Civil Defense Survey Meters have price spiked to an all time high.

Obviously only the more prepped have some experience with these sorts of devices rather than the folks just getting a BOB and shelf stocks put up. Prices have soared through the roof in the last two weeks for the basic things.

Advanced preppers will however know what "The Package" is and that group of items. The price point of the package in pre Fukushima times varied among dealers from $399-$429. Post Fukushima "The Package" sold at around $529 to $675.

This last week I shopped for several devices. "The Package" is now for sale at $815 with very limited availability.

It can be seen here and this is the only place it can be purchased from currently. www.ki4u.com...

Ok you got me. I was planning on spending about $155 on a dosimeter set, and about $200 for a high range survey meter. I knew it would be a few months and around $450-$550 for a low range Geiger unit like the CD V-700a or b. Problem with that. They made very few of them for the fallout shelters and very few can actually be reconditioned and calibrated.

So looking at the price tag I decided to shop as hard as I could. 6 orders later all of them were either canceled by the company, or by myself when the companies claimed a backorder was required.

What you need to know:
1. Only two companies have updated websites and automatic inventory systems. They all use stock photos but have no current stock on the shelf. (AdvanceMart and AlertsUSA) not much choice.
2. The meters at Colemans and other sites are not refurbished and calibrated. To make matters worse only about 20% of those surplus meters can even pass both tests and be calibrated. If you bout one or got one on ebay and didnt send it in for rebuild and certification. Its not going to work. You bought a box with a flipper needle.

The long and short of it. I picked up a 717 meter calibrated this April for $299. Last one at that price. The only in stock meters are running at the following prices. $320 for a 715, and $370 for a 717. The market has gone completely nuts with Israel buying our bunkerbusters. You may get lucky if you shop harder than I did. Working on shopping off and on for two weeks, but I may have missed some sites that have old shelf stock and prices.

My $155 dosimeter set....ran $260 at the only place that had them in stock. The companies who rejected my orders did so since the new units would be far more expensive now. I agree, they shouldnt take a wash because I was late getting my work done.

I also planned on picking up single dosimeters. We have about 300 people living up here on top of the mountain. may be 400. I wanted 8-10 calibrated units on my community shelf so people could go between buildings and check on each other if things went south. It was a big no go. Single calibrated dosimeters of the 742 style are gone. Right after Fukushima they ran $25. Then they bumped to $45. Now the singles are gone. Radmeters4u is the only company that calibrates them and when they went into high gear they found very few that could be used. I think their site said they did 14,500 and only 25% of those could pass the first test and less made the second. OK noble idea, Have a few to help out, but thats down the toilet.

A few high points if your still in the market for things:

I found potassium Iodate on an overstock sale. These are the long term ones with a 9 year shelf life. A steal at $7 a bottle of 60. They are scored and the dose is one half tablet, so 120 doses for $7. You can get them here: www.survivalunlimited.com... dont bother looking at the other things. they are all out of stock and the site hasnt been updated in a couple years. Spent some time with the gal on the phone and they lost a couple workers but the pills are piled up and a couple of the books are still available. The meters and things had to all be turned in as the last calibrations were in 2003.

Second high point is you can get a very high quality Geiger style hand held meter on amazon, but its made in Russia so its about 45 days to clear customs and you need to take amazons projected duty tax to land it here. The Israeli supplier will probably be higher since they have more complexity with actually shipping those sorts of items. I had a small package sent from Israel and got nicked for an additional $38 when it landed in JFK. thats the way it is though. you want your package, you pay the fees. I dont know any of these sellers so good luck there. It is going to be the only choice for me in my price range though and the very best value for the money. www.amazon.com...=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2MS390XY9Q6IM&colid=1YOSQY2KQGSUQ

Radstickers are now a common source of emergency responder information. They will clear you through contaminated zones and into hospitals much faster because your carrying the proof of yes or no with you.
Be aware they only have a 2 year shelf life and then you need new ones. $25 for 5 and easy to find.

Smart phone users: You can get a droid app that turns your phone into a survey meter. You cover your camera lens with black tape to block all light and give the app permission to use the camera. It then records radioactivity strikes on the camera internals. There are many of these and some are just fakes. A good one will cost under $10. The ones that work have been tested on several models of phone so be sure the app runs well on your model. Here is one example: www.appbrain.com... Thats just an example. You need to pick the best one for your specific phone.


