EMP projects

[jeremy]

the book one second after by William R. Forstchen gives a very in depth theory on what would happen in the event of an EMP. its a good book to read if you have some spare time.

That book is garbage on what would happen in the event of an EMP...
It is nothing more than a decent work of fiction, that is all....

 

[Wannabe Alchemist]

Exactly, as long as the starters don't fry our diesels would run. The tractors are all late 70's-80's and with no ignitions, being diesels, and mechanical injection on all of them along with the grain trucks. The will run. As I said that's if the starters don't fry. But I can try to keep a starter or two on hand and stored somewhere safe to hopefully keep it from being affected.

If I would get an old late 70's ford truck like I want to. I'd do the same thing. Buy a spare dist, coil, ign module (if it has one) and whatever else might fry and try to keep them somewhere safe.

But what could I put these parts in to keep them protected?

Realizing this is an old thread I hesitate, but it may be even more relevant to today than it was 3 years ago...
I'm thinking that IF it could knock out a starter it could knock out the alternator as well...or generator for that matter. I think the starters has heavier windings than the alternators so it could be that one would be damaged and not the other.
My interest in a running vehicle would be to get outta Indiana and closer to warm weather. Besides, the EMP effects would likely be regional?

 

[KCVP]

Yep, should an EMP be deployed, according to some research I've done the last year or so, anyone in the affected zone (and who knows how far that could reach) will be pretty screwed. All candles, wood fires, and torches will be the only "powered" items we'll know. Anything that could conduct electricity or needs it to work will not work due to the massive electro magnetic fields that will be effected from the EMP. Although, not a lot of info on how long the effects may last.

 

[JettaKnight]

So a comment on the galvanized steel trashcan. We're trying to use one as a Faraday cage for RF testing. It didn't work. We put 2.4 GHz transmitters inside the can, sealed it up, grounded it and the signal was still able to be received outside the can. It did attenuate the signal, but not enough for our purpose.

EDIT:
We tried a microwave too since those operate at 2.4 GHz (so I'm told). No joy.

 

[The-Last-Round]

So a comment on the galvanized steel trashcan. We're trying to use one as a Faraday cage for RF testing. It didn't work. We put 2.4 GHz transmitters inside the can, sealed it up, grounded it and the signal was still able to be received outside the can. It did attenuate the signal, but not enough for our purpose.

EDIT:
We tried a microwave too since those operate at 2.4 GHz (so I'm told). No joy.

Faraday cages keep signals out, not keep them in. Gauss's law.

So starters, alternators etc. are protected from an EMP burst by their metal casings.

Your car's ECM should also be protected if it's under the hood and the hood is down during the event. If it's not, put it in a metal junction box and call it a day.



All the apacolypse porn that centers around EMPs should focus on items connected to the electrical grid as the grid is composed of loops which will induce current and give a voltage spike to anything connected to them. Or things like your flatscreen that have small loops on their circuit boards that do the same thing and fry out the chips.

Anything inside a metal cage should be good to go.....unless the EMP pulse is so strong that it melts the metal cage with such high electrical current. But why worry about that when the A-Bomb that created the EMP is going to kill you anyway?


Full disclosure: I have an EMP proof 80s chevy 4x4 because it's easy to work on with basic tools and pretty cool. Not because it lacks a computer, that's a result of the simple and easy requirement. That should be the driving (pun!) need for an old car during SHTF. Not EMP worries.

 

[JettaKnight]

Faraday cages keep signals out, not keep them in. Gauss's law.

Umm, yeah.

I never was very good at physics. We're going to an anechoic chamber for the rest of our test...

 

[kawasakiridrzx6r]

I have a 94 k15 full size blazer with a good ol 350 In it .....would that be a good truck to use if a enos was to go off??

 

[church]

I wouldn't count on it...Dirt bikes, motorcycles, and atv's still use coils, stators, and magnetos as well as other electrical components. As I said before, it's hard to say what will, and won't work. I personally would choose not to rely on mechanized forms of transportation. Your better off figuring out how you can get what you need with your own two feet.

Im no expert, but from my understanding of electro magnetics and the effects they can have on their surroundings, it would (in most cases) take multiple (10-20) low yield pulses from an emp to cause a magnet to lose its magentic properites. The chances of a magneto, stator or points of condensor losing its magnetic properties from a single emp burst are remote?

 

[21stcenturyebr]

My EMP proof vehicle is an M35A2 runs on everything from diesel to used filtered motor oil. fuel pump is mechanical and can be push started if need be. Also have own Faraday cage in bed of CUCV pickup

 

[Enkrypter]

Why does no one ever offer the solution to build a faraday cage around their house?

 

[mlockhart]

85 ramcharger

Try LMT Truck, but in 85 you probably have electronic ignition. You would probably need an entire distributer to make points work. I think if you had a spare ignition module in a farraday cage (a grounded metal box) and know how replace it. Don't forget extra fuses. You should check a service manual to see if there are any other solid state components in your truck. I'm not sure if the fuel pump can handle a emp, in 85 it had a in tank pump I think.

