Recycled Parts Moderator Newsgroup, Discussion Board and Trading Place > Drop off Centers
> Metal
> Silver items
> Scintillator g/c repair upgrade refurb geiger radiation
Scintillator g/c repair upgrade refurb geiger radiation
SCINTILLATOR REPAIR UPGRADE REFURB geiger radiation
NOTICE This a posting is not for the purchase of a Scintillator!
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Click to view supersized image
Get your scintillator working before the warm weather prospecting and exploring season starts.
But don't fret, we'll get it working for you like new, now!
Classic working PRI Scintillators are HOT HOT HOT! They're highly collectible, they look absolutely awesome with that baroque fifties chrome decadence and charm, but when restored to full working condition will RIVAL more modern units in both sensitivity and utility!
Even if you don't have a 111b as shown but have another classic PRI or equivalent vintage scintillator or Geiger counter contact us for a quote to service your unit at ****@charter.net We do other vintage units as well and prices, of course, will vary depending on manufacturer, model and type.
A PRI 111b that really WORKS would make a terrific gift for that prospector, explorer, rock-hound, dinosaur, or radiation enthusiast!
Uranium spot prices have risen over the last several years. Power companies are running out of nuclear fuel and the demand has driven up uranium prices. Former prospectors worldwide are now dusting off thier old uranium detectors and heading back into the fields. With a working Scintillator, you could be one of them.
Unrestored only one in 50 actually will if you're really lucky and even then it is almost certain that it operates intermittantly and well below its rated sensitivity specifications.
Don't kid yourself. Just because a unit appears to look absolutely clean and untarnished doesn't mean that it will work. As these units are over 50 years old, electronic components fail, seals corrode or leak, and tubes fail particularly if the unit has not been powered on for years. In our extensive experience servicing these units, we've found that the most cosmetically clean and lightly used units have the most electronic issues and repair requirements and yet the most heavily used and scratched up units actually have the least!
You will also painfully discover:
* That repair parts are no longer available or are extremely difficult or next to impossible to obtain.
* That although described by the seller that it "SEEMS" to be complete or that it "SEEMS to be all there, you soon find some key things are MISSING internally such as the photomultiplier tube/crystal assembly or other key and vital electronic parts.
* That good documentation or accurate annotated schematic diagrams, tube pinouts, and voltage references are rare, difficult or next to impossible to obtain.
* That you don't understand or are not sure of working with rare vintage vacuum tube technology.
* That you can't find replacement sub-mini vacuum tubes or even know how to test them properly.
* That the super expensive! photomultiplier/crystal assembly has leaked, turned yellow and become opaque, (see picture on the left) and moisture has destroyed or corroded the expensive internally sealed NaI(t) crystal rendering the entire unit hopelessly non-functional and virtually un-repairable!
* That the battery holders, connectors, and battery box are hopelessly corroded.
* That some wires are dis-connected and you can't figure out where to reconnect them.
* That the meter movement is out of alignment, sticky, broken, burnt out, or the meter glass is cracked.
* That the coiled cable is frayed and the wires are broken internally.
* That you don't have the proper test equipment to fix it.
* That you're butterfingers when soldering or working with vintage discrete component electronics.
* That you're afraid of getting SHOCKED by the 1000 volt high voltage circuit!
* That you don't have a special "electrostatic" High Voltage meter to accurately check the photomultiplier tube dynode voltages!
* That you thought you could get working cheaply but now understand you bit off more than you can chew?
Don't procrastinate and put if off again and leave it on the shelf collecting dust, corroding and deteriorating even further wishing and hoping it will somehow get more valuable. Aren't you sick already of scaring your nieghbors and friends with your 50's Buck Rogers space gun? Has the novelty has finally worn off? Or, perhaps you believe that polishing it up so its chrome gleems brighter and shiney will somehow add extra bucks to its antique value or evoke a uranium Genie?
Guess again,,,Unless you take action now, it won't!
Rest assured that with many years experience servicing these units we know PRI and other vintage RAD equipment inside out! Just ask the hundreds of users that have had us totally restore and upgrade thier units to working condition.
