VF PAM-100A User manual

VF1706050120 EN 2015revision H
VF1706050120 EN
revision H
version 10
2017
VF,a.s.
Svitavská 588
CZ 679 21 Černá Hora
tel. [phone]
fax [phone]
[email protected]
www.vfnuclear.com
Instructions for Use
PORTABLE ACTIVITY METERS
PAM-100A, PAM-100B, PAM-100C, PAM-100D, PAM-100E
PAM-170A, PAM-170B, PAM-170C, PAM-170D, PAM-170E
Types: K0950, K0951, K0952, K0953, K0954,
K1230, K1231, K1232, K1233, K1234

VF1706050120 EN 2015revision H 2

Table of Contens
VF1706050120 EN revision H 3
Table of Contens
Instructions for Use .............................................................................................. 1
Table of Contens ................................................................................................... 3
List of Figures ....................................................................................................... 6
List of Tables......................................................................................................... 7
Foreword............................................................................................................... 8
1.Introduction....................................................................................................... 9
1.1. Abbreviations 9
1.2. Terms and definitions 10
1.3. Acts, regulations and standards 12
2.Occupational safety, fire protection and environmental impacts................... 13
2.1. Occupational safety 13
2.1.1 Safety signs used in VF, a.s. and their meanings................................................................. 13
2.1.2 Obligations of the operator ................................................................................................ 13
2.1.3 Qualification requirements of the staff................................................................................ 13
2.1.4 Conditions for the safe operation of electrical equipment ..................................................... 13
2.2. Fire protection 14
2.3. Environmental impact statement 14
2.4. Instrument disposal 14
3.Technical specification .................................................................................... 15
3.1. PAM-100 series: PAM-100A, PAM-100B, PAM-100C, PAM-100D, PAM-100E 16
3.2. PAM-170 series: PAM-170A, PAM-170B, PAM-170-C, PAM-170D, PAM-170C, PAM-170E 18
4.General description.......................................................................................... 20
4.1. Purpose 20
4.2. Overview of PAM series meters 20
4.3. Basic principle of operation 21
4.4. Constructional arrangement 22
4.5. Operating the instrument 25
5.Before putting the instrument into operation................................................. 26
5.1. Transportation 26
5.2. Initial preparation 26
5.3. Power supply 26

Table of Contens
VF1706050120 EN revision H 4
5.4. Storage 26
5.5. Operation verification 27
5.6. Initial instrument settings 27
6.Instructions for use ......................................................................................... 28
6.1. General 28
6.2. Control elements 28
6.2.1 Turning ON / OFF ............................................................................................................. 29
6.2.2 Back illumination............................................................................................................... 29
6.3. Working screen 30
6.3.1 Preset text........................................................................................................................ 30
6.3.2 Kind of radiation ............................................................................................................... 30
6.3.3 Displayed value of the measured quantity........................................................................... 30
6.3.4 Bar graph ......................................................................................................................... 31
6.3.5 Battery ............................................................................................................................. 31
6.4. Preset selection 32
6.5. Background compensation 32
6.5.1 Background measurement and display ............................................................................... 32
6.6. Acoustic signalization 35
6.7. Contamination measurement 35
6.7.1 Alarm level exceeding........................................................................................................ 36
6.7.2 Exceeding of measurement range ...................................................................................... 36
6.8. Failure indication 37
6.9. Turning OFF 37
7.Instrument settings......................................................................................... 38
7.1. Instrument presets 38
7.2. Setting the measurement parameters by means of the VF-Setup service software 39
Setting the communication with the VF-Setup service software: 39
8.Maintenance and care of the instrument ........................................................ 40
8.1. Daily maintenance 40
8.2. Annual maintenance 40
8.3. Metrological traceability 40
8.4. Photomultiplier life (PMT) 42
9.Troubleshooting............................................................................................... 43
9.1. Decontamination of the detector 43
10.Delivery parts................................................................................................. 44

