Cold War Crap
East German NVA Personal Dosimeters
Manufacturer: ABC Technology?
Model: full kit model number unknown
Country: East Germany DDR
Dosimeters used: Gamma Neutron RDC III D
Dose measuring range: 3 - 1500 R (X-Ray)
Condition: New and sealed
Price: £3.50 + £3.40 postage
Vendor: seller sfrankish. on eBay
Shipped From: UK
First impressions
I'm always looking for a bargain and finding a new and unused cold war bargain is my current past time. These NVA East German Dosimeters came in a sealed pack of two. (Why?)
Each meter had a pouch for wearing and storage. The price seemed too tempting to walk on by so I quickly bought a pair.
"Korper Siete" - place this side against the body
The package arrived in only a couple of days.Inside were two separate plastic bags containing the pouches.
Each pouch has a desert/worm type camp pattern on it. I'm not sure what it's actually called.
The reason why two were supplied became apparent when I went looking for info on the net (which there isn't much).
Apparently a dosimeter is worn under each arm pit? Interesting.
How did these work?
A pair of these devices were found in the bottom of every kit bag of the soldiers in the Bundeswehr should they be unfortunately involved in a nuclear attack.
Each pouch had to be sewn into the soldiers combat jacket underneath each arm pit. - the soldier had to do the sewing himself.
The meter would measure the accumulated radiation exposure for later analysis on the RDC III A device.
The Gamma-Neutron RCD III D inside each meter has what's called an 'Ionising chamber'
A capacitor is charged to around 270V. As soon as radiation is detected the capacitor begins to discharge.
These meters are classed as thermoluminecent. Each chamber contains either Lithium Borate or Calcium Sulfate in the form of crystals.
Basically as the radiation is absorbed the crystals glow to varying degrees.
It's all a bit scientific so I will leave the physics class there.
(I probably got half of that wrong anyway!)
The warning on the capsule says "Don't open" - oh well!
The Dosimeters are wedged in pretty well in their housings.
It took a great deal of force to pull one out. Both ends of the capsule are fitted with a rubber o-ring which I suspect caused a bit of a vacuum when trying to fish it out.
There really isn't much else to see.
This is how it should look with the capsule fitted
Take a look at the pic above and imagine the table being the inside of a German soldiers combat jacket. - Under each arm pit to be precise.
When I first saw this set I thought it looked a bit mad but now I get it. Discreet radiation meters worn without the wearer noticing. They are very light weight after all. The strange dragons tail cord which runs through the pouch is designed to allow the wearer to quickly pull the pouch open and likewise close it again. - well that's my best guess, it's hard to find much in the way of information on these devices.
Example of the official paperwork
Obviously I won't be able to test these meters. I don't have the corresponding reading machine for a start. And who in their right mind would intensionally give themselves a dose of radiation? Haha - just for a crappy review
For now they are just really nice relics from the cold war.
Rating: ✅✅✅✅ 4 out of 5
These meters could still work properly. They were brand new in a sealed bag. The problem is there is no way of pre-charging them or reading the data without the special machine. For that reason I give this item a four. If your the sort of person who doesn't care about functionality then these represent a cheap piece of history. Great value!