 

[mlockhart]

85 ramcharger

Try LMT Truck, but in 85 you probably have electronic ignition. You would probably need an entire distributed to make points work. I think if you had a spare ignition in a farraday cage (a grounded metal box) and know how replace it. Don't forget extra fuses. You should check a service manual to see if there are any other solid state components in your truck. I not if the fuel pump can handle a emp.

 

[Sgtusmc]

Build a wood frame structure large enough to park your vehicle. Inside your garage, an overhang attached to the side of your house or just somewhere on your land. Faraday cages do not require copper to be functional, just metal that is conductive. You could use chicken coop wiring or something similar as long as the openings aren't too large. If they are too large, extra layers must be used to close the gaps, but all layers must be interconnected.

Make sure all sections of the wire are connected that make up the walls, ceiling and around each corner. Drive a grounding rod into the earth and connect heavy gauge wire to it from the cage. Place rubber matting on the floor of the cage to drive the vehicle on. No part of the vehicle can touch the cage, not even a spark gap distance. Give yourself enough room to open the doors of the vehicle front to rear.

An EMP could go off in your sleep giving no time to properly shield your equipment. Store your equipment and your vehicle in this structure every night if the risk seemed high in a wartime atmosphere. if you store your electronics in metal trash cans, make sure the cans are lined with plastic trash cans, rubber, cardboard or something to protect the equipment.

Don't wire the cage for lighting. The EMP will travel through the wiring outside of the cage and into the cage.

Additional protection may be provided by sinking large antennae grounding rods on the highest point of your property, away from your cage structure. The EMP follows the path of least resistance.

 

[erice1984]

Inverse Square law.

1/(distance from origin)^2

The major problem will be cities where the electrical grid fries everything more-so than the EMP itself.

EMP Box - Faraday Cage - Must be made of a solid sheet of copper and must be completely continuous in conductivity on all corners and edges. This is because of the gamma rays generated from an EMP device (if nuclear).

Your mesh size has to be smaller than the amplitude of the EMP "signal."

 

[irishanimal917]

Never mind, I just used really short wood screws and taped over them...I have started building a faraday cage/box and I'm almost done. I have built the cage/box and as I constructed it lined every edge and corner with aluminum tape so as to seal it completely without fail. I also lined the inside with heavy gauge aluminum foil. My question is how do I attach the aluminum screen to the outside of the box? If I use screws then it will penetrate to the inside of the box. I tried using a staple gun but they just bounce off. Anyone have a solution?

 

[erice1984]

Never mind, I just used really short wood screws and taped over them...I have started building a faraday cage/box and I'm almost done. I have built the cage/box and as I constructed it lined every edge and corner with aluminum tape so as to seal it completely without fail. I also lined the inside with heavy gauge aluminum foil. My question is how do I attach the aluminum screen to the outside of the box? If I use screws then it will penetrate to the inside of the box. I tried using a staple gun but they just bounce off. Anyone have a solution?

Glue won't work well.. I would suggest using another piece of wood to sandwich the foil in place. and hopefully the walls of your box have enough for screws to grab. Though maybe I am not realizing how your box is built. Pictures help!

 

[Liberty's Teeth]

Try a stronger staple gun. I just built one the same way.

 

[Degtyaryov]

Not sure if its been mentioned yet, but I thought I'd chime in that EMPs can occur from natural sources too; supernovas, gamma ray bursts, etc. There may be one heading towards us right now and we wouldn't even know it. I think a major one hit earth sometime in the mid 1800s, that would have cause tens of trillions in damage and global pandemonium if it hit today. Nukes aren't the only threat.

 

[flatbroke]

Not sure if its been mentioned yet, but I thought I'd chime in that EMPs can occur from natural sources too; supernovas, gamma ray bursts, etc. There may be one heading towards us right now and we wouldn't even know it. I think a major one hit earth sometime in the mid 1800s, that would have cause tens of trillions in damage and global pandemonium if it hit today. Nukes aren't the only threat.

Correct Degtyaryov:
The Earth is being bombarded daily by EMPs' but have not shown significant damage. I remember back in the 60s' I was able to observe the Northern lights here in west central Indiana quite vividly. A sight I will never forget nor have I ever seen since. I was able to talk to Czechoslovakia in the middle of the afternoon with my 15 watt CW transmitter on 40 meters due to the ionization of the ionisphere during daylight hours which is very uncommon.. Radio and TV receptipn was going crazy. There were power grid overloads which caused outages. Damage was astronomical ,power companies had transformers explode, but we survived because we were not so dependant on the solid state componets we have today,ic's, chips ,processors that are in everything. EMPS" are no joking matter in todays times, no matter what the source. If you want to keep track of the space weather and asteroid daily near misses. go to spaceweather.com

 

[Thor]

The major issue after an EMP is going to be getting any fuel at all for any vehicle you think might still be running. I have circa '60s motor cycles that can get 100+mpg and copper coils could care less about transient electrical impulses. Even so, after the first tank we're all walking unless you've got a horse.