FARADAY CAGES DO YOU HAVE ONE?

[Gazrok]

There's actually a pretty decent little prepper book on this, that I got a while back.
Ah, here it is.

https://www.amazon.com/Darkest-Days-Survive-Attack-Grid/dp/B014B254N0

While it focuses on EMP (including some great info like what is mentioned above about E1, E2, and E3), it has some great, general prepper info too.

I know I did NOT pay $50 for it...lol. I think I got it for like $10 or less (or I would have gotten an e-version). Holy crap, can't believe Amazon wants that much for it. (maybe I need to scan, then sell mine?) LOL.

Note, it's a basic level book, mostly good for ideas, not details on other general preps. It does have details about EMP prep though.

 

[Gazrok]

Can always get two of these bags (one inside the other), and use them for each item. It will give you 80 db of shielding.

https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/i...MIxOu1ucXs2QIVS16GCh11SwPwEAQYASABEgIvLPD_BwE

 

[Debbie Maddox]

Has any one fixed up a farady room in their house like a panic room but for safety for electronics such as a garage or garden shed?

 

[Gazrok]

I'd imagine the cost of such would be a bit daunting. (and unnecessary).

Other than the items I mentioned putting in the cans, I really can't think of many others I'd need in a post EMP event world. Not like there'd be a functioning grid to plug into anyhow.

And those are more "wants" than "needs". I lived without power for 5 days after Irma.

While there would definitely be parts about it that suck (like no AC, and hand pulling the water from the well), we'd get by in the few months it would take to get the world back to wired up. (and yeah, I know the lead time on some of the parts is like 18 months, but you can bet your ### they'd be on this like white on rice to get it done sooner.)

 

[Gazrok]

If this stemmed from a concern about a NK EMP weapon, I wouldn't worry too much. Our BMDS (Ballistic Missile Defense System) is more than capable of knocking a few NK birds out of the sky. While it won't protect us fully or even well, from a full on Russia or China nuke scenario....NK simply doesn't have enough missiles to carry this out successfully.

The biggest enemy NK has, is time (and with it, money). Maintaining nukes is expensive, and an ongoing process. Even Russia and China struggle with this. The business of NK has long been extorting the west for money, fuel and food. In the past, this has worked. They promise not to pursue nukes, and get this in return. Problem is, they've been caught in the lie too much, so now, they get zip, because I doubt Trump is going to pay the man.

So, eventually, he's not going to have the dough to maintain his existing missiles, build new ones, or even pay and feed the army (and this crap gets real...because now he's open for a coup).

Why do you think they "invited" Trump to a meeting? Because Un has run out of options. He needs to get money and food, but also do it while saving face internationally. Personally, I hope we simply meet and say "so sorry, can't help ya", and just let things happen. (i.e. a China friendly General gets his unpaid, unfed boys together, and they take over).

 

[Maverick]

Actually, radio waves aren't what would cause damage to smaller electronic devices stored in a Faraday cage. It would be the higher frequency gamma radiation that would damage electronic devices.

I think you are misunderstanding, frequency is radio wave in form of energy, and no, not gamma is just one part of the frequency not the whole spectrum, gamma is the short end of the radio wavelength

 

[Maverick]

I think you are misunderstanding, frequency is radio wave in form of energy, and no, not gamma is just one part of the frequency not the whole spectrum, gamma is the short end of the radio wavelength

Skeeter, EMP/CME covers the whole spectrum not just gamma, the whole spectrum is called a wavelength spectrum is divided in two with one being radio spectrum and optical spectrum both of which are frequency wavelength, both are part of the EMP/CME, if you only protect against the short wave that gamma you open oneself to long wave damage.

Hope that explains it. maybe!?!?!

 

[TexasFreedom]

Can always get two of these bags (one inside the other), and use them for each item. It will give you 80 db of shielding.

https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/i...MIxOu1ucXs2QIVS16GCh11SwPwEAQYASABEgIvLPD_BwE

This is an example of how 'odd' EMC is. First, if (and a big if) you believe the 40 dB for one bag, when you double them up you only add 3 dB. So 1 bag is 40 dB, double bagged is 43 dB, triple bagged is 46dB, and so on. And note that it's rated 1-10 GHz, only a fraction of the spectrum.

It's a glorified ESD bag. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Gazrok]

If that's so (which seems odd to me), it is what it is...

I still think the best EMP defense is to simply plan as if you just won't have ANY electricity at all, and if you do, then great.

So, since so much of it is an "if" and highly untested, all one can do is do what they can within budget, and hope for the best.

 

[Maverick]

Wouldn’t bother me if lose all the electronics. All my deeds and titles I have on paper. We have nothing in digital form that isn’t on paper, if my poor mans faraday trash can works good if not no loss!

