Spectrum

Spectrum Channels

Device firmware version 4 and above supports 1024-channel spectra, while earlier firmware versions supported 256-channel spectra.

The number of spectrum channels is determined by the digit capacity of the ADC used, which digitizes the signal from the device's scintillation detector. A higher bit rate, such as 10 bits instead of 8 bits, allows for 1024 spectrum channels. This results in a clearer separation of spectrum peaks in the low-energy region of radiation. The transition to 10-bit spectra became possible through the application of special algorithms and signal processing techniques at the ADC output. These algorithms minimized the impact of the ADC's nonlinearity on the spectrum's shape.

The Radiacode application works with 10-bit spectra. When loading from the spectra library and importing old 8-bit spectra (256 channels) from files, they are converted to 10-bit spectra (1024 channels). It should be noted that:

  • When converting spectra from 8-bit to 10-bit, the calibration coefficients are recalculated: the value of a0 remains unchanged, a1 is reduced by a factor of 4, and a2 is reduced by a factor of 16.
  • In the spectra and spectrogram library, 8-bit spectra are marked with an orange circle featuring the number 8 in the lower right corner. Calibration coefficients are shown as converted for a 10-bit spectrum.
  • The 1024-channel spectra and spectrograms are consistently stored in the spectra and spectrogram library and exported.
  • The drawing and processing of large spectrograms may be slower due to the increased number of channels.
  • The application will function normally with a device that has a firmware version below 4, which produces 256-channel spectra. However, it is recommended to update the firmware to the latest version.
  • Earlier versions of the application, designed to work with 256-channel spectra, will not function correctly with devices running firmware version 4 or higher.

Updated: Jan 9, 2026