An Affordable Open-source Flexible Spectroscopic Radiation Mapping System Employing Sound Card Digitization

In sound card-based gamma spectroscopy, a computer sound card serves as the multichannel analyzer in a spectroscopic system with a lower price point and more compact form factor than many traditional systems. A mobile system for radiation measurements, named RadMap, was created to investigate the potential of using sound card spectroscopy in a handheld, mobile radiation measurement and spectroscopic device. RadMap was designed using commercially available parts, including a sound card spectrometer, and is compatible with most photomultiplier tube scintillators for spectroscopic applications or Geiger-Mueller detectors for non-spectroscopic usage. Measurements of 137Cs, 22Na, 54Mn, and 60Co were made using RadMap and two professional desktop gamma spectroscopy systems to characterize RadMap's spectroscopic capabilities relative to those commercial devices. Radiation surveys were created of a 14,000 m2 outdoor space on a college campus using RadMap and other commercially available survey meters for comparison. The results of these experiments suggest that RadMap can provide high quality spectroscopic information and mapable survey information in a device with a favorable price point while enabling easy user modifications. Exact details regarding the components used and their functions are provided to facilitate the creation or further development of a similar system by any interested party.