RO-7 Cables

[CarolinaGirl]

Has anyone had any success with keeping RO-7 cables from becoming tangled when pulling them back out of the water?  This is a great instrument but is a contamination nightmare.

[jjordan]

Try putting it in a yellow bag and throwing it away! Go buy either an AMP 100 or AMP 200 from MGPI. The probes are small, the cables light, and are completely watertight, no need for the large canister. AMP 100 goes up to 1,000R the 200 to 10,000 R for a few hundred  $ more.  They have a digital readout that is very stable. Oh and by the way , Thermo Eberline is discontinuing support for the RO 7.

[Already Gone]

Hi Sherry,
Since you, like most of us, don't get to decide what you are going to get stuck using, how's about I try actually answering your question instead of givin' ya a bunch of smartass BS, okay?
Try laying the cable out flat on the floor istead of coiling it before you insert it into the pool.  Then do the same as you take it out.  You will need more room to do this, but you won't be flopping a wet cable around that wants to do its own thing.  You're going to need a helper to walk the meter to you and then back, so that one of you will be lowering/raising the probe while the other keeps the cable straight.  Let me know if it works.
Good luck,
T

[SloGlo]

getting an empty drum and coiling the cable into it as the probe is withdrawn from the pool helps keep it from tangling.  this also minimized contaminating the area although it is a good idea to maintain an awareness of the drums dose rate.

[Austria]

My suggestion would be to use one of those orange plastic gizmos normally used by electricians and others for winding up long extension cords. Usually about 1 1/2 ft. long, available at places like DIY for a couple dollars.
Of course, there is still the whole contamination thing, but this makes it easy to wipe down the cable, spool it up as you do so, and leave you with a nice tangle-proof, baggable cable to be stored for future use or further decon.   

[Doc_REM]

SloGlo's idea is the best that I have found and for the very reason's that he say's! Other than that fighting with that cable and some rope,wire is an every day thing with that probe...TRASH IT!!!

[HousePuke]

At my "use-ta plant" we attached a stainless steel cable to the cord to support it and mitigate damage with the connection to the underwater housing.  (We used floatable tie-wraps)
Upon removing the cable from the water we would coil it into a bag with some absorbants.  The steel cable seemed to help keep the cord from becoming a birds nest.
We could then keep the majority of the cord in the bag, transport the whole thing to be source checked and return it to the work area for use the next day.
I do have to agree with JJordan.  The AMP-100 / 200 are far superior to the RO-7.
Best of luck with your dilema!

[jjordan]

Sorry Sherry, didn't mean to sound like a smart ass! Thanks Beer Court! Most of us do have a little say in the instruments we use and our sites purchase. It took me a little while at Brunswick but I finally wore them down! Once they saw them work, they thought they were the greatest thing since sliced bread. We now own about 30 of the Amp 100's, and have 6 200's. We use them primarily as high range area monitors in the TB at power, but I talked them into using them for underwater surveys in the off season! We love them! Jim Kost will maybe send you a demo model for a dog and pony show, but remember if you dunk it in the water you own it! They are priced at under $2000!  Remember that I told you Thermo placed the RO 7 on the Endangered Species list! Oh and one more selling point, you only need 1 probe, not 3. P.S. while this smartass has all of your attention, go to MG's web site and check out their replacement for the teletector also. (Telepole) It's pretty sweet too! They are making some pretty neat things, ya'll need to check them out!
JJ

[Already Gone]

Hey JJ,
Sometimes I remember what it was like to be a house mouse.  It was a lot easier to get the instruments we wanted to use, cause we would just hound the bosses into submission.  Now that I'm a lowly road rat again, I gotta use what they give me.
I like the AMP's too.  Just be careful about how you weigh the probes. They are so light that they don't easily drop right to the desired point underwater.   Sometimes, someone will attach something heavier to the probe to make it easier to drop.  Sometimes that something falls off!
The best way I've ever seen is to attach the probe to one of those remote controlled submarines.  You can survey anything!  Try talking the boss into buying one though.

[SloGlo]

beer court.... yer refuel contractor will generally rent ya a sub fairly cheap, although they will make up for it on the operators wage.   

[astronuke]

Just a word of caution to go along with the rave reviews (which I agree with) on the AMP-100s & 200s.  Before dunking them in contaminated water, try them out in a sink filled with clean water first.  If the o-rings leak in the clean water, you can still send it back to MGP.  Once you've found one that leaks in contaminated water, you're stuck with it.

I had a brand new AMP-100 that worked for about 5 seconds once it hit the Spent Fuel Pool water.  As you can imagine, it was never quite the same again.

[moodusjack]

Dear God, won't these relics from the 60's ever die?

Get the AMPs, verify they don't leak (like another astute poster suggested) and don't ever, ever, ever let a tech (or yourself) bag/glove/seal-a-meal the probe.

Good luck