One of my biggest fears: EMP

[S.....P......]

My exact concern. An 18-20 day walk at best, steadily moving up in elevation.

From where I'm working right now. I'm looking at months on foot. Not to mention the major city's that would have to be bypassed. Not impossible but long odds to make it there.

[hawgrider]

Damn... if this happens how will I run my margarita blender? Damn Damn Damn!

[juskom95]

EMP's are interesting, but most subscribe to the "Hollywood" portrayal, which is not accurate.

Remember, EMP's are a form of radiation, which means any thing which would inhibit/block radiation will impede an EMP 'wave'; things like dirt, concrete, lay of the land etc. An old, carburetor fed Ford in an open field might fry, while the newest Chevy in the bottom of a parking garage in a valley could be fine.

The last study performed on EMP's against vehicles was surprising. Most were okay after a 'computer' reset, or just had sensors which 'failed' but it still operated.

EMP's are not the "WORLD IS FALLING" scenario. Most likely, if you are that close to an EMP black, the source of the EMP (usually a nuclear weapon) is going to kill you first.

[BucketBack]

found this in my mailbox last week

[BucketBack]

I'll read that it after as soon as I finish this one

[BucketBack]

[darsk20]

Damn... if this happens how will I run my margarita blender? Damn Damn Damn!

Now THERE is a legitimate concern.

[Jerry D Young]

My thoughts on EMP

During the 1950s and 1960s, during some 20 nuclear weapons tests conducted by the US and the Soviets, the effects of Electromagnetic Pulse were first observed. While much of the information is still classified, it is known that these detonations at 30 to 50 kilometers above the surface affected electrical power grids.

It must be noted that during the atomic testing in the 1950s and 1960s there was not that much recorded damage. But there were some recorded happenings.

Some 300 street lights were fused and burglar alarms that went off in Hawaii during Pacific tests. In the Soviet Union 570 kilometers of telephone wire fused and a power station burned down. This was caused by a 300 kiloton warhead detonated at 290 kilometers of altitude. The radio frequency range of these types of EMPs was in the 15 to 250 megahertz range.

The effects from a Coronal Mass Ejection or CME that hits the earth with just the right conditions will affect the electrical grid. On March 10th 1989 a massive CME erupted from the sun and it hit the Earth two days later. At 2:44 AM on March 13th the Quebec power grid went down from the loss of a transformer due to electrical currents coming from the ground. Shortwave radio went down and satellites lost command control. The blackout affected over 6 million people. But, the power was back on in 9 hours or so.

In 1859 Richard Carrington was observing the sun and detected large solar storm activity. A large CME was recorded. On September 1st and 2nd the European and North American telegraph systems were affected and failed.

I am one of those that believes that EMP/HEMP are credible threats. Also CME induced EMP. Dealing with the possibility is part of my preps. I have not gone hog wild. I do not have a copper enclosed room. Well, not yet, anyway.

So here goes.

EMP, while a known effect of nuclear detonations, and producible by other means, is a difficult subject for preppers. Yes, it does exist, but will it be as catastrophically damaging as some say, or more a non-event, as others say? Will it, or even can it, actually be effectively used? These are tough questions for a prepper.

There are actually two major factors involved in dealing with EMP. The actual possible damage to electrical and electronic equipment and how we as preppers will deal with the aftermath of that damage.

If the damage is slight, with a loss of power for a few days, and some damage to some especially sensitive computer based electronics, that is one thing. Most unprotected electronics inoperable and irreparable, modern vehicles with electronic or computer chips in them going dead where they happen to be, and a total long term collapse of the grid with the resulting collapse of modern infrastructure, is another thing entirely.

For the first situation we will just shrug, and go about dealing with whatever it is that caused the EMP, whether a natural cause, or an EMP attack that failed, or some other attack with nuclear weapons that did not produce a destructive EMP.

The second situation is the kicker. The results of a successful EMP attack or event goes far beyond the loss of some electronics. Our discussions of what will happen if the grid goes down for an extended period of time addresses that problem. And it is already a scary one without the addition of the near total lack of modern transportation if the EMP does, in fact, incapacitate the vehicles. The same goes for the loss of much of our communications system, that would otherwise allow for coordination of the recovery.

Even without major destruction from other forms of attack, as would probably be the case in a HEMP attack, the loss of those two infrastructures will be debilitating to the country as a whole. For us, as preppers, we will most likely be in a position to take care of ourselves for a much longer term than the rest of the society, with those resulting problems. It could be one of the worst disasters we could face.

