What will we do for EMP protection? Store batteries in old Micrwaves?
Batteries for what? Radio/TV stations off the air, electrical components smoked etc...
If, that's a big if, EMP happens in a worst case scenario the best you can hope for is a running vehicle if you've stored enough parts to get it running.
I think EMP is such a unlikely event, that ones $$ and time are better spent on food, protection, health and hygiene items/plans.
If, that's a big if, EMP happens in a worst case scenario the best you can hope for is a running vehicle if you've stored enough parts to get it running.
I think EMP is such a unlikely event, that ones $$ and time are better spent on food, protection, health and hygiene items/plans.
EMP is an interesting subject because it’s a scenario that possesses a lot of potential societal disruption along with harboring a great number of unknowns. There have been papers published by Chinese military strategists that propose using EMP weapons in any first strike against the west over Taiwan. But the military strike aside, which I believe, would be nearly impossible to predict or prepare for. The natural version, in my opinion, carries a whole lot more potential for creating chaos, and is a guaranteed event to someday reoccur. If a solar eruption with the power of the one that occurred in 1859 (known as the Carrington event) was to happen today, it would be a game changer. The energy levels in a solar storm of that magnitude would probably fry even some hardened electronics. The good thing about that event though would be we would see it coming and should have two to five days to prepare for it.
For one if you've got a newer vehicle you should buy an extra starter and store it in a small Faraday cage in the trunk of your vehicle. That way when everyone else's car dies you can change yours out and keep on truckin'.
What about all the other essential electronics of the vehicle like the ignition system?
If you want to motor about after emp you had better have an older car with a distributor and points and an ignition coil.
Yup. New cars are so full of electronics that most folks probably wouldn't know how to open the doors if their key fob and computer were fried.
Someone once posted a study about vehicles and EMP and it showed that, in all likely hood, many cars would actually survive if they were not running at the time of the burst. I'll have to see if I can find it again.
Gawd I hated those cars with
Every six months or so you had to replace the points and set the dwell and timing.
And if even a little bit of water made its way inside of that distributor cap you just weren't going anywhere for a while until it dried out.
Good riddance old fashioned ignition system.:finger:
A mechanically injected diesel with a manual transmission would be nice
If you want to learn about EMP and the potential effects it would have on this country, try reading One Second After.
This was the first book I read like this, that really got my attention. I read Patriots after that. EMP is the worst case
scenario we could face. There are several ways to build home made Faraday cages to protect sensitive electronics.
I use a multi layer approach. I start with static bag like you find many electronics come packed in. Here is a site that
sells these. http://www.bestchoicepreps.com/category/BAGSTATIC.html
I them warp the object in packaging form and tinfoil. I them place it in another larger static bag. Any sealed metal box
will act as a Faraday cage, as long as the object you are trying to protect is insulated from the box. Ammo cans, safes,
old microwaves, the list goes on. I keep my MURs radio sealed like this in a metal Ammo box in my trunk. I have spares
at home and at the farm protected in similar fashion.
Modern vehicles are a big problem since EMP burns out any micro circuitry. Since all cars have many computers in them,
the odds aren't good. Vehicles prior to 1974 have the best chance of survival. Something with points and condenser. You
can keep spare parts for these just in case.
I am working on setting up my son's car spare care to hopefully be EMP proof. There is only one computer in this, and it's
easily removed. Put that away in a Faraday cage / box and even bury it in the ground as a final measure. 2 feet of soil is
one of the best ways to protect things. I am going to drill a hole in the garage floor next to the front end of the vehicle and
drive a copper ground rod through the hole into the ground, 7-8 feet down. Then mount a ground strap from the vehicle
ground to the copper ground rod. This should help to protect the overall vehicle. This particular car has magnetic pickups on
the flywheel, I will warp those wires and sensors with tin foil and then use a wire with alligator clips on each end to connect
to the ground rod. Hopefully the rest of the cars wiring will be OK with the other measures I have taken.
original miles. I've been told this truck does have some kind of computer that controls the fuel pump. I will look into it and rig a
hot wire to bypass the computer.
This was the first book I read like this, that really got my attention. I read Patriots after that. EMP is the worst case
scenario we could face. There are several ways to build home made Faraday cages to protect sensitive electronics.
I use a multi layer approach. I start with static bag like you find many electronics come packed in. Here is a site that
sells these. http://www.bestchoicepreps.com/category/BAGSTATIC.html
I them warp the object in packaging form and tinfoil. I them place it in another larger static bag. Any sealed metal box
will act as a Faraday cage, as long as the object you are trying to protect is insulated from the box. Ammo cans, safes,
old microwaves, the list goes on. I keep my MURs radio sealed like this in a metal Ammo box in my trunk. I have spares
at home and at the farm protected in similar fashion.
Modern vehicles are a big problem since EMP burns out any micro circuitry. Since all cars have many computers in them,
the odds aren't good. Vehicles prior to 1974 have the best chance of survival. Something with points and condenser. You
can keep spare parts for these just in case.
