Herbach and Rademan Company
The Herbach and Rademan Company was located at 522 Market Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1934. The company offered a complete line of Geiger-Mueller tubes for alpha, beta, gamma and x-ray radiation. It was later moved to 517 Ludlow Street in 1946. It was founded by Louis Herbach and Norman Rademan to produced primarily Geiger counters based on the GM tubes developed by Dr. Gordon L. Locher (GL series) of the Bartol Research Foundation. It’s motto was “Radio – In All Its Branches”. In 1954, they were located at 1204 Arch in Philadelphia.
Herbach and Rademan Logo 1941
Herbach and Rademan Logo 1946
Herbach Signature 1936
Rademan Signature 1941
The first unit was offered in 1936. It was developed in cooperation with Dr. Robert Taft, nationally renown as the Radium Hound for locating lost radium used in the medical profession. It was an apparatus mounted in a rugged cabinet covered with fabricoid which enclosed a 90 volt supply for the multiplier, a 45 volt battery and a 3 volt battery. The unit was 17.5” x 6.5” x 11” and weighed 19 lbs. It sold for $60.
Herbach and Rademan GM Counter 1936
The Model GL-203 was a hand amplifier unit all-in-one with a GM tube in a cylindrical housing. It came with a five foot cable. It has an on-off switch and headphone jack on the back end of the unit. It was available in 1941 and sold for $45.00.
Herbach and Rademan Model GL-203 1941
In the 1941, they sold the Model GLP-213 as a portable field set. The GLP-213 is a portable, battery-operated set for locating lost radium, for detecting radiological specimens, and for determining x-ray leakage. It consisted of a portable unit with carrying handle, a hand counter and earphones. The GM probe is connected by a 5’ cable. The unit used a GLC-10 GM counter tube. The tubes are based on the development of Dr. Gordon L. Locher (GLC). The tube was a nonex glass envelope coated with non-hygroscopic wax and filled with a mixture of 94% argon and 6% oxygen. The cylinder was seamless copper. It was 3.1 cm long by 1.0 cm inside diameter. The probe sold for $9.75. The tube voltage was from 700-900 volts. The probe is sensitive to gamma, cosmic and x-rays. It can detect specimens as low as 0.00002 mg radium and could detect 1 mg of radium at 20 feet. The field set sold for $99.50.
Herbach and Rademan Model GLP-213 1941
Herbach and Rademan Model GLP-213 Ad 1941
Herbach and Rademan Model GL-200 Series 1944
In 1944, they produced the Model GLR-200 Radiation Measurement Set. It was a small compact, portable instrument for radiation measurements. It was sensitive to alpha, beta and ultraviolet light. The meter on the front of the unit is calibrated in R per day with a range from 0.001 to 0.2 R units. It could be used with headphones. The unit was also operated on AC and came with a 50-foot cable coiled on one end. The GM tube is located in the end of the cylindrical arm extending 10 inches out one side of the unit. The sloping from panel enabled the user to read the meter while carrying the unit with its topside handle. For users without access to a radium source for calibration, an alternative approach was used. The end of the tube has a small hole for UV light. The operated can strike a match and at a distance of 10 inches, the meter deflection should be half scale or 0.03 R units. The unit sold for $150.
Herbach and Rademan Model GLR-200 1944
The Model GLR-200A was introduced in 1946 as a Geiger-Mueller Radiation Measurement Set. It was designed for measuring leakage on x-ray equipment and for contamination due to radium. The front panel is denoted in “R” units per eight-hour day. The range is from 0.001 to 0.2 R units. The unit is AC operated and is lightweight and compact. The probe is extended from the side of the unit to survey confined spaces. It sold for $150.
Herbach and Rademan Model GLR-200A 1946
Herbach and Rademan Model GLR-200A Ad 1946
The Model 44 was a GM survey meter introduced in the 1940's. It was an AC operated unit with sensitivity from 0-0.1 R/8 hr.
Herbach and Rademan Model 44 1940's
In the 1947, a Geiger counter field unit that can be carried with a shoulder strap was offered. It contained a large case and an 18” probe on a 3’ cable.
Herbach and Rademan Field Unit 1947
Herbach and Rademan Geiger Counter 1947
The Model GL-532C was offered in 1950 as a high speed, Geiger-Mueller laboratory set. It was a large box type unit measuring 15" x 19-1/2" x 21-1/2" and weighed 100 lbs. It could be used with a variety of GM probes connected via a cable. The unit sold for $249.50.
Herbach and Rademan Model GL-532C 1950