Victoreen produced their Model 496 in the 1980s and many were purchased by the United States Department of Energy. The 496 used a modified version of the same casing as the CD V-700 Model 6Bs that Victoreen had produced in the 1960s. If the decal on top of a Model 496 is removed, the markings of the older civil defense meter can be found cast into the top cover. However, the 496 features a number of improvements over any of the older civil defense versions, including modernized electronics, a BNC connector or MHV connector for external probes, a built-in speaker with on-off knob, a built-in battery test circuit, and a meter face graduated in Counts Per Minute for use with various probes. Other 490-series Victoreen models of the same era shared similar physical characteristics but varied considerably in their features.