I recently got my CDV 715 , CDV 717,  and Dosimeters recalibrate.
I went through KI4U with the huge influx of military age illegal aliens I feel the odds of a dirty bomb have increased rapidly.  I still need to get my PDRM82D calibrated.

Smuggling in a nuclear bomb and assembling it would be difficult.

Smuggling in radioactive components for a dirty bomb especially when you don't care about the mules smuggling it in would be fairly easy.

Of course I have iodine tablets also.

K Iodate
In case of possible/expected nuclear fallout- powerplant or other
Potassium Iodate 85 mg tablets:
a)      Adults  (≥12) :  2 tablets daily – 14 days.
b)      Children (3-12) :  1 tablet daily – ≥3 days.
c)      Infants (1 m-3 yrs) :  1/2 tablet daily – 1 to 3 days.
d)      Babies (newborn-1 m) :  1/4 to 1/2 tablet – 1 to 3 days
Potassium Iodate 170 mg tablets:
a)      Adults  ( ≥12 yrs) :  1 tablets daily – 14 days.
b)      Children (3-12 yrs) :  1/2 tablet daily – ≥3 days.
c)      Infants (1 m-3 yrs) :  1/4 tablet daily – 1 to 3 days.
d)      Babies (newborn-1 m) :  1/8 to 1/4 tablet – 1 to 3 days.

The ones I have are iosat Potassium Iodide 130mg tablets. The instructions for dosage look similar to the 170mg you list above.

I've also got one of those GQ GMC-500+ Geiger Counter units. Might not be scientific journal article measurement quality but I'm just looking for a general safety measurement.

Adults over 40 are not recommended to take the iodine pills unless its a very high exposure

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/emergencies/ki.htm

Adults over 40 years***≥ 500130122 mL


***Adults over 40 should only take KI when recommended by officials when predicted exposure levels are high enough to possibly cause hypothyroidism

Do you trust officials? I'm over 40 and I don't.

OP what kind of dosimeters are you using?  understand you just made an investment in your CDV equipment but those civil defense dosimeters are well past their shelf lives at this point.  if you are taking nuclear preps seriously I would recommend getting a modern digital meter/dosimeter as a way to have both a reading and a dose accumulation that isnt dependent on a little tiny piece of wire that has gotten very very used to being in one spot for the last 70 years.  

not shilling but you might want to check out something like this...
https://www.amazon.com/GQ-GMC-500Plus-Radiation-Detector-Dosimeter/dp/B071JWB7TJ

back in 2005 I also found KI4u and drank some coolaid.. got my own certified and calibrated gear which now graces my victoreen museum on a shelf in my office.  while it all good back in 2005, the meters are now not able to zero, and the dosimeters went from dodgy to totally unable to zero.  

now I have 2 of the gmc 500+ with the latest firmware and calibrated per the internet's instructions - they will give dose and rate with both high and low range in one unit.  the victoreen high range will go higher, true but there is a narrow range of time where that is applicable.

I recently bought a Radiacode 103.  This little guy fits in my pocket and is always running.  The other day I walked passed someone who must have recently received a radioactive tracer or whatever it's called and the dosimeter alarmed.  This is a scintillator so it can be used to get the spectrum of gamma energies to determine the isotopes.  It also records the GPS location of its readings and a spectrogram.

Also because it detects the energies it can give an accurate dose rate.

Attached File

when it alarmed in town.

Attached File

Gamma spec on my radon water filter.  It reads 13.5 uSv/h on contact.

that's cool.. scintillators offer some great features especially for detecting the type of source..

if you have a slab basement vs a crawl space, try checking your furnace air filter..  i dont even have a radon problem (usually around 2pc/l) but even so I get about 2usv at the filter due to the various alpha and beta decays inherent in radon's decay chain and how they electrostatically attach to dust.

Iodine is useless for a "dirty bomb", as are the meters you described.

Then again the whole concept of a "dirty bomb" is basically a fantasy anyway.

Not saying radiation detection is useless or that there might not be radiation hazards.

The meters OP listed are high-range survey meters, they're useful for fallout, or if you're just downwind of Chernobyl.

Most of the time a meter capable of much lower levels is more useful. The instruments that can identify isotopes could be useful if you have the knowledge to make sense of the information. Something with alpha detection capability might also be something to think about.

I actually have that one. The civil defense dosimeters are still good as long as you can zero them. The best thing probably the Kearny Fallout Meter. Needs no batteries and you can store it for years.

perhaps - but CD still rely on a pretty large scale and limited leak.  difference between 1rem and 5 isnt much on the 0-200 scale, and still is it 2 or 3 on the 0-50 scale is a question.  KFM is a great demonstrator but in my experience leakage is extreme, so it is only effective in very high fields.. it also requires attention to detiail in how to read it, when to read it etc, otherwise the reading is off.  In order; i'd take a high-quality modern digital meter with dosimeter (e.g. Fluke) followed by any modern digital meter with dosimeter (e.g. GMC), followed by CDV followed by KFM only as a last resort.  my .02 owning and testing all of the above except the fluke.

that seems kind of like binary thinking.  humans can take quite a bit of radiation, so the ability to know real facts at your exact location gives you the ability to make good decisions to minimize dose and find a better location.  Wind patterns on the day of will have more to do with what area gets what exposure than anything else outside of targets hit.  I have 2 digital meters in addition to the CDV high range, one to keep on me at all times as a rate meter and dosimeter, and one to keep in the shelter as a meter/dosimeter.  I dont trust the high range CDV much but it will provide a checksum against the geiger counters being overloaded.  geiger counter/survey meter rate will tell you a lot more information quickly than a dosimeter will.  its entirely possibly based on wind that the promised fallout will not come / will go the other way, or that it will come and be so subtle you wouldnt otherwise notice it.  any decent meter will be a godsend at those times, in addition to identifying any problem areas in your shelter and validating that your shelter is providing adequate protection, and helping to estimate full dose based on rule of 7's.

For a dirty bomb or fallout a do smarter is best for monitoring your exposure. I own several old civil defense ones and newer ones. Fortunately a dirty bomb and fallout are Alpha an Beta radiation normal clothing with a face mask will protect you. I also own geiger counters for low dose monitoring.

Very interesting product. Thank you.

The data combined with a smart phone makes for a powerful tool.

What is it about dirty bombs that make their radioactive iodine to not bond to the thyroid?

You get radioactive iodine from fission. There is no fission in a dirty bomb.