That is not to say that we cannot protect some of our own systems from EMP. Just like that it is a known fact that nuclear weapons, specially built electronic weapons, and very large CMEs can generate EMP, it is a known fact that electronics, and especially electrical items, can be protected from the EMP effects.

Fortunately, the CME induced EMP is significantly different from nuclear induced or electronically induced EMP in that it will not affect computers and such that are not connected to a power grid or long antenna. Only long runs of cable will be affected in that situation, such as the power grid and some above ground communications wire cabling systems.

There is no doubt that preparing for the worst effects of EMP, even on a small scale, if they turn out to be effective to any significant degree, can be rather expensive, depending on the degree of protection you might want for various electronic items. Protecting some radio gear does not have to be expensive and will allow preppers to maintain communications with each other. Owning an older model vehicle without major electronics, or converting one to that state, will most likely eliminate local transportation problems for preppers.

Having those capabilities can increase the problems of other people becoming upset with us for having them, when they do not. But that is another subject.

How does one go about protecting against EMP, other than having an old vehicle? A Faraday cage was developed by Michael Faraday in 1836 as an experiment to the properties of conduction of AC energy. It turns out that this Faraday Cage is an effective means to protect some electronics from EMP. And there do exist some electronic components that can be used to protect in use equipment to a fair degree.

For communications gear, that can be put away for long term storage, protecting them is actually fairly inexpensive and easy. Box the item in cardboard, wrap the box in bubble wrap, wrap a layer of heavy duty aluminum foil around the whole thing, and then repeat the bubble wrap and foil wrap layers twice more, and finish off with a final layer of bubble wrap and put the big ball into another cardboard box and place in a metal cabinet of some sort.

If you use an ammo can, remove the rubber gasket, polish the groove and the can edge. Install a flexible copper mesh or stainless steel mesh gasket in place of the rubber one. That will make the coverage complete. Without it, there is a 1/4" or so gap between the lid and the bottom, even though they are grounded together by the hinge. There has to be continuous coverage and connection to all the parts of the ammo can.

It is best to line the can with thin plywood or non-conductive hard foam to keep anything inside from touching the metal. I would still do the bubble wrap/foil for each individual item, however.

Much the same applies to metal garbage cans used as Faraday Cages. Though the lid will fight tightly, and will have electrical continuity with the can, that does not mean that there are not gaps in the electrical seal of the lid to the can. It is best here to use a metallic mesh gasket to ensure there are no gaps that could act as slot antennas at some frequencies.

One way to make a gasket is to get some automotive door gasket strips, long enough to be a friction fit inside the garbage can lid, and wrap it with several layers of heavy duty aluminum foil. This will make a suitable gasket that will last for several open/close cycles, and can be refreshed as needed with new aluminum foil.

Generators, for instance, can be put on insulators inside a large steel box and a lid with a metal mesh gasket can be bolted on, and the box put on pallets to insulate it from the ground.

If a Faraday container has any type of ground connection, such as sitting on a concrete garage floor, or on a basement floor, it should be grounded. But that is a highly specialized process, and I would suggest that any moderate size Faraday cage or box or trash can be placed on a good insulating mat of some type. If there is no type of connection with the ground, and there is a good airspace or insulation between the cage and any grounded surface, no grounding is needed.

The problem is that if there is any grounding at all, then appropriate grounding is paramount.

Every container, to be an effective Faraday Cage, must be protected all the way around, and on the top and on the bottom. You can put solid sheet copper all the way around a building, and over the roof, solidly connected at all the joints. But if there is no protection under the floor, solidly connected to the copper walls, it is not a complete Faraday Cage.

Going much beyond these relatively simple solutions becomes more and more expensive and difficult, though doable. But do you want to spend the money and make the effort? That is a huge investment in both to protect against something that may or may not happen at all, and even if it does happen, may not be nearly as destructive as some people believe. It will be up to each of you to decide for yourself just how much you want to prepare for the actual EMP effects on your electrical and electronic gear. The preps for the affect a major and effective EMP attack will have on society are pretty much a given. They are the same preps we are all making now, for all the other disasters.

[Jerry D Young]

This is a complex subject, with no easy answers. For more information there are a few respected, and generally considered reliable, sources of information.

One of these is the US government, in its various publications on the subject that are not restricted, such as TR-61, TR-61A, and TR-61B that are available, sometimes, on-line. A couple of newer publications are the 2008 EMP Commission Report: http://empcommission.org/docs/A2473-...ission-7MB.pdf and the 2010 National Academy of Engineering Report on Nuclear Dangers: http://www.nae.edu/File.aspx?id=20575

Another, much easier to use source of information, one that I have obtained information from, is Jerry Emanuelson at http://www.futurescience.com/emp.html.

