Interfacing With A Cheap Geiger Counter

Malware Analysis
1

I got a cheap Geiger counter from Aliexpress:

This picture was taken on an airplane: you have more radiation (cosmic rays) at high altitude.

I figured out how to interface with this counter in Python to log real time data:

#!/usr/bin/env python

from future import print_function


description = “Program for geiger meter”

author = ‘Didier Stevens’

version = ‘0.0.1’

date = ‘2024/05/11’


“”"


Source code put in the public domain by Didier Stevens, no Copyright

https://DidierStevens.com

Use at your own risk


History:

2024/05/11: start


Todo:

“”"


import optparse

import serial

import time


def FormatTime(epoch=None):

if epoch == None:

epoch = time.time()

return ‘%04d%02d%02d-%02d%02d%02d’ % time.localtime(epoch)[0:6]


def FindCOMPorts():

ports = 

for number in range(1, 10):

try:

comport = ‘COM%d’ % number

with serial.Serial(comport) as oSerial:

ports.append(comport)

except serial.serialutil.SerialException as e:

if ‘PermissionError’ in e.args[0]:

ports.append(comport)

return ports


def LogToCSV(comport):

ser = serial.Serial(comport, 115200, timeout=0, write_timeout=0)

ser.write(b’\xAA\x05\x0E\x01\xBE\x55\x00’)

alldata = b’’

fOut = open(‘geiger.csv’, ‘a’)

while True:

data = ser.read(1000)

if data != b’‘:

alldata += data

lines = alldata.split(b’\xaaU\x0e’)

alldata = lines[-1]

lines = lines[:-1]

for line in lines:

if line != b’‘:

out = FormatTime() + ‘;’ + line.decode(‘latin’)

print(out)

fOut.write(out + ‘\n’)

if alldata.endswith(b’U’) and not alldata.endswith(b’\xaaU’):

out = FormatTime() + ‘;’ + alldata.decode(‘latin’)

print(out)

fOut.write(out + ‘\n’)

alldata = b’’

time.sleep(0.40)


def Main():

oParser = optparse.OptionParser(usage=‘usage: %prog [options]\n’ + description , version=‘%prog ’ + version)

oParser.add_option(’-l’, ‘–listports’, action=‘store_true’, default=False, help=‘List ports’)

(options, args) = oParser.parse_args()


comports = FindCOMPorts()
if options.listports:
    print('Available ports:')
    for comport in comports:
        print(' %s' % comport)
    return

if len(args) == 1:
    LogToCSV(args[0])
elif len(comports) == 1:
    print('Using %s' % comports[0])
    LogToCSV(comports[0])
else:
    print('Provide the COM port as argument')
    print('Available ports:')
    for comport in comports:
        print(' %s' % comport)



if name == ‘main’:

Main()

Article Link: Interfacing With A Cheap Geiger Counter | Didier Stevens