Making a Faraday cage on the cheap....

reply to post by maryhinge


well, that is a common misconception. The RF components of an EMP can extend far into the microwave region, again, depending on what kind of EMP weapon is used. The windows in your car will let in any RF component that has a wavelength less than a 1/4 wavelength of the diagonal size of the largest window.

reply to post by Hellhound604

Just remember that any wire connected to your generator will act as an antenna, not only blowing up the equipment connected to the generator, but the generator as well. Just make sure everything is disconnected when you anticipate and EMP event.

Well, my idea is that we won't be able to anticipate the event. It would only be connected if in use. Otherwise, the general state of any protected item should be fully protected at the time.

I am not sure how you will protect yourself in the event of an EMP event, though.... guess a suit made from tinfoil will work, but that would only shield you from the HIRF, and still won't shield you from the gamma or x-rays that can be generated by a nuclear EMP event in high latitudes.

At first, I wasn't too worried about EMP or nuclear preps, as I thought we'd simply be done for if it happened. Turns out, I'm a bit safer than I thought, after running through some blast sims with not so nearby targets, etc.
One thought, is I do have a metal and cinder block shed, that I wonder if I could convert to being like a walk-in emergency faraday cage (assuming we knew it was eminent).... I mean, I'd have to put down some metal flooring, some of that metal lining he used for the cabinet on the walls, and seal it up pretty good, but I think it's a workable idea. It's a well made shed, not just some cheap thing.

ok...so you have your own faraday cage...great!...except all the other infrastructure is going to be down, except for the military. do you really think with all the states, cities, and towns being engulfed in the economic downturn, that they have spent money for protection. and remember, an EMP attack will happen with no warning, so anyone using any type of electronic device at that moment will be screwed, along with the businesses and corporations providing the services.

Man, I really love this Improvised Prepping stuff! Thank you again for sharing. Think you'll be seeing my family's legs sticking out of upside-down metal trashcans with a metal cabinet in tow then.

Just wanted to add, I called my local fire department and asked them where the nearest "fallout shelter" was and they didn't even know what I was talking about so I guess the answer is "there is none". When I was a child they had one in the basement of the local concrete-built public library. They must have put the money into the underground city under DIA for the "elite only" instead, the horror. Peace, Xenongod

LOL! Now THIS is Cheap...
if you just want to stop radio and EMP.
then get big & small cardboard boxes.
rolls of cheap sellotape and tin foil.
and that ALL you need.

put small things in small boxes with foil all over.
at the top have a bit of card with foil on.
to stop the gaps.

put lots of small boxes in a Big box.
the more sensitive the electronics. PC's.
the more boxes in side each other.

try it with a radio and mobile phone.
stops it even with gaps.

I use a foil envelop for my passport and bank card.
put sellotape on Both sides of tin foil and make a envelop.
or spend LOTs of money to buy one!

P.S. dont let the foil from a box in side a box touch each other.
use paper or cling film!

reply to post by xenongod


If you really want to find what was designed to work as a local shelter...

www.ehow.com...

reply to post by buddha


All well and good, but the nice thing about this cabinet idea, is that you can store it to where they are always protected, and yet also handy to use or access on an everyday basis...

Not to mention, you aren't screaming EMP protection...to most others, just looks like a cabinet for your stuff in the garage. That's what I like about it.

I got an old HD commercial cabinet like that that I bought at an auction of a government program here locally..15 bucks. I have truck bed liner spray, that would possibly insulate the inside better and be cheaper in the longrun. I gotta do that in the next couple of months. I'm putting important stuff in that cabinet, my chainsaws and small generator along with some electronic spare parts for my tractor and cars that I have collected. Maybe an old battery radio would be a good choice also. One of my car battery chargers in there would be smart too. I have spare alternators and regulators.

This will hide the junk that is laying around in the garage and make the garage neater

reply to post by Hellhound604

explanation excepted i didnt think it through

starred for the slap in the face(wakeup call)
i was just thinking about lightning with faraday cage my bad

Originally posted by Bluesma
Darn it! I can't watch Youtube videos anymore, but I really would have liked to learn how I can do this!

Mind telling us why? Perhaps we can help.

Originally posted by Taissa

Originally posted by armed2teeth
Im not sure how well this would work but I definitely like the idea behind it. Personally I think an EMP SHTF scenario is extremely likely especially now with all this buzz with the koreans. This article is a pretty good summary of the "Red Dawn" scenario, and no kids I'm not talking about the 2012 release but the one from 1984.

For me its really scary because I can totally see there being a false flag emp strike on us by our own government by detonating a bomb high altitude and blaming the koreans. Personally I think the koreans are too dam poor and hungry right now to pull it off themselves regardless of the hype in the media lately.

