GQGMC-600 Plus Geiger Counter Radiation Detector Dosimeter Alpha Beta Gamma X-ray

The GQ GMC Series Geiger Counter !! I used today at my house played with the functions my house has normal reading, Nice digital display and back light for dark areas, had full charge ready to go. Highly recommended!!

This review is as much for GQ Electronics as it is for their GMC-600+ Geiger Counter. USPS managed to lose my package for this purchase - which was scary considering the cost but GQ was beyond incredible about the whole ordeal. They were responsive and didn't stop working with me until I had my counter in hand. I can't thank them enough!Now that I've had a few days to spend with the device I'm very impressed with not only the build quality but also the accuracy.For my own personal test I used an Am241 source from a smoke detector, since this is a measured source with an activity level of 37kBq alpha radiation. The conversion factor that I found for alpha radiation to go from cpm (what the counter displays) to Bq (atomic disintegrations per second) is (cpm x 37)/60. With this source on the GMC-600+ I measured ~55k cpm. (55000 x 37)/60 equals ~33.9 kBq which is a pretty fair approximation of 37kBq when one factors in the fact that there is a small distance between the source and the meter (around 2mm) and alpha radiation does not travel far in air. This is pretty accurate for alpha imo.Unfortunately I don't have any measured sources for other forms of radiation, I collect and hunt for radioactive minerals. I do have quite a few spicy rocks though and this meter is accurate reading those as well when I compare to other meter readings I've taken with various other meters that read alpha, beta, gamma and x-ray radiation.

This product truly does everything you’d want it to, the battery life is truly incredible, yes it’s bulky, but it can be wore on a belt and transported quite easily, the case is plenty adequate for padding and usability. If you’re looking for the best all in one pancake, I don’t think you’ll be let down, note the beta response when taking measurements, as it performs extraordinary with radium but, with any pancake, has less ability with pure alpha sources

I must say - if your are looking for an alpha-capable, "pancake" type detector with tons of feature - you cant go wrong with GQ-600 Plus. I have a whole bunch of different counters - Gamma Scout, Ludlum Model 3, Eberline ASP-1, Ludlum model 14C, SE International Alert Ranger and to be honest GQ-600+ is my favorite everyday counter!This design and execution has a lot of potential but some small details make it a bit annoying and unpolished.- plastic enclosure is made of thin brittle plastic which cracks VERY easily and feels extremely cheap - my unit cracked after 1 ft. drop onto a thick carpet (!!!)- the enclosure doesn't have the best ergonomics and feels a bit like you are holding a brick- buttons are missing any sort of markings and even for someone quite familiar with the unit, daily usage can be annoying when navigating thru the menu system.- the placement of the tube on the back of the unit is awkward, off-center and no markings on the front to remind of the exact location - this is really annoying when checking specific objects. I had to use a silver Sharpie to mark the tube's location and center on the front , around the display as a reference.- software has some bugs here and there and the whole UI is not quite polished - for an example when you have high reading (with 2 significant digits on the secondary display line) the "HIGH" msg partially covers the first digit making it unreadable. In Food Measurement mode another bug turns off the speaker and so on... They fixed the speaker bug in a new firmware release and didn't miss the chance to introduce a new one in the latest version when the unit will crash and restart, when it Text mode and reading is pretty high.- the company doesn't publish any firmware changelog or even the current version number and you just cant get the latest version from their website - you'll need to deal with their Support department back and forth until they send you an update.- they added a dosimeter function but did not update the manual for it.I love the wealth of information and features, the flexibility and settings and the large and readable display. The potential to be the best digital GM counter out there is definitely present but they need to go the extra mile and polish the UI, firmware and possibly revisit the flimsy enclosure.A protective cap on the back similar to the one of the Radiation Alert Ranger which can be used as an Alpha or Alpha+Beta shield would be a fantastic addition.Its a pity that GQ doesn't react to the feedback provided in their forum but there are enough good features in this counter for me to buy it again if need be.

Just as the title says, it's an amazing Geiger Counter for the price point. I needed a pancake tube Geiger Counter for alpha detection and this gets the job done wonderfully. It's got a wonderful UI (multiple options on how to display the text and a screen that rotates to fit current orientation), a solid amount of detection customization (including voltage adjustment and accuracy requirements), and even wifi connectivity to upload live data to a server (I don't need it specifically but it's a nice feature to have). You could of course go for something like a Gamma Scout if you need more precision and more detection features. But you'd then be paying double and likely waiting a lot longer to receive it (they were on backorder last time I checked). This however arrived 5 days after I ordered it. Overall, it's a solid detector with a lot of great features, customization, and solid quality for a very affordable price. I'm definitely going to be looking to GQ for any future detector needs.