Table of Contens
VF1706050120 EN revision H 5
10.1. Standard delivery parts 44
10.2. Accessories, additional equipment and related products delivered separately 44
10.3. Consumable material 44
11.Warranty conditions ...................................................................................... 45
12.Annexes ......................................................................................................... 47
Annex A. Presets´default settings ............................................................................................ 47
Notes................................................................................................................... 49

List of Figures
VF1706050120 EN revision H 6
List of Figures
Fig. 1 Portable PAM series meters .......................................................................................... 20
Fig. 2 View of the detector and its protective cover ................................................................. 22
Fig. 3 View of the instrument with the protective detector cover in place................................... 23
Fig. 4 PAM-100 Portable Activity Meter ................................................................................... 23
Fig. 5 Installation of the battery in the instrument................................................................... 24
Fig. 6 Basic dimensions of the PAM-100 series ........................................................................ 24
Fig. 7 Basic dimensions of the PAM-170 series ........................................................................ 25
Fig. 8 Control of PAM instrument ........................................................................................... 25
Fig. 9 Control overview ......................................................................................................... 28
Fig. 10 Example of the display of instrument initialization......................................................... 29
Fig. 11 Description of elements on the screen (example) ......................................................... 30
Fig. 12 Symbols of detected radiation..................................................................................... 30
Fig. 13 Battery status examples (from the left: discharged, partly discharged, and fully charged) 31
Fig. 14 Example of display when working with the background reading function ........................ 32
Fig. 15 Acoustic signal mute symbol....................................................................................... 35
Fig. 16 Alarm level exceeded symbols on the display ............................................................... 36
Fig. 17 Exceeding of measurement range ............................................................................... 36
Fig. 18 Failure display ........................................................................................................... 37
Fig. 19 VF-Setup: Setting the communication.......................................................................... 39
Fig. 20 Photomultiplier .......................................................................................................... 42
Fig. 21 Typical dependence of the anode current of the photomultiplier over time...................... 42
Fig. 22 Protective case; Strap ................................................................................................ 44

List of Tables
VF1706050120 EN revision H 7
List of Tables
Tab. 1. EU guidelines and Government Orders ........................................................................ 12
Tab. 2 Technical standards.................................................................................................... 12
Tab. 3 Detectors specification................................................................................................ 16
Tab. 4 Radiometric parameters of detector series PAM-100...................................................... 17
Tab. 5 Detectors specification................................................................................................ 18
Tab. 6 Radiometric parameters of detector series PAM-170...................................................... 19
Tab. 7 Suitability of PAM meters for different kinds of radiation ................................................ 21
Tab. 8 Supported prefixes ..................................................................................................... 31
Tab. 9 Supported units.......................................................................................................... 31
Tab. 10 Overview of the most frequent failures....................................................................... 43
Tab. 11 List of standard delivery parts.................................................................................... 44
Tab. 12 List of accessories, additional equipment and associated products ................................ 44
Tab. 13 Consumable material ................................................................................................ 44
Tab. 14 Default settings PAM-100A, PAM-170A ....................................................................... 47
Tab. 15 Default settings PAM-100B, PAM-100D, PAM-170B, PAM-170D ..................................... 47
Tab. 16 Default settings PAM-100C, PAM-100E, PAM-170C, PAM-170E...................................... 48
Tab. 17 Former identification of PAM-100 instruments ............................................................. 48

Foreword
VF1706050120 EN revision H 8
Foreword
Read the Instructions for Use carefully before using the PAM Portable Activity Meter and follow its suggestions.
The information contained in these Instructions for Use is the exclusive property of VF, a.s., and may not be
modified, copied or disclosed to third parties without the company's knowledge.
Failure to follow the instructions and safety information contained herein may be considered a breach of
warranty conditions and may lead to the termination of the warranty period.
The manufacturer reserves the right to perform technical, visual and functional changes to the design of the
instrument without prior notice as part of its programme of continuous development and improvement of its
products.
The Instructions for Use form an integral part of the instrument.
The radiometric parameters are described in detail in a separate document.

