Review on 📟 GQ GMC 500Plus: Advanced Radiation Detector Dosimeter for Precise Radiation Monitoring by Chuck Chen

For the price this is an excellent geiger counter. It's more than sensitive enough to warn you of dangerous situations and when it's time to leave the area. However, it's not as sensitive as the GQ-600+, which uses a US-made Geiger-Muller pancake tube (I bought both to compare devices). GQ-500+ and 600+ come with a flat top. unprotected' 3.7v 2600mah Li-ion batteries, this is the first thing I've replaced with a 3.7v 3400mah 'protected' battery with a Japanese button. It's a bit tight on the GQ500+, but the protected cell fits and offers longer run times (approximately >1/4 of the battery capacity is depleted within 24 hours after inserting an upgraded battery.) The onboard charger had no problem upgrading the battery and charges it via a USB as requested -Connection on (fairly fast, I might add) PC interface software and extended documentation are available on the company's website, as is the ability to connect your meter via Wi-Fi for regular updates on the worldwide radiation tracking website ( See documentation on their website for address) and listed on the plastic card that came with the meter Ease of use is only a 4 star ne gotten as there is a learning curve for badly labeled keys. Battery life only got 4 stars because better batteries could have been used (unprotected vs protected batteries) and the protected 3400mah battery would have been preferable to the included unprotected 2600mah battery. Protected batteries. Protected batteries actually have a small microcontroller built into the cell that monitors the state of charge and disables charging at the battery level when an overcharge condition is detected. Unprotected batteries will continue to accept charge current even when operating at full power. Find the battery difference to confirm. The charge controller in the 500+ seems to be doing the right thing, shutting off the charging current when it senses the battery has reached its proper state of charge, which is a good thing. Protected batteries come into play when you want to use more than one battery and have a questionable charger for additional batteries. In my opinion this is a good security measure on top of an already good charging system in the meter. I have personally observed a "thermal runaway" in a lithium ion cell and this is the most exciting and dangerous reaction when it occurs.