EMP storage protection

Has anyone invested in storage cans or boxes in which to protect sensitive electronics from electomagnetic pulse?

If so, can you provide any links or names of where to find these things?

Thanks.

Originally posted by TypeSH2001
Has anyone invested in storage cans or boxes in which to protect sensitive electronics from electomagnetic pulse?

If so, can you provide any links or names of where to find these things?

Thanks.

Any metal container will do as long as the item inside is insulated from the container. So a metal ammo can, for example, with the electronics inside of it and the two being separated by some insulator (cardboard, styrofoam, carpet, wood, etcetera) would work just fine.

Other then tin foil hats, I don't know anything

what good is it to insulate your electronics when the whole grid will go down in a emp attack. how are you going to get power once you saved all your elctronics?

faraday cages are everywhere.

metal cans,microwaves etc

radios,electronics,flexible solar panels,computers you name it can be saved.

some telcom are sheilded but there are going to be alot of people who put their stuff in cans

and thats who your gonna be talking to until things come back if they do.,

As Neo mentioned a faraday cage.

A simple one is an old microwave, just take the cord off.

faraday cage

Originally posted by SirMike

Originally posted by TypeSH2001
Has anyone invested in storage cans or boxes in which to protect sensitive electronics from electomagnetic pulse?

If so, can you provide any links or names of where to find these things?

Thanks.

Any metal container will do as long as the item inside is insulated from the container. So a metal ammo can, for example, with the electronics inside of it and the two being separated by some insulator (cardboard, styrofoam, carpet, wood, etcetera) would work just fine.

I appreciate that.
It seems that many people are buying up metal ammo cans basically for that reason. This is primarily to protect batteries, flashlights, shortwave radios, portable CD players, portable video game systems, etc. - those little things in life that come in handy during emergencies and so on.

reply to post by TypeSH2001


Found these: store.techprotectbag.com...

EMP Proof bags, not cheap though!

hmmmm.....Ok, let me see if I get this straight.....and please correct me if I am thinking about this wrong........
Most electronics are boxed in card board, plastic and styrofoam..right?
Those boxes are shipped in big sealed metal containers ...right?
Then they are transported in metal rail cars and big metal semi-trucks....right?
So..If my thinking is correct (and depending on who you ask....)
The electronic devices that are in shipping should still be good.
So God forbid something does happen....we should just look to the next shipment for working electronics.
Or find the shipping trucks....bins....containers.....you get the idea....
.......Or am I way off base?

reply to post by camaro68ss

Consider a laptop and a small solar panel so protected. The laptop has dozens of PDF's filled with information you will not be able to get at any price later. That is what I have done anyway.

reply to post by TypeSH2001


You know what would come in really handy … a spare ECM for your car and spares for family, friends, and barter. You can get them at junkyards CHEAP. I have a spare for my car, my wife’s car, and a half dozen extra.

ok, generally a sealed metal container is enough, PROVIDED the electrical contact between the lid and the container itself is solid. Normally the best way to ensure that the lid and the rest of the container maintains proper electrical contact, is to solder them with normal solder (not cold solder, which is not conductive), or if the lid needs to be removable, you can use some copper braid over the junction, and making sure there is no corrosion on the surfaces. Typically you would want to use silver cases (but then you have corrosion effects), but copper is a good second. The third is Tinned-plated steel.

A single shielded container, depending on the type of metal, and the thickness, and assuming that there is no corrosion between the lid and the rest, can only give you around of 60dB isolation, that is about a million times. To be double sure, you typically need to store it inside 2 containers, with the lids soldered shut. That should give you about 120dB isolation, which should be enough for anything. If you are thinking of working electronics, with leads leading outside, that is a totally different ballgame, because you have to filter each and every line, and a lot more. I could go into pages and pages of that.

Originally posted by Ghostops1
hmmmm.....Ok, let me see if I get this straight.....and please correct me if I am thinking about this wrong........
Most electronics are boxed in card board, plastic and styrofoam..right?
Those boxes are shipped in big sealed metal containers ...right?
Then they are transported in metal rail cars and big metal semi-trucks....right?
So..If my thinking is correct (and depending on who you ask....)
The electronic devices that are in shipping should still be good.
So God forbid something does happen....we should just look to the next shipment for working electronics.
Or find the shipping trucks....bins....containers.....you get the idea....
.......Or am I way off base?

You are almost correct, but if you want to store bare populated PCB's (as spares), then styrofoam would destroy them, because it is non-conductive, so static-build up would destroy the sensitive semiconductors.

As far as the shipping containers is concerned, that is also not a guarantee. They all use nonconductive rubber as a seal to the doors, so an EMP can still come in through that. You need to overlay that rubber with typically a copper mesh, that is bonded very well electrically to both the door and the container if the door is closed. Typically a copper braid doesn't give the best conductivity, so you would rather have a door with specially constructed beryllium-copper fingers all around the edges, in that way you can get more than enough attenuation to protect even the most sensitive electronics from EMP, but that route is extremely expensive.

If you have a lot of electronic stuff you need protected, I would suggest a shipping container, if it is airtight, but surround the rubber seal with copper braid, that is soldered securely to the main container all over, and make sure there is no grease, or paint or corrosion between that and the door when it is closed (use a multimeter for that), and close the door, and measure the conductivity. It should not be more than a couple of milli-ohms. That should give you about 70dB of isolation (10 000 000) times ...... Oh yes, and don't forget, you need to do the same around the door handles.....
in my line of work we needed more than 100 dB of isolation, so of course, it was a lot worse, lol ......