A Very Strange Geiger Counter from Russia - The BIR-3 Pt.1

Archived from radmon.org - originally posted 01/02/2022

I found this on ebay priced at £12.52 delivered and couldn't resist at that price so I bought one for shits and giggles! Probably the most bizarre counter I have bought yet. (Apologies for the camera focus - new camera, very complicated... 😯 )

I haven't powered it on yet as I have no idea what battery it should be, if it should be a battery at all. It has US mains plug pins on one end but there is nothing wired to it, nor is there a battery cover. The only way to put a battery in is to disassemble the unit, which is rather cumbersome. It looks to be a flashlight made into a counter, but comes with a printed manual. Almost as though a company has been using flashlight cases and putting a counter inside. It is almost like a PSU has been taken out. Really strange. Everything about it seems homebrew, but it has proper instructions that I need to translate and the cover does state 'Domestic Indicator Radiation Pollution BIR-3' and even has BIR-3 moulded into the end of the white part.

It has three LEDs, red, orange and green and what looks to be a sounder. The sounder, if it is that, is beneath a hole drilled into the end of the white part, I assume to let the sound out! I think the sounder may be an alarm to sound at a certain level, as opposed to a clicker. The construction of the unit as a whole is crazy! It does have what looks like a mini SBM-10 GM tube, which is nice and some very old ceramic ICs. When I get chance I'll try and power this up and see what the ICs are and if the thing works or not. Very strange counter indeed!