You are going to facepalm when you read this, but just get a few sheets of aluminum foil spread over the box opening, and you pinch it down with the UNMODIFIED lid. You don't have to modify the lid by removing the rubber gasket, sanding, or buy conductive gaskets, etc. Just remove the paint on the lip of the can so it will touch the foil to make a connection. I use Reynolds Wrap, "Super Duty" and 2-3 sheets for thickness and redundancy.

I really like how you give a honest answer and help to all the people in the comments that may not have the money to buy your products yet you still have time to help them with honest answers you are a good man and patriot thank you and God bless

love the proof, not just word of mouth. and..love you novels

Thank you so very much for your help. I am a single woman and your instructions are simple enough and economical for those like myself. God bless.

I really appreciate your informative videos. Thanks

I realized this is quality content and the man is serious when I saw him well dressed.

I made two huge cages for $30 each: 2 55-gallon steel drums, $15 each; 1/2” round foam, 15’ for $5; 2” conductive tape30’ for $15. I used the foam and tape to make the conductive gasket. Perfectly blocks 4G with a bit of weight on the lid or using the lid locking ring. 3 milk crates fit with some room on the side. I store all my mission critical electronics in them: radios, flashlights & lanterns, batteries & chargers, solar power system components, PV/monitor, spare parts, hand power tools.

I love your channel! Thank you so much for putting this information out there! 💯👍

I love the latch mechanism on your door.

Another option might be to keep the rubber gasket to retain the water tight seal (electronics don't like water any more than they like EMPs), but double layer the Faraday protection by wrapping your electronics with a metal foil, or by placing them in a rolled up Mylar bag as is used in food storage, or in a manufactured Faraday bag before placing them inside the ammo can. I would be very interested to see how that experiment would measure up to the one in this video.

Thanks for taking the time to upload this. I was on the fence about building a "hammo can". But now I am definitely going to build one... or six.

I'm glad someone like you puts out videos on this subject. There are way too many people making videos about EMP, who have no clue about the basic physics of the process. One guy was using a stun gun to test his "EMP bags" for "EMP Protection", LOL. One thing I wanted to add. Stainless steel based gasket will probably work best for the metal enclosure. Copper based gasket may develop galvanic corrosion at the contact. If this is the only choice, adding some NoOX may help. A small amount of bearing grease or Fluid Film may also help to keep the contact surfaces from corrosion. BTW, I'd love to have a spectrum analyzer like yours. Unfortunately, they are prohibitively expensive. :( Another thing worth mentioning: I see that you are trying to make a little money on the side. Nothing wrong with that. Just a suggestion, if you don't mind. I think conductive cloth "EMP" covers for Honda EU-series generators may sell very well. I don't think anyone else is making a similar product. Honda sells a regular cloth cover for their EU1000 and EU2000 inverter type generators for about $18. Perhaps making something similar with a longer "skirt" at the bottom may sell very well. You have the tools to make proper testing of the product. Any decent seamstress can make one fairly easily. Patent it and make a little money. Best of luck to you!

I bought a water making machine (a dehumidifier...lol) and will put it in a trash can faraday cage! Thanks for making these videos...your testing makes me feel better about what I've made! Again, THANKS!!!

You can just use rolled up aluminum foil off the shelf where the gasket goes too, and don't forget to insulate the inside for static buildup and maybe ground the box! It's low frequency anyways, though.

I'd like to see a test of a DOT HAZMAT DRUM with the metal band clamp lid.

Dr. Bradley. Could you use aluminum foil to make a wrap around the issued rubber gasket and then reinstall it. It would seem like that would make a similar conductive seal from the sanded edges and still give some water resistance by the cushion deflection of the rubber gasket. It may not be as good as your professional gaskets but I wonder how effective that would be for those of us on a rock bottom budget. Might you do such a test? Thanks for your service to the country in doing these videos.

I literally thought, hey an ammo can would make a good faraday cage, so I google it and BAM there you are again first search result lol

Thank you for this and all your videos. Although I used the aluminum duct tape with OEM gasket (had not seen your video with after market gasket), I am glad to have confirmation of shielding properties. I will be enhancing by removing the paint on lid and can's top edged as you have. Thank you!

