Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site brl-tgr.ARPA
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!whuxl!whuxlm!akgua!gatech!ut-sally!seismo!brl-tgr!wmartin
From: wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin )
Newsgroups: net.analog,net.misc
Subject: "Nuclear Event Detector"
Message-ID: <799@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 17-Dec-85 17:51:12 EST
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.799
Posted: Tue Dec 17 17:51:12 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 20-Dec-85 06:19:07 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: USAMC ALMSA, St. Louis, MO
Lines: 49
Xref: watmath net.analog:569 net.misc:9011

I have gotten two ads in the mail so far for a product I find very
strange. At first, I wondered if this was some kind of elaborate joke
or hoax, but the product brochures are professionally done, utterly
serious in tone, and seem to be completely legitimate. Yet, either I
just have no concept of the engineering behind the product, or the thing
really is completely incomprehensible.

It is nothing much to look at -- a circuit in a multi-pin (round pin)
package, and it is called the HSN-3000 High Speed Hybrid Nuclear Event
Detector. The first brochure I got was titled "Certified Circumvention
for Power Shutdown", and the second, largely similar, is titled,
"Certified Circumvention for Processor Shutdown/Restart". The company
making this is IRT Corporation, Electronic Systems Division, 3030 Callan
Road, San Diego, CA 92121 (619) 450-4343, x 527. Their slogan is "The
Experts in Nuclear Survivability".

In short, this thing is supposed to "protect" your computer or other
electronic doohickey in the event of a nuclear weapon detonation. I
quote: "Mounted on your cicuit board, this 14-pin dual in-line package
reliably detects the gamma pulse from a nuclear detonation and rapidly
initiates those circumvention functions necessary to protect your
electronics from damage and/or upset." [How nice. Your electronics won't
be "upset". I wonder about their operators...]

More quote: "Sensing the radiation pulse from a nuclear event, the
HSN-3000 rapidly switches the nuclear event detection (NED) signal from
its normally high state to low, allowing initiation of circumvention
functions. The threshold adjust function allows for regulation of the
trip threshold. The pulsewidth of NED is programmable from 100
microseconds to 10 milliseconds by adjustment of an external capacitor."

Hmmm. It seems you can trim it so as to ignore small and/or distant
nuclear explosions ["Gee, looka da purty fireworks on the horizon!"]
and only trigger on "annoying" or nearby bursts...

There are several more paragraphs of such technicalese, but no real
examples of use or citations of "satisfied customers".

Ahem. Aside from those cases in which your electronics are a puddle of
slag by the time this device lets them know they have something to worry
about, won't the EMP effects have completely destroyed the circuits this
is "protecting" anyway? Or is this a valid product, maybe usable in
military electronics or "hardened" sites? It just seems totally
off-the-wall to me. Anybody know anything about these sorts of things
and have comments or explanations to offer?

Will Martin

UUCP/USENET: seismo!brl-bmd!wmartin   or   ARPA/MILNET: wmartin@almsa-1.ARPA