For a fair fixed price, we'll professionally re-condition, upgrade, ruggedize, repair, and enhance your unit to WORKING condition guaranteed or your money back!
In the process we'll perform all of the following and more:
1. Comprehensively check out all the electronics including the photomultiplier tube with state-of-the-art laboratory test equipment including a very high end vintage vacuum tube tester, oscilloscopes, HV electrostatic voltmeters and industry standard radiation calibration sources.
2. Completely disassemble the gun unit and battery box. Thoroughly clean and degrease all electronic sub-assemblies. replace any rusted screws, bolts, washers, insulators, or loose hinges and other parts.
3. Replace all out of spec components with either NOS replacements or new state-of-the-art parts. This includes the rare sub-mini vacuum tubes, neon tubes, corona discharge voltage regulator tube, controls, switches, both variable and fixed capacitors, resistors, coiled cords, HV transformers, and new teflon wiring where needed. Super grade and extreme heavy duty or militarized rated replacement components are utilized
4. Re-calibrate, refurbish, replace, or repair the ultra rare 50ua PRI analog readout meter.
5. Clean, polish, recondition, and remove rust from battery box. Apply special rust inhibiting compounds, paint & sealer to inside of battery box
6. Replace RCA 6199 Photomultiplier tube if faulty or out of spec with a extensively tested replacement NOS unit
7. Professionally Rejuvenate the NaI(t) Scintillation crystal. (These have notoriously leaky seals and after 50 plus years and are more likely than not, corroded, turned yellow and become completely opaque, making the entire unit non-functional.)
8. IMPORTANT NOTE! If your NaI(t) crystal is determined to be unsalvageable and needs to be replaced then an additional cost may apply dependent on availability and replacement type. We will not replace the NaI(t) scintillator crystal with a plastic or other type scintillator that will make the unit much less sensitive and throw it completely out of its original and designed calibration.
9. Hermetically reseal the NaI(t) crystal into its mounting assembly
10. Remount and re-couple the Crystal assembly onto the Photomultiplier tube with expensive professional high grade optical grease for minimal optical attenuation.
11. Verify the efficacy of the mu-metal anti-magnetic shield. Replace if necessary.
12. Install a proprietary solid-state power supply into the battery box that uses common C and D Alkaline batteries. (You have the option or having the vintage battery holders replaced if corroded to preserve the unit's originality or taken out completely. Either way, the solid state power supply plus the new modern batteries and holders fit well into the battery box securely)
13. Re-polish and recondition the scintillator gun unit.
14. Recondition, rejuvenate, or replace the rubber coiled power cord
15. Perform re-assembly, final checkout, and recalibration.
16. Recondition and repair leather carrying case if salvageable.
Turnaround time is typically 10 to 15 days.
Along with your upgraded scintillator, a full report on CDROM detailing all enhancements, upgrades, repairs, including step by step digital pictures of your unit's refurbisment process will be included. Free tech support and on-call consultation for 1 year!
Don't delude yourself!. Fixing, upgrading, and refurbing these units is not Cheap! These are not IPODS!
Our fixed price covers all labor, all parts, supplies, NaI(t) crystal rejuvenation and new batteries (items 1 to 17). NOTE: Replacement NaI crystals if needed are extra and may cost up to $250 plus.
By doing some serious research, you'll find that actual average non-fixed costs to repair/refurb and upgrade these units are much higher than our quoted fixed price. If you seriously believe you can really perform all of the above on the cheap you will find that both your time, learning curve, rare parts replacement, calibration, etc. will far exceed our our fair fixed price. Plus, most importantly, you may do irreversible damage to the unit rendering it next to worthless or at the very least make it even more expensive to get it working again, especially if you're not sure how to do it or fully understand the unit's vintage circuit topology.
If you're brave enough to try to do it yourself, good luck! But if you run into trouble, stuck, or feel you're over your head contact us. We may be able to help as a last resort before you throw in the towel or chuck the unit.
