Testing an old Geiger tube?
You have to apply a high voltage, like +500 V DC via 3 or more series resistors to the central anode, and connect the cathode via a 100 k\$\Omega\$ resistor to ground. The HV supply has only to source less than a mA. If an ionizing particle passes through the GM-tube, it will cause a brief discharge current, which in turn will give a brief pulse over the resistor.  



You'll need a radioactive source to test it. The higher the radioactivity the more pulses per minute you'll get (and the more unhealthy it is!). The pulses are short, IIRC in the order of microseconds, depending on the kind of particle. You'll need a storage scope to see them, or trigger a monostable multivibrator (MMV) with them, so that they're stretched in time.