# Used Niton - Cost to potentially re-source



## snoman701 (Oct 11, 2017)

I'm curious...I know that there are used guns out there, many of which will require being re-source. 

Anybody had to pay the bill on that? 

I've got quite a few things that I could use one for, outside of PM identification and assay....but 30k is NOT going to happen. I'd build myself a true refining shed first.


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## Lou (Oct 12, 2017)

I think it's $8K for a new tube. We haven't had to replace our tubes yet on any of our three handhelds.

An actual isotope source is probably cheaper.


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## snoman701 (Oct 12, 2017)

Tube based is less likely to go though....or so I've been told by someone. The isotope one is the one I'd expect to have to replace. 

Just starting to do my reading and research! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## geedigity (Oct 12, 2017)

The source type with the radioactive metal is roughly $5k to $7k. This cost depends if sourcing is all you need.


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## turtlesteve (Oct 16, 2017)

Just from curiosity, have you actually found low-priced units that need a new source?
I've looked, and I haven't - at least not anything with a high quality detector.
Steve


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## snoman701 (Oct 17, 2017)

Well, seeing as you can buy a used niton for 5-7k, and with the cost to resource, you will be in under 15k...I'd consider it a reasonable price seeing as the new ones are 30k.

For our purposes, the important data is the spectra, not what is displayed on the small LCD screen. Once you know how to interpret the spectra the LCD screen just gives you a tag of likely inaccurate quantitative data to sort with. 

Frankly, they hold their investment very well compared to most equipment, and their capability.


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## turtlesteve (Oct 17, 2017)

4 years ago the company I was at bought a pretty good handheld unit, new, for $42K or thereabouts. This was a unit rated for 185 eV resolution. Had one quoted last year... slightly better model was ~$25K new. I still keep hoping the bottom falls out on pricing of these...

If you are knowledgeable enough to use the spectral data and run your own calibration, you might look into amptek.com. I've never used their equipment but a couple years ago they had "kits" below 150eV resolution for around $10K list price. I can't find pricing now - they may have stopped posting price lists. The catch is these units were not designed for rugged use or for a casual user.

Steve


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## g_axelsson (Oct 17, 2017)

Amptek is nice but more on a research level, nice pieces to put together a custom system but not a finished product.

I actually bought an Amptek detector on eBay for $40, all I need now is an x-ray tube and a program to collect data with.
It has a custom enclosure but is new and unused, original price was $10k so I think I made a great deal if I can get it up and running.  




Göran


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## turtlesteve (Oct 24, 2017)

Goran,

$40 is quite a steal - I would have jumped on that in a heartbeat. I look for these from time to time but never seem to catch one. In my opinion the next step is the signal processing and software. There are a lot of potential hardware solutions for the x-ray source once you have the rest of the system.

Hope you can get it up and running - if not, send it my way 

Steve P.


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