Note: To those that want to attempt repair, do not substitute the NaI(t) crystal with a cheap plastic scintillator. These are considerably less sensitive and it will be impossible to accurately calibrate the unit.
Frankly, we've seen too many of these units come into our shop hopelessly botched up and rendered virtually useless by inexperienced amateurs, pompous know-it-alls that don't, and clueless electronic tech wannabees that don't even know the difference between a Geiger Counter and a Scintillator! Don't ask us how many we've serviced with all the tube filaments burnt out, sloppy soldering, shorts, destroyed meter movements, incorrect or dangerous parts substitutions, incorrect wiring, and cold solder joints! If you don't know what you're doing, don't screw it up even further. Just send us your unit. We know of some that have actually tried to replace or restore the extremely hygroscopic and toxic NaI(t) crystals and were seriously hospitalized! Don't RISK it! Let experienced professionals do it right!
For $75 additional, we can totally repaint your badly scratched-up unit with special Heavy Duty Appliance grade high impact epoxy paint. We completely dissassemble it, remove corrosion, old chrome, sand it, primer it, multi-coated it, handrub it and get it highly polished. New decals and/or silk-screening is re-applied to look original. Email us for details.
NOTE: we are currently researching an affordable in-house rechroming process to completely restore the PRI-111 series Scintillators to better than new cosmetic condition including silk-screening the original decals and lettering. We will be posting this added service in greater detail in the future.
Also, on a special request basis, we can also supply an custom solid-state audio module with a bright LED pulse indicator that plugs into the recorder output pins making your 111b not only one of the best scintillators but a awesome and effective gamma ray survey meter as well.
If you can't wait and need to have a working PRI scintillator right away send us your old unit as a trade-in for one of our stock refurbished units. Trade in value will depend on your unit's overall condition and salvage value. A quote will be communicated to you within 24 hours.
We also have several units including McPhar Scintillometers and others that are available for LEASE/RENTAL.
PLEASE NOTE: We do not supply individual parts or kits at this time as replacement items are becoming exceedingly rare and our private parts inventory is limited for repair, refurb, and upgrade only. We do TOTAL RESTORATIONS of these units!
Contact us for any questions you may have about your own particular unit or other radiation equipment repair needs at ****@charter.net
NOTE: In addition to all other models of PRI units we also repair, refurbish, and upgrade other vintage manufacturers equipment including Detectron, El-tronics, Sears Tower, Hoffman, RCA, Fisher, Oremaster, Mt. Sopris, etc.
We also specialize in refurbing and servicing Canadian units such as McPhar, Scintrex, Urtech, Geometrics, and others. As the manufacturers of these units are now defunct, we are, because of our experience and spare parts inventory, the only outfit worldwide capable of servicing and refurbing these units. Contact us for a quote for your particular unit or repair needs! The price we'll quote for your unit will depend on the model and manufacturer and it may be more or less than refurbing a PRI 111b!.
My units arrived today and are just great. You did a great job. Good packing and no damage. Thank you for bringing these "relics" alive!
Top notch service! My PRI model 111 works fine now. Thanks!
* Thank you for the outstanding service you have given us.
* Wow! My two PRI 111b's now work great and are extremely sensitive! You did a fantastic job cleaning up the pair. They look new and my associates are envious. Thanks for the great work and outstanding care in restoring my units!
* "We received the scintillator today. It is in great shape. Thanks for all you have done for us."
* "Received the scintillator in good shape, only one word to describe it FANTASTIC!"
* "I cannot thank you enough for repairing it and like you said it is extremely sensitive.Thank you so very much!"
* "Excellent service and very responsive!!!"
* "I got the 111B in today's mail, well wrapped and in good shape. I just can't wait to use it!"
* "A beautiful old unit, restored to operate with modern batteries. Excellent condition!"
* "Great product, service and delivery ! Highly recommend AAA+++"
* "FANTASTIC COMMUNICATION, QUALITY PRODUCT, HIGHLY RECOMMEND, E-Bay ASSET!!!!!!"
Smart Services for Smart Sellers