And to end. I dont have anything to do with any of these suppliers other than be irritated because the shipping is always slow. But the above is the state of the market right now. If you would have told me a reconditioned CD V-717 would sell for $370 a month ago I would have said to open all your windows and go outside for a while in case its gas or carbon monoxide.

Good luck with your prepping. Add any super low deals you find to the thread to help other folks.

Was going to edit something in but ran out of time.

A great resource That I found and printed during my shopping was this page. It is free to repost as is or print and distribute as it mentions their source for some items, but tells what to do if you cant get them or cant afford them as well.

McGuyver nuclear protection. It actually tells you everything to do and when in one document that you can step right through in real time during the disaster.

www.alertsusa.com...

When I read it I hit print, and I see a lot of this sort of material and write some on another site.

i would not ever put my life on the line with civil defense meters

and yeah some people are over charging and some people think how they know how the work and just buy and think it will be ok and everything.

when it comes to radiation detection and monitor equipment dont cheap out as dangerious as radiation is

i mean come on people saving a buck aint going to save your life in the end

awesome info op! S & F for yo. thanks for putting it together for everyone.

here's my thing: the iodine tabs (or pills or drinks or whatever)...all they do is protect your thyroid. i mean...my lungs are fried, my skin is falling off of me, my teeth have turned into marshmallows...but boy is my thyroid healthy!

Originally posted by neo96
i would not ever put my life on the line with civil defense meters

and yeah some people are over charging and some people think how they know how the work and just buy and think it will be ok and everything.

when it comes to radiation detection and monitor equipment dont cheap out as dangerious as radiation is

i mean come on people saving a buck aint going to save your life in the end

People are buying meters on ebay and thinking they are going to work and they dont have a clue part of the refurb is scrubbing the dirt and dust out of the insides with alcohol. That one missed step can keep them from ever being within range. People also buy a source and try to tune them themselves.

I mean we have to understand that the CD devices were always a +/- 20% when completely tuned and refurbed or new from the factory. Unfortunately all I can afford are CD devices. There is certainly much better gear available but at a very high cost.

The one thing i'm actually paying for is the sticker on the side with a fresh date. Its a lot of money but if you do need them and you dont have them and have to rely on rad stickers that take over an hour to report.....you might be dead before you get to a safe spot. Still you should have those as well as a 'passport' of sorts that everyone recognizes.

Originally posted by ICEKOHLD
awesome info op! S & F for yo. thanks for putting it together for everyone.

here's my thing: the iodine tabs (or pills or drinks or whatever)...all they do is protect your thyroid. i mean...my lungs are fried, my skin is falling off of me, my teeth have turned into marshmallows...but boy is my thyroid healthy!

Well actually they are designed for nuclear bomb bursts rather than the power plant meltdown event. A burst makes huge amounts of Iodine vs small amount of a plant. Its just a case by case thing. If the Fuki corium or even the Russian plant actually cook off then they would be required. Even after all this time the Russians are still worried the core melt may self detonate.

But if your at ground zero...no there is nothing to worry about.

If your not and you shield during the fallout and follow the 7/10 rule, you probably wont have any effects at all.

Follow up on the shopping.

AlertsUSA= Good reliable company to deal with.

AdvanceMart= Another good company

Survival Unlimited= Good but shipping is running slow due to the previous mentioned issues.

The dealers all seem to have the items in stock and available which has been the problem. Survival Unlimited remember has only the pills and books though.

double post

The market is currently holding steady at this pricing.

The $7 potassium iodate is long gone though. Its running $16-22 for the 120 day supply of pills now.

Little follow up. Survey meters are reaching the point where the factory certified meters are matching the demand.(as in your order wont go to backorder and be canceled)


One retailer actually has a stock and running sale prices, so if you have been waiting you can get a little break right now. store.advancedmart.com...

Also keep in mind only about half the ebay bulk lot meters can even be restored to certified units.

The 742 dosimeters have even far less that can be restored and certified at a mere 15%. If you got these off ebay only one in ten average even work. Let alone come close to working properly enough to be calibrated and certed.

Dosimeter sets and CD-700 are the two rare ones.

715,717, and 720 meters are available certified and calibrated. Quite common now. Till the next plant goes down, or someone forgets lefty loosy, righty tighty lol.