This is a Rust firmware for a Geiger counter based on the ATTiny2313 MCU.
Rust code author: Ievgenii Meshcheriakov eugen@debian.org.
This code (including most of the documentation) is based on the original C code for MightyOhm Geiger counter.
The firmware requires a Rust compiler from the nightly channel.
$ rustup toolchain install nightly
$ rustup default nightly
$ cargo build --release
Cargo can be used to build the firmware:
$ cargo build --release
The firmware can then be flashed to the Geiger counter either by using
avrdude directly, or by using the
cargo-avrdude crate:
$ cargo install cargo-avrdude
$ cargo avrdude --release
The original code description follows below.
This is the firmware for the mightyohm.com Geiger Counter. There is more information at https://mightyohm.com/geiger
- Author: Jeff Keyzer
- Company: MightyOhm Engineering
- Website: https://mightyohm.com/
- Contact: jeff <at> mightyohm.com
This firmware controls the ATtiny2313 AVR microcontroller on board the Geiger Counter kit.
When an impulse from the GM tube is detected, the firmware flashes the LED and produces a short beep on the piezo speaker. It also outputs an active-high pulse (default 100us) on the PULSE pin.
A pushbutton on the PCB can be used to mute the beep.
A running average of the detected counts per second (CPS), counts per minute (CPM), and equivalent dose (uSv/hr) is output on the serial port once per second. The dose is based on information collected from the web, and may not be accurate.
The serial port is configured for BAUD baud, 8-N-1 (default 9600).
The data is reported in comma separated value (CSV) format:
CPS, #####, CPM, #####, uSv/hr, ###.##, SLOW|FAST|INST
There are three modes. Normally, the sample period is LONG_PERIOD (default 60 seconds). This is SLOW averaging mode. If the last five measured counts exceed a preset threshold, the sample period switches to SHORT_PERIOD seconds (default 5 seconds). This is FAST mode, and is more responsive but less accurate. Finally, if CPS > 255, we report CPS*60 and switch to INST mode, since we can't store data in the (8-bit) sample buffer. This behavior could be customized to suit a particular logging application.
The largest CPS value that can be displayed is 65535, but the largest value that can be stored in the sample buffer is 255.
This Geiger Counter kit is for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. Don't even think about using it to monitor radiation in life-threatening situations, or in any environment where you may expose yourself to dangerous levels of radiation. Don't rely on the collected data to be an accurate measure of radiation exposure! Be safe!