Another source, that I often refer to, is the book EMP – Protect Family, Homes, & Community, by Donald R. J. White.


Plasitc EMP bags have been mentioned for protection of some electronics from EMP. I do not quite trust them myself. They look like electronic component static discharge protection bags. If that is the case, then I am not sure if they would be enough protection.

For some small items like my backup prepper cell phone/micro computer, that need to be kept handy but protected, I use these products: http://www.mobilesecsolutions.com/#!products/c1i41

There is even some limited use of the items in specific circumstances while in the cages. And though it does not say to, I put the items in bubble wrap, just to keep the metallic parts of the items isolated from the metal mesh.

There are several additional ways to protect potentially sensitive electronics. Here is my list:

In a well designed underground bunker or home.

In a well designed earth sheltered above ground structures.

In deep caves/underground mines.

In underground caches fairly deep.

In an all metal, reinforced floor, no/very small metal screened openings, buildings with every component correctly electrically bonded together.

In a tightly closed up CONEX container.

Wrapped in two or more sets of grill foil & bubble wrap and placed in a protective box or cabinet. (Fairly small items)


Some additional notes on EMP:

Railroad tracks can carry enough of the EMP to affect things otherwise out of range of the direct effects, depending on the direction of the tracks to the direction the pulse is spreading, and how long the tracks are.

EMP does penetrate into the ground, depending on its strength. Deep enough to interact with underground metal pipes and metallic cables. And like RR tracks, the current can be dangerous some distance away from the point where the EMP has charged them. But we are talking only two or three feet, unless right under or very near the EMP source.

A nuclear HEMP device does not have to be 'big' or expensive. The most effective EMP devices are relatively simple fission devices (or 'atom' bombs), with some enhancements, not the complex thermo-nuclear fission-fusion-fission devices (or 'hydrogen' bombs) used in today’s warheads. A few kilotons of power to a few hundred kilotons of power is all that is necessary for these EMP enhanced devices to generate the massive electro-magnetic pulse that can destroy much (but not all) of our electrical system and electronics devices. Compared to blast weapons, EMP weapons are pretty cheap.

There are a few things that come up regularly in discussions of EMP. Here are my responses to them:

1. Just use a microwave oven with the cord cut off as a Faraday Cage – No. Is not a good Faraday Cage, even if the cord is left on, the power blades pulled and the ground blade plugged in.

2. Use a cell phone to test your Faraday Cage – Better than no test. If it rings, you do not have a Faraday Cage. But even if it does not ring, that is no guarantee that the Faraday cage is effective.

3. A Faraday Cage has to be solid metal/A Faraday Cage has to be copper sheet metal – No, it does not. Not either one. Copper is best, and is easy to work with to get good electrically solid joints. But 20 OPI (openings per inch) copper or aluminum screen, if bonded properly, will work just fine.

4. Removing batteries from sensitive electronics, or unplugging them will prevent EMP damage – No, it will not. The EMP induces current in devices with sensitive electronics. Being connected to a power line does make it worse, and disconnecting is good, but it will not stop the pulse if the device is sensitive and otherwise exposed.

5. Photovoltaic solar panels are susceptible to EMP/Photovoltaic solar panels are not susceptible to EMP – I simply do not know. I do know the associated wiring is susceptible to EMP

6. Solar PV panes cannot be protected from EMP, if they are susceptible – Yes, they can. Using 20 OPI copper mesh, two layers, a base can be put down, the panels and electronics installed, and then two layers of the 20 OPI copper mesh can be placed over the panels, shifted slightly off center of each other, and draped down to connect all the way around with the copper mesh on the ground. The power line leading from the unit must either be disconnected, or run in metallic conduit to an EMP protected power distribution box inside. If that distribution box has appropriate EMP protection, then things will be safe.

7. There is no way to protect an entire house from EMP – Yes, there is. It is not particularly difficult or even expensive. But it must be done during construction, and like all Faraday cages, every Faraday component must be bonded to the adjacent ones, with no gaps. EMP – Protect Family, Homes, & Community explains the process, as it does the PV panel protection process.



Now, I am not an electrical engineer, and never having been exposed to an EMP, and not having access to the still secret reports on EMP the government has, this is all just my opinion, based on years of research, using the most reliable sources I have been able to find.



Just my opinion.