The PicoMuon was inspired by the Cosmic Watch muon detector. It was developed by UKRAA as a simple to use device for detecting the muon component of secondary cosmic ray products. Among the improvements it uses a more powerful RaspberryPi Pico processor and a real time clock.. It is supported by a suite of Python programmes to process and display the data collected.
The device has two scintillators, each will detect background radiation (β and γ) and cosmic muons.. Muons can be separated from the background radiation because they will interact with both scintillators simultaneously. These coincident events are counted by the RaspberryPi.
Data is output simultaneously to an OLED display, a microSD card and a USB data port.
An OLED display screen displays muon data eg count rate and provides a user interface for other functions. The OLED can be turned off if required which will extend its life.
A suite of Python software for a Raspberry 4 or 5 can be downloaded from the PicoMuon GitHub at https://github.com/UKradioastro/UKRAA_PicoMuon. Full instructions for using the PicoMuon software and setting up a RaspberryPi are included.
A production specification and manual can be downloaded, here. https://ukraa.com/downloads/
The detector is supplied with a micro-USB cable to connect to a computer or power supply. A 3V CR2032 button cell is required to support the real time clock.
UK Customers
A 3V CR2032 button cell is required to support the real time clock. The detector is supplied with a battery installed to UK customers.
Overseas Customers
No battery is supplied.
The latest air cargo regulations are very strict about dangerous goods such as batteries. We are unable to supply our overseas customers with a battery. We provide detailed instructions for fitting the battery and initialising the real time clock. We are also happy to provide technical support by Zoom or telephone.