I am working on setting up my son's car spare care to hopefully be EMP proof. There is only one computer in this, and it's
easily removed. Put that away in a Faraday cage / box and even bury it in the ground as a final measure. 2 feet of soil is
one of the best ways to protect things. I am going to drill a hole in the garage floor next to the front end of the vehicle and
drive a copper ground rod through the hole into the ground, 7-8 feet down. Then mount a ground strap from the vehicle
ground to the copper ground rod. This should help to protect the overall vehicle. This particular car has magnetic pickups on
the flywheel, I will warp those wires and sensors with tin foil and then use a wire with alligator clips on each end to connect
to the ground rod. Hopefully the rest of the cars wiring will be OK with the other measures I have taken.
Your right on the money Chevyboy, I just bought a 1988 Ford F250 diesel. 7.3L, 5 speed, 4wd. Found it on Craigslist with 89000
original miles. I've been told this truck does have some kind of computer that controls the fuel pump. I will look into it and rig a
hot wire to bypass the computer.
One Second After, and Rawles are fiction....granted you can get some nuggets out of them. But I wouldn't base any real plan off of them. If you want the scoop on EMP, go right to EMP Commission and their reports based on actual studies. Here's the main link to the org: http://www.empcommission.org/
They produced an executive summary: http://www.empcommission.org/docs/empc_exec_rpt.pdf
Full report: http://www.empcommission.org/docs/A2473-EMP_Commission-7MB.pdf
Here's an excerpt: One highlight is that they only anticipate about 10% of vehicles to experience serious problems. The bigger threat being temporary shut downs while moving and the resulting crashes and mishaps, more so than the loss of functioning vehicles.
"We tested a sample of 37 cars in an EMP simulation laboratory, with automobile vintages
ranging from 1986 through 2002. Automobiles of these vintages include extensive
electronics and represent a significant fraction of automobiles on the road today. The
testing was conducted by exposing running and nonrunning automobiles to sequentially
increasing EMP field intensities. If anomalous response (either temporary or permanent)
was observed, the testing of that particular automobile was stopped. If no anomalous
response was observed, the testing was continued up to the field intensity limits of the
simulation capability (approximately 50 kV/m).
Automobiles were subjected to EMP environments under both engine turned off and
engine turned on conditions. No effects were subsequently observed in those automobiles
that were not turned on during EMP exposure. The most serious effect observed on running
automobiles was that the motors in three cars stopped at field strengths of approximately
30 kV/m or above. In an actual EMP exposure, these vehicles would glide to a
stop and require the driver to restart them. Electronics in the dashboard of one automobile
were damaged and required repair. Other effects were relatively minor. Twenty-five
automobiles exhibited malfunctions that could be considered only a nuisance (e.g.,
blinking dashboard lights) and did not require driver intervention to correct. Eight of the
37 cars tested did not exhibit any anomalous response.
Based on these test results, we expect few automobile effects at EMP field levels below
25 kV/m. Approximately 10 percent or more of the automobiles exposed to higher field
levels may experience serious EMP effects, including engine stall, that require driver
intervention to correct. We further expect that at least two out of three automobiles on the
road will manifest some nuisance response at these higher field levels. The serious malfunctions
could trigger car crashes on U.S. highways; the nuisance malfunctions could
exacerbate this condition. The ultimate result of automobile EMP exposure could be triggered
crashes that damage many more vehicles than are damaged by the EMP, the consequent
loss of life, and multiple injuries."
They produced an executive summary: http://www.empcommission.org/docs/empc_exec_rpt.pdf
Full report: http://www.empcommission.org/docs/A2473-EMP_Commission-7MB.pdf
Here's an excerpt: One highlight is that they only anticipate about 10% of vehicles to experience serious problems. The bigger threat being temporary shut downs while moving and the resulting crashes and mishaps, more so than the loss of functioning vehicles.
"We tested a sample of 37 cars in an EMP simulation laboratory, with automobile vintages
ranging from 1986 through 2002. Automobiles of these vintages include extensive
electronics and represent a significant fraction of automobiles on the road today. The
testing was conducted by exposing running and nonrunning automobiles to sequentially
increasing EMP field intensities. If anomalous response (either temporary or permanent)
was observed, the testing of that particular automobile was stopped. If no anomalous
response was observed, the testing was continued up to the field intensity limits of the
simulation capability (approximately 50 kV/m).
Automobiles were subjected to EMP environments under both engine turned off and
engine turned on conditions. No effects were subsequently observed in those automobiles
that were not turned on during EMP exposure. The most serious effect observed on running
automobiles was that the motors in three cars stopped at field strengths of approximately
30 kV/m or above. In an actual EMP exposure, these vehicles would glide to a
stop and require the driver to restart them. Electronics in the dashboard of one automobile
were damaged and required repair. Other effects were relatively minor. Twenty-five
automobiles exhibited malfunctions that could be considered only a nuisance (e.g.,
blinking dashboard lights) and did not require driver intervention to correct. Eight of the
37 cars tested did not exhibit any anomalous response.
Based on these test results, we expect few automobile effects at EMP field levels below
25 kV/m. Approximately 10 percent or more of the automobiles exposed to higher field
levels may experience serious EMP effects, including engine stall, that require driver
intervention to correct. We further expect that at least two out of three automobiles on the
road will manifest some nuisance response at these higher field levels. The serious malfunctions
could trigger car crashes on U.S. highways; the nuisance malfunctions could
exacerbate this condition. The ultimate result of automobile EMP exposure could be triggered
crashes that damage many more vehicles than are damaged by the EMP, the consequent
loss of life, and multiple injuries."
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