What types of radiation can the TRACERCO™ PED detect?

The TRACERCO™ PED has been designed to detect X-ray and gamma radiation.

33keV to 3MeV.

0 to 10Sv.

1 µSv/h to 100mSv/h.

0.01 µSv/h

The random nature of nuclear radiation means that at low count rates there will always be a noticeable distribution of dose rate measurements. The TRACERCO™ PED utilises an advanced smoothing algorithm to reduce the distribution of measurements.

The TRACERCO™ PED has been tested in accordance with IEC/EN 61526.

The TRACERCO™ PED memory has capacity to store 125,000 measurements. A special feature of the TRACERCO™ PED is the warning it will provide to the user when the memory reaches 70% of full capacity. In the unlikely event of the memory becoming full the data should be transferred to the administrator PC and cleared from the TRACERCO™ PED.

The TRACERCO™ PED may be set to log data in two ways, either Periodic or Intelligent mode. The logging mode is selected in the PC software - DoseVision™.

In Periodic Logging mode the TRACERCO™ PED will record the accumulated dose every minute. Periodic Logging is not preferred when used in low dose rate areas as many data points will show zero changes and will use memory unnecessarily. Periodic logging should only be selected if the TRACERCO™ PED is to be used in areas where the dose rate will be consistently above background and rapid dose rate fluctuations are not anticipated.

Whilst in Intelligent Logging mode the TRACERCO™ PED will log the accumulated dose for every 0.01 µSv change in dose. Intelligent Logging is the default mode on the TRACERCO™ PED. The TRACERCO™ PED memory is used most efficiently by employing Intelligent Logging.

Intrinsic safety is a protection technique that is employed in the design of electronic equipment that may be used in explosive atmospheres. Intrinsically safe design requires that the electronic equipment and associated wiring is incapable of releasing sufficient electrical or thermal energy to cause ignition of a hazardous atmospheric mixture. This is achieved by limiting the amount of power available to the electrical equipment in the hazardous area to a level below that which will ignite the gases. The TRACERCO™ PED is intrinsically safe and has received ATEX approval.

ATEX is the EU directive that applies to intrinsically equipment. To achieve ATEX approval the TRACERCO™ PED has undergone a rigorous design cycle and has received extensive testing.

ATEX approval also requires the highest level of quality during manufacturing.

When operated at room temperature and at background levels of radiation the user can expect to have a battery capacity of greater than 300 hours with the screensaver on and 30 hours with the screensaver off. Note that increases in dose rate and temperature will reduce battery capacity.

The data and settings stored on the TRACERCO™ PED are protected if the battery is flat. A special feature of the TRACERCO™ PED is the automated shut down when the battery reaches a critical charge level. This critical charge level is set at a point that will allow enough residual battery capacity to maintain the internal clock for a significant period of time. However, repeated pressing of the button after a low battery shut down will continue to drain the battery and may eventually cause the loss of power to the internal clock. The TRACERCO™ PED will also provide the user with a warning if the battery charge drops to a level where 8 hours operation at room temperature/background radiation remains.

This has occurred because the TRACERCO™ PED battery has been drained to such an extent that the internal clock has been lost. Before the TRACERCO™ PED can be used again the current date and time must be entered. When the internal clock has been lost the new date and time may be entered in the Time Zone screen.

Data is transferred from the TRACERCO™ PED to a PC via the PED Dock. The DoseVision™ software is used as the interface between the TRACERCO™ PED and PC.

Yes. Once the data is transferred to the PC it is possible to export the data file from DoseVision™ in a CSV format (comma separated value). CSV files may be read by programs such as Microsoft Excel. The export function is found on the Data tab in DoseVision™.

Windows XP (32-bit), Windows Vista (32-bit) and Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit).