Surviving An EMP Attack: The Only Way To Prepare For It!

Did you know that a single nuclear bomb detonated in space can destroy most electronics in the continental United States? Did you know that you can build a simple box called a Faraday Cage to protect you electronics? Join us as we explain an Electromagnetic Pulse, how it affects your electronics, and what you can do to protect them.

I wonder if the house insurance will cover all the electronics in the house? I highly doubt it, being it is considered an act of war or terrorism. I suppose the companies making these products and the salesmen selling them will be all smiles. Banks will love it when we have to borrow money to buy these. I am sure fixing the credit card machines will be the first priorities of the countries politicians.

3ft of earth is sufficient as well.

You can bury say an old phone filled with survival pdfs with a solar or hand cranked charger, put in anti-static bag, tupperware and bury.

Very simple and very cool.

reply to post by LibertysTeeth


Neat video. I love Faraday cages...

But if an EMP detonates and destroys the power grid, how are we going to power and/or charge all of our gizmo's?

Riffrafter
reply to post by LibertysTeeth

 

Neat video. I love Faraday cages...

But if an EMP detonates and destroys the power grid, how are we going to power and/or charge all of our gizmo's?

Take an alternator from a car, bury it, there you go, you can make a generator or windmill accordingly.

Not sure what you would want to secure as any infrastructure would be fried also so anything that requires AC would be pretty much useless after the genny runs out of gas.
Personal short range comm devices, shortwave radio, CB's etc. Kinda pointless though as any nukes going off over your house would pretty much indicate Armageddon has started.

Kukri
Not sure what you would want to secure as any infrastructure would be fried also so anything that requires AC would be pretty much useless after the genny runs out of gas.
Personal short range comm devices, shortwave radio, CB's etc. Kinda pointless though as any nukes going off over your house would pretty much indicate Armageddon has started.

You could detonate in orbit, harm no one, and kill infrastructure.

We found that out with the first atmospheric test we did, took out much of Hawaiis electronics 100's of miles away from the test.

ETA: high altitude nuclear testing

reply to post by benrl


Or you could buy some books. At least you could use those to start a fire if you get desperate.

reply to post by benrl


I think that would be considered an act of war with the requisite reprisals in order. 'You launch one we launch two' and then the domino effect takes over.

reply to post by Kukri


let the fun begin!

As far as I know, all you need is a metal enclosure that is connected to earth. My back yard shed has no windows, is metal and is earthed. Anything in it will survive. You could have a 10KW solar array, batteries etc packed inside with your radios and a great stereo plus computers and what not.

After an EMP you could be the only gig in town! Good investment.

P

Kukri
reply to post by benrl

 

Or you could buy some books. At least you could use those to start a fire if you get desperate.

Sure as a back up.

But I could hold the entire libraries worth of info on a flashdrive though,

few good survival books are always a good idea though.

pheonix358
As far as I know, all you need is a metal enclosure that is connected to earth. My back yard shed has no windows, is metal and is earthed. Anything in it will survive. You could have a 10KW solar array, batteries etc packed inside with your radios and a great stereo plus computers and what not.

After an EMP you could be the only gig in town! Good investment.

P

Actually I like this idea! Would need to have a still or some brewing gear/ingredients stashed also otherwise the festivities would be rather tame.

Who is going to keep all their electronic gear inside a box whenever they're not using it?
Most of us are too lazy to put our laptops in a bag.
Unless you have backup gear to keep stored I doubt a box would be of much use.
You wouldn't know the EMP was coming until after it hit.
Anything not in the box when that happens is useless.

Good information and well-presented LT.
I like your style and simplicity plus your "let's try it out" attitude.
That's how we figure out how to not to do things incorrectly.
A good contribution to survival knowledge.

reply to post by pheonix358


If I'm not mistaken, the objects inside would have to insulated from or not touching the metal, as it grounds to the earth. I'm sure a large rubber mat would work just fine. It would have to sealed up well, too. No significant cracks in metal walls/doors/ceilings. Other then some small things here and there, that would make a great faraday storage shed with lots of room.

as a boater i can tell you the electronics are the first thing to fail on a good day

on a bad day it will be 104 nuclear reactors going into melt down up stream/wind because they all need the grid to stay non critical

id say if you aren't already grid free the day before, the chances of pulling it out of ones butt the day after are velly slim

Asktheanimals
Who is going to keep all their electronic gear inside a box whenever they're not using it?
Most of us are too lazy to put our laptops in a bag.
Unless you have backup gear to keep stored I doubt a box would be of much use.
You wouldn't know the EMP was coming until after it hit.
Anything not in the box when that happens is useless.

Good information and well-presented LT.
I like your style and simplicity plus your "let's try it out" attitude.
That's how we figure out how to not to do things incorrectly.
A good contribution to survival knowledge.

OK, time to buy a new laptop. Great, put the old one in the shed. Buy a good old fashioned hi-fi at a garage sale. Box it up. Keep all your survival stuff in the same shed. It is a matter of storage for a rainy day. So, yes, you need backup gear. But you can collect it over time! This is the survival forum. If you are not into it then great!

P

reply to post by LibertysTeeth


if you do a little digging, I am pretty sure that you will find that most modern electronics will survive an EMP as long as it is not plugged into the power grid, and is not connected to an antenna or other long piece of wire.

Many years ago, electronic chips were very static sensitive. The static spark you see when you touch something in the winter time can be up to 20,000 volts. Just brushing an 1102 ROM would blow it out. Nowadays, almost all chips have zener diodes built in on all pins to protect the circuits inside. The same diodes will snub an EMP pulse.
How I understand it, if you have a radio, generator, lights, or solar panel, even the electronics in a car, should all survive an EMP as long as they are not "plugged in." If you are really concerned, you might look into a wood burning stove and a steam driven generator that you can fire with wood.

On the other hand, I am more concerned about being able to feed my family if the power grid went down and there is no fuel supply for the trucks that move food to the grocery stores...

You can buy simple electronic parts bags, "like the bag that a hard drive comes in". And use those to put electronics in. They claim they will prevent an emp from ruining the electronic. I'm not 100% sure though but it's possible.