We have nothing here right now that requires electricity to sustain life, electricity/electronics is just a convenience at the moment.

Bottom line, do I want to lose it, no, do I need it, no

 

[TexasFreedom]

Gazrok,

Most things within electromagnetics is 'odd'. decibels are logarithmic, it eliminates lots of 0's. We used to struggle to get a few dB reduction. As I said, 40 dB is really hard to believe (but then, how many people have the test equipment to check this!).

One more note, note the bags are only rated starting at 1 GHz. Last I did this work, Europe didn't even have any requirements above 1 GHz. Most of your energy is sub-GHz in the normal world. The lower the frequency, the greater the skin depth penetration... as I said it's a very odd world.

 

[bigpaul]

an EMP will fry most of the infrastructure so saving a few personal bits in a faraday cage isn't going to accomplish much if your car electronics are fried, the power grid is shot and pumps in the filling station are kaput.
better to learn to live a more basic lifestyle and adapt to the new normal.

 

[TexasFreedom]

One thing I've said before is that if there is an EMP, running vehicles will be of minimal value. Yes, I've got a few EMP-proof vehicles. But reality is that roads will not be driveable, scum will have blockages to kill anyone driving, and there just won't be many places to go IF you could drive.

 

[Gazrok]

All good points. (on the vehicles).

Still though, one item in my prep plan includes a large home gas tank, and gravity fed hoses and nozzles (one for regular, one for diesel).

If nothing else, it may be useful if there's another gas hike in my lifetime, which is likely a certainty.

Of course, if the SHTF, we always have the horses.....

 

[Silent Earth]

Faraday cage don't make me larf, I built one as prescribed out of chicken wire, set it up in the back garden, baited it with peanut butter but I still have not bagged one single faraday.

 

[Kevin L]

If you do how did you make yours? With the threats of emps by solar storms or other being so prominent, when do you use yours ? All day every day? Certain times a day?or only one part of the day? When would they come about? day, night? Why? And what do you feel are the important things to have in a Faraday cage? Phones?, tablets, laptops, batteries?,radios? Would that include one of those wind up solar radios?those of you with ham equipment are you using a cage for that? Are satelite phones important to have? Suggestions of type?

Supposedly, a Faraday cage can be made with an old microwave oven (unplugged).

Also, a metal garbage pail with rubber insulation inside should work as a Faraday cage.

The way to understand EMP is to think of the situation where an idiot puts aluminum foil in a microwave oven and turns it on. The sparks in the aluminum foil are cause by radio waves getting converted into electricity.

If you have an electronic device, the theory is that intense radio waves with interract with the metal components and cause a high voltage electrical current to flow through computer chips and burn them out.

Such microwave and radio wave transmissions can be caused by a high-altitude nuclear weapon. Project Starfish was a high-altitude nuke that was detonated by us over the Pacific ocean in the 1960s. Hawai'i got their streetlights (and many other electronic devices) fried.
This nuke also damaged several satellites when their electronics got fried.

This EMP can occur naturally from events on the Sun.

In the 1800s, the Carrington Event was such an occurance. There were no computer chips to fry back then, but telegraph operators were able to send messages without electricity, and others received electrical shocks (some were life-threatening) just from touching their equipment.

The Carrington Event caused northern lights that were visible as far south as Jamaica (maybe not a bad thing because the ganja probably helped them appreciate it more).

Computer components are fundamental to our food, power grid, medical devices (like pacemakers), cars, airplanes, and so on.

An EMP can, therefore, be a disastrous thing.

I've personally decided not to worry about it because I've stocked devices and supplies that don't rely on computer chips...but this may not be realistic.

 

[Robinjopo1]

Mine is a galvanized garbage can too. I made my daughter one out of a box a aluminum foil to keep her HAM radio in.

 

[DrHenley]

Maybe someone with some expertise can chime in on this...but doesn't a Faraday cage need to be made of some kind of highly conductive metal? I wouldn't think galvanized steel is all that conductive. I'm thinking more along the lines of copper wire mesh.

 

[Kevin L]

Maybe someone with some expertise can chime in on this...but doesn't a Faraday cage need to be made of some kind of highly conductive metal? I wouldn't think galvanized steel is all that conductive. I'm thinking more along the lines of copper wire mesh.

Copper mesh would work well, but galvanized steel is fine. The container needs to be grounded, and the contents insulated.

Even deep water protects from EMP. A sealed container of electronics dumped into a lake would likely survive an EMP.

 

[bigpaul]

whats the point if said electronics at some point have to be attached to a power point or recharged using the main power grid if the EMP has fried the mains power? surely it'll all be so much scrap metal.