After you take the rubber weather seal out, you need to keep your ammo can in a dry, protected place, or cover it with a heavy plastic bag. Condensation ihjside the can is just as bad as an EMP.

you culd use the rubber gasket and wrap it with alu foil or alu tape

Excellent video, great presentation and demonstration! Thank you!

alternatively, get some cardboard and some faraday fabric wrap strips of cardboard in the faraday fabric put that in your gasket channels..mission darkness is THE best faraday fabric I've used. You still need to sand off the paint so that the nickel conductive material (fabric) makes metal to metal contact.

Great video! Why wouldn't you just sand the lid and can as you did in the video, then apply a conductive coating to the original gasket?

Covering the original rubber gasket with much cheaper copper tape also works well bridging to bare metal along side.

A really appreciate you. Thank you 🙏🏾

If someone designs emp shielding clothes, that would really sell.

Really appreciate your videos.

Thank you for another great informative video. I (like so many others) really appreciate your efforts.

cool video. what happens if you just grind the paint off the hinge pin contacts? another variable is also soldering a wire to alligator clip a grounding wire connected to a copper pipe from the cold water inlet

Good morning Doctor, greetings from the 906. New subscriber here to your channel. I wish ALL KZfaq video producers were as informative as you are! I have a question: In your opinion would removing the rubber gasket from the can, sanding to bare metal, wrapping the gasket in a stainless or copper rodent mesh and reinstalling it work as well as a factory manufactured metal wrapped gasket? Thank you in advance and please keep the good content coming!

Love your videos! Thank you for these

Outstanding.

Very impressive Doc!!

Thank You for this info.

Thank you, Doc, your videos (can't believe I haven't seen this one, before) are the best, as are your products. One question on this: Is the adhesive conductive? Or could the impressive results be even better? Thanks

Thank you for the info and proof. Going to place an order at your site.

Good explanation. My family business was building EMI/EMC test facilities for many years. Hint: Want the VERY BEST EMI shield? Put the ammo can in a big Ziplock bag then submerge it in a 55 gallon drum full of mercury. 🙂

Aloha Sir bless your family Hugs and prayers from me 2 U from our family from Hawaii Oahu

Great stuff!!!

I thought dude was strapped into an electric chair 😂

Why not just wrap the contents in aluminum foil. What do you do when the metal starts to rust?

wrap the rubber gasket with fine copper wire

Yeah, but have you ever looked at those big aluminum truck bed tool boxes? Would one of those work for a Faraday Cage??

Great info. Doc!👍

This man looks like the marksman from season 1 of Shooter. 😂 In all seriousness, great video!

Great information, many thanks.

EMP Gaskets From $70.00 - $260.00 Cost to make those is about $3....

Like that door you have

Great info , thanks 👍

I understand this video is was uploaded 6 years ago but I have a question. Could you in theory do the same using aluminum foil wrapped around the original rubber gasket instead of the conductive gasket? Would it be as effective or maybe slightly less effective?

Will you do a video using the foil backed insulation

folded up foil and foil tape would do the same thing and cost a lot less but as I'm typing this I see you are selling the gasket lol

Seems like one could simply ground the lid to the base with some copper wire. Keep the good factory rubber gasket.

Thanks!

Have you tried it with a piece of thicker aluminum which is 0.019 inch thick (unpainted aluminum roll valley coils) which is used in construction and is stocked at hardware and building materials stores. A piece can be made that is a inch or so larger on both axis's than can circumference dimensions. Just sand down rim of can like you show and then lay the thin sheet over top of can and hand form it down over edges (like folding a Christmas package ends)and then simply push lid with regular rubber gasket down firmly to finish form the top sheet of protection over the can. I have tried this and it forms up well and is reusable when opened again. I just wondered if you could try such a lid with your equipment. Due to scarce funds not everyone can afford the better foam system you have and lots of common folks can get these unpainted aluminum coils locally. Thanks for your great work.

Can you please test this but with thickly wadded aluminum foil as a seal?

What about a refrigerator, stove, or freezer? Could you store items in a large metal appliance and just use metallic tape to seal off any openings and around the doors?

Can you just add a wire to connect the lid to the box of the can? That would be cheap.

Wouldn't slapping aluminum tape over the rubber gasket work? As long as its metal to metal?

