r/Radium

A beautiful object—and it contains radium in the fissure.

Westclox Big & Baby Ben style 1, New Haven Minute Man, Ansonia Despatch, Ingersoll Yankee & Midget Radiolite, Ingraham Harmony House, Jaz Fonic, Westclox Spur Style 1, Westclox Baby Ben Style 8 Ingersoll Radiolite, unknown Sprague cube clock, IM-108 Survey Meter, Creagh-Osborne Marching Compass from WW1

We found this on sale at an antique mall for $15. It is pretty spicy! I quickly googled it, and from what I can find is this was made between the 60s and 70s. I’m kinda surprised that uranium was still used then. Any info?

This is my collection of Spicy Electron/Gas Discharge lamps so far

The one in the left not much higher than background (0.02 mR/h). I these two in one shipment. The hot one on the left made up for it.

Ingersoll Yankee Radiolite! Paper dates to August 31, 1916, same year the company started making luminous watches. I been looking for one with the bold numbers!

I recently picked up this radioactive vacuum tube, I couldn't find what isotope it used online but I deduced it wasn't a gas since it's more radioactive at one end than the other. Today I was shining my UV light on it, for some reason, and I noticed some fluorescent dust at the bottom, upon closer inspection it turns out there's just a blob of radium lume on the cathode.

My small collection of radium clocks I’ve found at antique stores! Have another beautiful plug-in one by Harmony House coming this week.

I just got my radiacode 102 and was checking stuff around my room. I noticed an old ww2 era radio I have, a BC-603. It appears like the buttons have radium as my radiacode picked up around 54 usv/h maximum. It was heavily dependent on what angle I held it at. The levels quickly fell off only a few inches away. Does anybody know if there is a high risk here if so, what I should do? I’ve had this radio for years but l really don’t have an attachment to it now I want to get rid of it. Is there any other setting or way I can use the radiacode to better assess the risk here?

All my spicy clocks, the newest ones are the white square Westclox, the red Westclox, and the square white border round one. Very happy with just starting my collection last year!

I dont know the age of this alarm clock is it radium?

Manufacturer: US Time Corp/Ingersoll

Made in: Waterbury Connecticut/Little Rock Arkansas

Geiger Counter: GQ Gmc-300s

40 Hour Spring

1940's-1950's

New one came in the mail today! Big ben futurua, made 1973-78, from what I can find only the big ben version is radium. Which further backs westclox stopping radium use in 1975, seeing the baby ben version was made in 1976-81.

It's been a while since I updated the collection, as for radon yes it's well within safe numbers. Still can't believe it was only going to be 16 clocks in total I would collect.

I have been looking around for something like this for a good while now. May consider putting this on the bug sell swap thread, but I found it for less than 9 bucks, it seems to be a decently rare piece as I only saw 2 other ones and both were bought long ago, and the piece is from the 30's allegedly

To find something like this is actually decently rare, at least in my area and the shops I've been hitting. In my experience with about 9 antique shops over 2 years this is the only one I have seen. The dangers if radium are widely known now, which is another reason I'm surprised someone would just be willing to sell it off for so cheap.

I handled this compass carefully, wearing gloves. Radium paint is applied to the lid. 😀

Baby Ben Style 8 Repeater from 1971-1975. I confirmed it was radium but before I could grab a picture of the reading my Geiger counter died. Gotta find that new battery that’s around here some where.