Radiation: Radview
Added: 2024-04
Kismet can collect environmental radiation data for display and logging from the Radview Geiger counter, when coupled with an Arduino or similar microcontroller running the appropriate firmware.
The Radview is capable of reporting counts-per-second (CPS) and an energy spectrogram, however there are some significant limitations.
As of 2024-04, the Radview team has not released calibration data for the sensor used. The Radview reports counts-per-second, but without calibration data for the sensors used, this can not be converted to dosage rates (sieverts or other).
While the Radview reports energy levels as a spectrogram, the sensor is not calibrated, and no universal calibration data exists. As such, the spectrum data is likely not scaled correctly and can not be relied on.
!! WARNING !!!
Kismet interfaces with environmental sensors, including Geiger Counter / Radiation detection devices because they are interesting. NEVER rely on the radiation exposure data presented by Kismet for personal safety!
Always consult the documentation for your Geiger counter. Different Geiger counter hardware is sensitive to different energy levels of radiation.
The location of your detector, the type of detection hardware, and the speed at which you are travelling can all impact
Compiling Radview support
Radview support is build automatically in Kismet releases after 2024-04 git code. Kismet interfaces with the Radview via a serial connection on an Arduino or similar device.
Radview sources
The Radview device is identified as radview-#; Additionally, Radview devices must include the device option with the serial port interface of the Arduino.
kismet -c radview-0:name=radview,device=/dev/ttyUSB0
Supported hardware
The Radview source requires the Radview Geiger counter hardware, connected via a microcontroller running the appropriate firmware.
Example firmware for an Arduino style microcontroller is in in the Kismet git repository. When selecting a microcontroller, be sure that it supports 5v I/O. A 3 volt microcontroller will not work with the Radview!
Radview source parameters
Naming and description options
All data sources accept the common naming and description options.
Device selection
device={ /path/to/serial/device }
The Arduino appears as a serial device on the system.
You must provide the path to the serial device associated with the Radview.
baud={ baudrate }
1000000. This should only be changed if the firmware running on the Arduino is changed.