I know we pound this one into the ground.
It's too easy.
MAKE THIS!
It covers all the EMP, Nuclear, and CME Scenarios, not to mention Brownouts and Super Surges.
It's Cheap. It's Easy. When?
Nowish work for everyone?
Sheeple will say: What good is electronics with no Grid? - Dave?
Well, CB's, HAM, Scanner Radio Protection.
Small Electronic devices to make Life more Normal. Movies on a Laptop, Music, Files.
Put all your good stuff on an External Drive, Zipdisk or Mem Cards, whatever.
Mode of use (laptop, CPU, Smart Phone), Battery Charger with Rechargeables.
Not to mention Voltmeters, Charge Controllers, Battery Management Devices, Inverters, Chargers, etc.
And for you "Sporting" types: Red Dots, Laser Optics, Range Finder, Night Vision, etc.
ALL of this can fit inside an insulated Galvanized Garbage Can.
Ounce of Prevention?
Stay Sharp.
-MP
Home » DIY » $15 Faraday Cage and Why You Need One
There
are a handful of emergency preparedness items specific to the disaster
in which you are preparing. A Faraday Cage is one of said items. So
unless you are preparing for an EMP (or an engineer), you may not have
heard of one before. My personal preps include the necessity of a Faraday Cage and I suggest yours do as well. A Faraday Cage is the only
thing protecting you from being blasted back in time 200 years.
What Is A Faraday Cage?
I’m
no engineer and so even if I tried to explain the research I discovered
about electrons and canceled out particles I’m sure I would butcher it
to the point of offense. I can however give you a short description:
Firstly,
a faraday cage is called such because it was invented by Michael
Faraday. The basic premise of a faraday cage is electronically
continuous all the way around. Meaning you have some sort of electronic
conducting material surrounding it – like metal. There can’t be any
large spaces left exposed for electronic waves to penetrate.
Because
you create this barrier, your electronics inside will be left unexposed
to dangerous electronic wavelengths coming from outside the faraday
cage.
Watch an MIT professor explain it in greater detail:
Watch a Faraday Cage In Action – Microwaving Peeps
Why Do I Need One?
I
have heard people express concern over a solar flare that could cause a
dangerous disturbance in our electronic field. This particular disaster
I haven’t done too much research on and couldn’t tell you the
legitimacy behind it. I however have done a significant amount of
research to validate the possibility of an EMP terror attack.
Once
again, I will save you the rambling and give you the Sparknotes – EMP
stands for Electromagnetic Pulse. An EMP is a burst (or pulse) of
electromagnetic radiation so strong that it will fry pretty much any
kind of electronic device (It doesn’t matter if it’s on at the time or
not – Tom Cruise was lying to you about that in War of the Worlds).
One
way an EMP can occur is by detonating a nuclear bomb in the atmosphere.
This is particularly terrifying because now it is understood that a
nuclear bomb doesn’t need to reach the ground in order to do
catastrophic damage. This means any terrorist organization no longer
needs to concern themselves with smuggling in a bomb on the ground. It
just needs to get airborne and you’ve got millions of people without
power.
Now our military has all of their equipment safe from an
attack like this but the average citizen does not. This means within an
instant we’ll be blasted back into the 18
th century. Yikes!
Enter the faraday cage
By
building a faraday cage you can protect your electronics by storing
them inside. You can buy faraday cages but I really would advise against
it. It’s not necessary to spend the amount of money many of those
places will ask for a simple metal cage with some insulation.
Here’s How to Build Your Own with About $15
Supplies
This
is probably my most simple DIY project to date. All you need is an
aluminum garbage can with a nice and snug lid along with a cardboard
box.
Step One: Cut the Cardboard
From
the bottom flaps to about the middle of the box you’re going to want to
cut some slots about 8 inches wide. This just makes it so that the
cardboard can conform easier to the shape of your can.
Step Two: Insulate Can with Box
You’re
going to make a tube with your cardboard and slide it into the can. Go
ahead and press against the edges of the can to make sure it’s right up
against it. That way you have more room inside.
Step Three: Make & Place the Base Insulation
By
tracing the bottom of the can on some extra cardboard, you’re going to
cut out a circle that will fit in the bottom of your insulation. Then
just push it down inside your can. You want this to be a tight fit.
Step Four: Tape the Insulation
Tape
in the creases where the base meets the sides of the insulation. Also
tape along the cuts you made in the cardboard. Whatever you put inside
of this cannot be touching the metal can – only the cardboard
insulation. Taping these weak spots just ensures nothing gets past the
cardboard to touch the metal.
Step Five: Trim the Excess
Just go around the edge of your can with a box cutter to cut off the excess cardboard insulation sticking out of the top.
Step Six: Put On Your Lid
Once you’ve put in all of your radios and other gadgets, you’ll just fit on your lid nice and tight.
There
are many, many different designs and concepts for homemade faraday
cages. This is just one of them. If you happen to find a design that
calls for the use of wire mesh instead of solid metal, be sure to get
some with the smallest holes you can find. Remember, you want the
openings smaller than the electronic waves that will damage your stuff.
Other
than that you’re good to go. This really is one of the cheapest and
simplest DIY projects you can do and it will be so worth having when
everyone else’s electronics are trashed and you’re still up and running.
REFERENCE:
madtownpreppers.blogspot.com/2012/07/if-one-storm-can-turn-dc-dark-for.html
madtownpreppers.blogspot.com/2012/08/interesting-post-re-emp-attack-scenario.html
madtownpreppers.blogspot.com/2012/04/emp-101-faraday-cages-cheap-easy.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com
