turn off the
vibrator and the audio alert.
!The visual alerts will continue until the
rate falls below the Low Rate Alarm
threshold.
•Clearing the High Rate Alarm
!Press the CLR/TEST key to turn off the
vibrator.
!The audio (if enabled) and visual alerts
will continue until the Rate falls below
the High Rate Alarm threshold.
!At that time, press the CLR/TEST key to
turn off the alerts.
•Clearing the Low Dose Alarm
!Press the CLR/TEST key to turn off the
vibrator and the audio alert.
!The visual alerts will continue until the
Dose falls below the Low Dose Alarm
threshold.
!To turn off the visual alerts, you’ll have to
clear the dose memory. See “Clearing the
Accumulated Dose” on page 7.

•Clearing the High Dose Alarm
!Press the CLR/TEST key to turn off the
vibrator.
!The audio (if enabled) and visual alerts
will continue until the Dose falls below
the High Dose Alarm threshold.
!To turn off the alerts, you’ll have to clear
the dose memory. See “Clearing the Accu-
mulated Dose” on page 7.
Checking Your Stay Time
!Press ALARM to see the number of min-
utes you can safely stay in the area at the
current Dose Rate. Specific information
on Stay Time is given on page 55.
WARNING If the Dose Rate goes up, your
remaining Stay Time will go
down.
You should check your Stay
Time frequently when you are in
the presence of radiation.
Checking the Accumulated Dose
!Press DOSE to see the accumulated dose
(the word DOSE is at at the top right of
the screen).
6

7
!To return to the Rate Mode, press the
RATE key.
Clearing the Accumulated Dose
!Press and hold DOSE + CLR/TEST.
!The display will flash for a few seconds,
then clear the accumulated dose.
!To return to the Rate Mode, press the
RATE key.
Reading the Alarm Thresholds
!Press ALARM + RATE or ALARM +
DOSE.
!You’ll see an H, for High Level Alarm,
displayed.
!To read the Low Level Alarm setting,
press the RATE (DOSE) key again; the
display will show an L.
!Press the CLR/TEST key; the flashing
display will show the selected (Hor L)
alarm threshold setting.
!If the Vibrator Alarm has been activated,
the display will alternate between the
threshold value and a vertically scrolling
horizontal bar (– – –).

Changing the Alarm Indicators
!Press the ALARM + RATE keys or the
ALARM + DOSE keys.
!You’ll see an H, for High Level Alarm,
displayed.
!To change the Low Level indicators,
press the RATE (DOSE) key again; the
display will show an L.
!Press the CLR/TEST key to access the
selected (Hor L) indicators.
!Repeatedly press the ALARM key until
you see the desired combination of indi-
cators, AUDio, VISual, vibrator, or no in-
dicators.
Using the Backlight
In dim light, you can enable the unit’s back-
light to read the display.
•Press the LIGHT key.
•The display’s backlight will turn on.
•To conserve battery power, the back-
light will automatically turn off in
about five seconds.
8

9
3. Controls and Indicators
This is a brief overview of the UltraRadiac’s™
controls and indicators and its protective case.
Each of the controls and indicators is covered in
detail in the remaining sections of the manual.
Figure 1 The UltraRadiac Front Panel

The Function Keys
The primary function of each of the function
keys is briefly described below. The program-
ming functions of these keys are covered in
Chapter 5, “Setting Up the Unit” (page 24).
ON/OFF Press and hold to turn the unit
on or off.
RATE Press to change to the Rate
Mode.
DOSE Press to change to the Dose
Mode.
ALARM Press to see the Stay Time,
the number of minutes you
can safely stay in the area at
the current Dose Rate. Spe-
cific information on Stay
Time is given on page 55.
WARNING If the Dose Rate goes up, your
remaining Stay Time will go
down.
You should check your Stay
Time frequently when you are in
the presence of radiation.
10

11
LIGHT In the dark, press to illumi-
nate the display for about five
seconds. Note that the back-
light may not be visible in
daylight or normal room
lighting.
CLR/TEST In the Rate Mode, press and
hold to enable the Display
Test Sequence (page 17).
The Battery Life Indicators
The UltraRadiac has two battery life indica-
tors. See “The Batteries” on page 41 for in-
structions on changing the batteries.
•If a blinking is displayed, the unit has
stopped functioning. Replace the batter-
ies before the unit’s next use.
•If a blinking BAT is seen in the top-left
corner of the display, the unit’s batter-
ies have 10 hours or less of useful life.
Replace the batteries as soon as possi-
ble.
•If the display is blank, the batteries are
dead. Replace the batteries before the
unit’s next use.

Remaining Battery Life
In the Rate Mode with the BAT indicator
blinking, press the CLR/TEST key. A three-
digit number indicating the approximate re-
maining battery life, in minutes, will be dis-
played.
Attaching the Belt Clip
To attach the supplied belt clip, screw the
clip’s two captive retaining screws into the
threaded inserts at the top of the unit’s rear
panel.
Note: To prevent crossthreading damage, in-
sert each screw loosely, then tighten
them alternately a few turns at a time.
Do not overtighten.
The Carrying Case
If the belt clip is installed, remove it from the
back of the UltraRadiac by unscrewing its two
captive retaining screws and lifting the clip
off the unit.
Now put the UltraRadiac into the carrying
case with the display toward the bottom
(closed) end of the case. To close the case, re-
fer to Figure 2 and…
12

13
qFold the top flap down over the front
of the case.
wPull the narrow strap across the top
flap.
eSecure the narrow strap to both the top
flap and the side of the case.
rThread your belt through the slots in
the belt loop.
Figure 2 Using the Carrying Case

4. Operational Verification
Tests
These Operational Verification Tests should
be performed periodically, as required by your
departmental procedures.
Installing the Batteries
The first time you take your UltraRadiac™
out of its shipping carton, you’ll have to in-
stall its batteries. See “The Batteries” on page
41 for instructions.
Turning the Unit On
Press and hold the ON/OFF key until the dis-
play appears, then release the key.
•The unit will display the numbers 0, 1,
2, 3, 4, in sequence.
•The Rate Mode display should appear,
with the word RATE shown at the top
left of the screen (Figure 3).
•If a or a blinking BAT indicator ap-
pear in the display or if the display is
blank, refer to “The Battery Life Indica-
tors” (page 11).
14