CD V-718 Survey Meter Radiation Kits Main Radiation Kits CD V-777 Kit CD V-777A Kit CD V-777-1 Kit CD V-777-2 Kit CD V-777-4 Kit CD V-755 High School Kit Other Sets CD V-781 Aerial Monitoring Set CD V-757 Barrier Demonstration Set CD V-457 Class Demo Set Radiation Instruments CD V-700 CD V-700 Specials CD V-710 CD V-711 CD V-715 CD V-717 CD V-718 CD V-720 CD V-750 and Dosimeters Back to Shelter Supplies Main Back to Civil Defense Museum Main		In the early 1990s FEMA procured and issued this version of the Army Radiac set AN/VDR-2 for "Civil Defense" radiological monitoring before they canceled their radiological instrument program in the 1990s. This FEMA unit is exactly the same as the Army issue unit but is painted yellow instead of olive drab and reads out in milliRoentgens and Roentgens instead of Grays. The manual with the set is a military style manual, is dated 1994 but has FEMA on the front cover. It's interesting to note that it was assigned a "CD V" number and painted the same yellow color as the old Civil Defense instruments. The CD V-718 doesn't have a radioactive check source or an audio output other than the audio alarm. I don't know how many of these were procured by FEMA. I have only see a couple of them before this one. CD V-718 Capabilities (from the CD V-718 manual) Detects, measures and displays level of gamma radiation dose rate from .001mR/hr to 10,000 R/hr with an auto ranging display. Detects and displays level of Beta particle dose rate from .001mR/hr to 5R/hr. Measures, stores and displays accumulated dose from .001mR to 9,999 R. Flashes display to indicate reduced-accuracy condition when measuring dose rates above 1000R/hr. Equipped with audio or visual alarms which trigger at pre-programmable dose rates and accumulated dose levels. CD V-718 Front Panel This is the front panel of the CD V-718. The digital LCD display is large, easy to read and has a backlight for reading in the dark. Round dark spots with Dose and Rate under them are the visual alarm lights. All control switches are in a row at the bottom of the panel. Unit is indicating background radiation in this photo. The control switches are (from left to right) Power switch. Clr/Test switch (used to start operating test and with other buttons to perform various functions), Dose Per Hr switch (used with other buttons to, set dose rate alarm, display dose rate alarm set point and clear accumulated dose) Accumulated Dose switch (displays accumulated dose when pressed and with other buttons to perform various functions see photo below) Attenuation switch(press to display dose external to vehicle when vehicle mounted. Used with clear/test switch to display attenuation factor). Light on/off switch. Alarm Audio/Off/Visual selector switch. Click on the photo to see a larger version. CD V-718 Rear Here is a view of the rear of the unit. Battery access cover has the "Warning" label on it. The unit operates on 3-9Volt batteries. The battery compartment cover is heavily gasketed. The heavy duty coiled probe cord has a connector only on the probe end. Small connector next to battery compartment is to connect unit to vehicle power. The manual has a list of military vehicles that the unit can be installed in. Click on the photo to see a larger version. CD V-718 Labels & Probe Here are the labels located on the top of the unit and probe. The bump on top of probe is the housing for the high range tube assy. Low range tube is in probe housing. See photo below for shot of probe front. Click on photo to see a larger version. Probe end window. Here's a close-up of the end of the probe. Probe end cover opens for Beta radiation monitoring. Thin end window looks like mylar or similar material to me. The manual has a note that the window can be easily ruptured by sharp objects. Reading Accumulate Dose. Here's the accumulated dose display. Just under half a mR. The dose can be reset. Pretty cool! Click the photo to see a larger version. CD V-700 & CD V-718 I was messing around with the CD V-718 and I thought I would compare it to the good old CD V-700. I have an old World War II vintage Turn & Bank Indicator aircraft instrument with a radium dial that puts off about 10mR/hr of gamma radiation which I used as my source. Check out the photos above to see the results of the comparison. The photo on the left shows the indicator sitting on top of the CD V-718 probe and the meter reading 9.6mR/hr. The photo on the right shows the indicator right next to the CD V-700 probe and with the CD V-700 set on the x100 scale the reading is 10mR/hr. Pretty close for 30 year difference in age of the instruments. Click on the photos to see larger versions. CD V-718 In Case The CD V-718 case is well padded and rugged with military belt latches on the side. The case has a heavy strap as well. There is a viewing window on the top that allows the display to be read with the top flap closed. The background reading is a bit high in this photo because my Turn & Bank Indicator that I used in the above photos was sitting on the table about 3 feet away from the CD V-718. Click on the photo to see a larger version. Overall, I am really impressed with the quality and ease of operation of the CD V-718. With my limited knowledge it really seems like an awesome piece of hardware! A super-huge very special thanks goes out to Mike for this instrument!