GQ Electronics RadonPro

The RadonPro holds two separate detectors in one housing. For radon, GQ's user guide says a high-sensitivity GQ Radon Gas Sensor does the work: as radon gas passes through the sensor, it triggers an electrical signal that the device's processor registers. That is the whole description. GQ does not say what kind of radon detector it is, or whether air reaches it by passive diffusion or with a pump, so the sensor type and the sampling method are not stated by the maker. The guide lists Rn222 as the radon it registers and a range of 0.00 to 100 pCi/L (0.00 to 3700 Bq/m3).

The second detector is a Geiger counter, which GQ calls a nuclear radiation detector; it logs radiation in a cumulative dosimeter mode. GQ's table for it lists dose rates of 0.00 to 2000 µSv/h (0.00 to 200 mR/h), registered beta energies of 0.25 to 3.5 MeV, gamma energies of 0.1 to 1.25 MeV and X-ray energies of 0.03 to 3.0 MeV, a gamma sensitivity of 22 cps/mR/hr for cobalt-60, and its own reproducibility of indication of 20%. The main screen shows the radon reading on top and the radiation count in CPM underneath, and one key switches the radiation unit between CPM, µSv and mR.

That second number is not a radon measurement. A Geiger counter counts pulses of radiation and reports a count rate in counts per minute, while radon is measured as a concentration in air, in pCi/L; EPA names radon test kits, not Geiger counters, as the tools that measure radon levels in a home. GQ's own Geiger counter specification gives energy ranges for beta, gamma and X-ray radiation only. GQ says the Geiger counter can also help confirm the presence of radon gas, which is GQ's claim; the RadonPro's radon numbers come from its radon sensor. Our explainer, [can a Geiger counter measure radon?](/can-a-geiger-counter-measure-radon/), sets out the difference.

GQ says radon and radiation data are collected continuously, with the measured data passed to the processor every second, and logged into internal memory, so the stored data survive when the unit is turned off; for the RadonPro that includes the cumulative dose. The guide gives the background radon level within about 5 minutes of power-on and a correct CPM reading within one minute, and recommends averaging readings over a longer period for the most accurate results. The radon screen carries 1 Hour, 1 Day, 1 Week and Long-Term averages, with a date, time and elapsed-time display that GQ lists for the RadonPRO only.

For radon accuracy, GQ's specification table gives no figure. The only line near it reads "Reproducibility of indication" with the value 30%, with no radon level or test period attached. GQ does not explain the line, gives no accuracy against a reference radon level and publishes no sensitivity in counts per hour, so we do not turn the 30% into an accuracy claim.

For alerts, GQ lists front and rear LEDs and a buzzer. The LED shows green for normal readings, yellow for medium and red for high. The radon alarm level can be set from 0 to 99 pCi/L, and the radiation alarm by CPM, µSv/h or mR/h; the Alarm Mode menu sets the alarm to radon, radiation or both. A Geiger Click setting turns the counter's click sound on or off. Pressing any key while the alarm sounds silences the beep until the reading drops below the threshold or the unit is powered off.

The RadonPro has Wi-Fi. GQ's guide says it can submit data online to GQ's GMCmap server once you create an account and a detector there and enter the user ID and counter ID on the unit, and the GMCmap phone app, for iOS and Android, shows radon and radiation readings remotely. GQ says GMCmap gives every registered device free history data storage. Its Type-C USB port carries power and data, and GQ calls the RadonPRO an open application protocol product built on its GQ-RFC2401 protocol. GQ's downloads page offers a Windows RadonPro simulator, which the guide calls a one-to-one copy of the device's interface.