Introduction
VF1706050120 EN 2015revision H 9
1. Introduction
The PAM-100 series meters are portable hand-held instruments intended for the measurement of surface
contamination by alpha, beta and gamma emitting radionuclides.
It is a compact and ergonomically designed user-friendly meter.
1.1. Abbreviations
A
Activity
As
Surface activity
CRM
Certified reference material
DLM
Detection limit
DTR
Decision threshold
k1-
Coefficient of the error of the first kind (instrument reports a false positive alarm)
k1-β
Coefficient of the error of the second kind (instrument reports falsely negative
signalling)
N
Number of pulses
n
Count rate
NPP
Nuclear power plant
PAM
Portable Activity Meter
PC
Personal computer
PCB
Printed circuit board
PLC
Programmable Logic Controller
PMT
Photomultiplier
q2π
Surface emission
R
Response of instrument
RF
Response factor
RS-232, RS-485
Serial Interface
SU, UL
Alarm level
SW
Software
USB
Universal Serial Bus
ZnS(Ag)
Zinc sulphide activated with silver (scintillation material for detecting alpha radiation)
δ
Relative basic error
Φ2π
Instrument efficiency

Introduction
VF1706050120 EN revision H 10
1.2. Terms and definitions
Activity
A quotient of the mean number of spontaneous nuclear transitions from an energy
state in an amount of radionuclide in a time interval. The unit is [Bq].
Alarm level
Value (threshold) that is preset inside the instrument. If this value is exceeded,
the alarm will be activated. Both the acoustic and visual alarms can be activated.
The units are usually [cps, Bq, (Bq∙cm-2), Gy/h, Sv/h].
Background
Radiation field in which the instrument should operate, and which involves both
the natural background and the radiation caused by other sources that can be
present in the vicinity of the instrument. The following units, depending on the
instrument type, are usually used [cps, Bq, (Bq∙cm-2), Gy/h, Sv/h].
Certified Reference
Material (CRM)
Material provided with a certificate whose one or more properties are sufficiently
homogeneous and determined at a sufficient level for calibrating an appropriate
instrument. These properties are certified by a procedure that determines
traceability on the precise implementation of the unit in which the value of
properties are described, and each certificated value is accompanied by an
uncertainty at a given confidence level.
Coefficient of the error
of the first kind (Type
I error)
Determines the probability that the true activity of the sample measured is zero,
and the instrument indicates contamination.
Coefficient of the error
of the second kind
(Type II error)
Determines the probability that the true activity of the sample measured is greater
than zero, and the instrument indicates no contamination (clean).
Contamination meter
Instrument intended for the measurement and evaluation of surface
contamination that contains visual indication and acoustic signalization of count
rate. The acoustic signalization can be switched off.
Contamination monitor
Instrument intended for the measurement and evaluation of surface
contamination and additionally to the visual indication and acoustic signalization
of count rate, the instrument is provided with acoustic signalization of exceeding
the preset contamination level (threshold).
Count per second;
Count rate
Number of counts per time unit. The units are usually [cps, cpm].
Decision threshold
Critical value of the statistical test for making a decision if the measured count
rate of a potentially contaminated person is at the background level, or the
measured count rate is higher than the background. The unit is [cps].
Detection limit
The mean count rate for which the probability that the net count rate measured
is lower than the decision level is just equal to beta. The beta parameter means
the coefficient of a type II error. The unit is [cps].
Direct measurement of
surface contamination
Surface activity measurement by means of a contamination meter/monitor.
Effective measurement
range
Range of the quantity measured in which operating values of the meter or the
monitor meet the requirements of valid standards for the given type of instrument,
see Chapter 1.3.
Efficiency
Ratio of the corrected count rate of the measuring instrument to the surface
emission. The unit is usually [%].