I mean if it does happen theres no way that I would want to be int he US thats for sure. As for protection i found a review about emp survival here thats worth checking out. Personally though i think the best way to deal with it is to anticipate and leave the country. Like it or not the US is probably very high on the list to attack.

Of course they would, if all else fails, EMP the citizens and knock out our communications and power, then in roll the tanks and police state. I've been thinking a lot lately about this and starting to prepare by having solar powered items, such as a battery charger and protecting some things.

Corporations used to do that when they started firing employees. They would shut down the internal and external email connections so no-one would hear the screams

So it's always been my goal to have multiple and backup email access solutions

As they say, if the (15 KiloPascal) shockwave is strong enough to knock down walls, digging yourself out of the rubble is going to be the least of your problems.

So people growing stuff indoor could possibly use their heat shielded boxes too. Two birds with one stone.
But is it really a F. cage? A cage has holes and that guy covered every piece of it. Isn't a radio wave too long to penetrate such a tiny hole? Confusing...

reply to post by Gazrok


If you are very careful with the corners and overlap, you can use Peel n Seal aluminum/rubber-backed flashing to line almost any container. In corners or where the material overlaps, the rubberized backing can be gently separated from the aluminum, such that the aluminum forms a contiguous seal.

Our charge controllers, DC disconnect, batteries, and inverter are all inside similarly sealed wooden lockers, and the aluminum is well-grounded. After everything, including doors and faceframes were sealed, I put hardee board over the base and sides of the interior of the lockers, to keep from accidentally poking holes in it during installation of the components.

On the metal locker in your video, as long as the doors make positive and firm contact with the storage -- without any gaps to leak -- they should do a good job. A person might want to store: handheld communication radios, 12-volt water pump/small or flexible PV cell; there are even some smaller 250 watt wind gennys that fit in 18" X 12" X 12" boxes, awaiting assembly and use. power tools -- good idea. Thanks for sharing this!

Originally posted by Taissa
One of my concerns regarding an EMP is my mom. She has a pace maker for her heart. I have not said a word to her about it as it would scare her, but I'm worried an EMP would do something to her device.

It might sound funny , but you should buy extra large aluminum foil and wrap her completely or put her inside a metal box if you know there is a bomb our way.

If I had that cabinet, I'd put all my meat processing equipment in there: electric meat-carving knives, deli saw and not just the meat grinder.

I process all our venison quarters in the garage using my electric meat saw. I have done 2 or 3 deer dressed down into 1 gallon baggies with a hunting knife; but it took forever and was exhausting to boot. I have a hand-crank meat grinder but have never used it---I can only imagine.

I'd add a cheap printer as well as computer backup info and maybe an old/obsolete pc with back-up cds.

I can feature the Iranians or NoKor's an EMP to take out the US--not to invade, but just to send us back to the stone age.

With the USA out of the picture for a decade, Iran could annex Iraq, North Korea could take the South, and China could invade Vietnam again and try to hold it.

Putin might want to tidy up his neighborhood, too.

They really don't need a plan to invade us; just a motive for seeing us become introverted for a decade or two.

Any long slot will admit RF as if you had a hole that size. It's a big issue with sealing systems for RF susceptibility.

So that big opening around the door, or at the hinges, or where your metal foil meets, is a big hole that lets in RF.

It's actually pretty tough to get a good seal, too. You can do it, but it takes experience and the right materials.

btw, a very simple test to test the efficiency of your Faraday cage is to put your cellphone inside, and see if you get a signal (or try to phone it). if you do, sorry, not good enough. Next, put your FM radio on a very strong station, and put it inside your Faraday cage. If it still receives the signal, not good enough. Then put your radio on a very strong SW station, and repeat the procedure, and then on a strong AM station. To test the cage at 2.4HGz, put your laptop inside and see if you can still pick up your Wi-Fi access point. If you have a level meter on your radio, you should be able to get an indication of the isolation of your Faraday cage at that frequency. If you have a smartphone, or know the bluetooth commands for your cellphone, you should be able to interrogate its field strength meter too, the same for your wifi module.

If your cage passes these tests with flying colors, congratulations, you have a Faraday cage that works from MW to microwaves (2.4HGz). It just might protect your stuff from the RF part of the EMP. If it doesn't, well, back to the design board.

Originally posted by Bedlam
Any long slot will admit RF as if you had a hole that size. It's a big issue with sealing systems for RF susceptibility.

So that big opening around the door, or at the hinges, or where your metal foil meets, is a big hole that lets in RF.

It's actually pretty tough to get a good seal, too. You can do it, but it takes experience and the right materials.

the best material to use for your door seals are berillium-copper fingers, but it is not very cheap. You might be able to find it at some place that recycles old electronics cheaply.

reply to post by tovenar

They really don't need a plan to invade us; just a motive for seeing us become introverted for a decade or two.

But they have to know we'd counter back with the same...

So, instead of MAD, it's MAP (Mutually Assured Primitiveness)?