My question is what is the combined frequency spectrum and field strengths of the CME and Nuclear EMPs? At what frequencies are the highest magnitude field strengths and at what point do are consumer grade electronics give up the magic smoke and therefore, cease to operate? Although the 3 V/m Radiated immunity (RI) to a modulated radiated field is a common specification for Class A (not susceptible)immunity performance, I suspect the Class D (damage) performance is probably +26 dB (60 V/m) or more. Back around 1999 we used an ammo can to shield a video camera. We had cables to be shielded and filtered also, but only needed 34dB minimum shielding effectiveness for 150 V/m RS monitoring. Paint and rubber gasket were removed and a fabric gasket was installed just like your conversion. It worked great.

Is it actually making metal to metal contact even with the adhesive? Or does the metal gasket wrap around to the underside?

Excellent

Is there a way to make a poor man's gasket? You use the term "conductive material" on the gaskets. Could you put a layer of aluminum foil over the rubber gasket and get the same effect?

Just curious about something. I see other appliances plugged in, in the back drop of the video. You also have a video camera not protected but when you run the test the recording camera doesn't konk out. Why is this?

@empdoctor Question since the Rubber seal on the ammo can is not conductive why would you then leave it in so then the can is water proof to a point as it is intended to be . and then sand that paint off the handle locks on the lid as it would then conduct any energy thru that way ?? cause if i remember right that paint has certain properties in it to limit certain things .

Can you just seal the outside of the ammo can with aluminum tape and call it a day?

Can I take the rubber gasket in the ammo can like you have and wrap that in foil copper tape and reinstall it? Will that work in protecting from an EMP or do I need to get the gaskets you shown in the video?

Using the dremel on the can only, leave the lid the way it is and then use an aluminum foil sheet and place it between the lid and the can when you close it. Wouldn't that work?

Won’t the adhesive sit between the metal, preventing metal to metal contact?

Question....should you line can with non conducting material like cardboard?

Dr. Bradley - could you, with the ammo can lid open, cover the opening with metallic duct tape (overlapped with no gaps) and then close the lid?

I have a 30 caliber ammo can and several 50 caliber ammo cans. Wanting to make the 30 caliber into a Faraday cage for my ham radio handheld. How would I go about building my faraday cage?

Maybe I missed it, but when can you open your can? My understanding is the atmosphere stays charged for a while after an EMP… Would it not destroy things if you open it too early??? If that is the case, any ways to test if things are discharged enough it’s safe to open?

To the EMP doctor awesome video I have a question for you do you make a device that you can just plug into a generator or hook up to a generator to protected from EMP being disabled it is hard to by the cloth by the lineal foot thank you God bless

What about a popcorn or cookie tin

Great videos! How did you get it to work so well without grounding the ammo can? Or is grounding your cage not always necessary? When is it necessary?

What material is for EMP protection.EMP blast and electromagnetic..rfid Metall, steel or aluminium ? Wisch one to is better?

Doesn’t the adhesive degrade the conductivity?

What if you grounded the box to earth ground?

Would sealing the ammo can lid with metallic duct tape offer adequate protection ? I have really enjoyed your books.

Super helpful and informative, thank you! Subbed and you have my business :)

how well do you think the ammo can would do if you didn't sand the paint down , but did use a conductive gasket ?

If I also wrap my electronics in a layer of aluminum foil will the ammo can be sufficient for an EMP event? Would a double layer of foil work better?

Can you use aluminum foil as a gasket?

Do you recommend lining the can with something like cardboard or rubber to prevent the can walls from conducting current to whatever you have inside, or does it matter?

Would you be able to do the ammo can with aluminum around the rubber gasket? Ground to bare metal of course.

How bout wrapping the rubber gasket with aluminum tape

If the emp test doesn't damage the unprotected camera your using, what's the point?

Does lining the ammo can and lid with rubber help?

I have a question for you. I have a number of electronic in a metal shed that is grounded to the earth and the electronic are grounded to the earth as well. But the shed has a wood floor. Do you think that those electronics are safe from an emp?

Thanks for the video. Would you be willing to do a test using light weight metallic backed duct board insulation used in the heat and air industry? Maybe used for making a box to cover a generator???

Would a gasket moulded from silicone mixed with aluminum powder be a viable option?

Because conventional EMP devices produce explosions driven by HPMW technology, they may have a frequency in the range of 100 MHz - 100 GHz. EMP, depending on altitude and power, can generate electric fields up to levels of 50 kV / m. Will these boxes, or any faraday cadge for that matter really provide protection at these levels?

How important is grounding the ammo can?

Could you wrap the existing rubber gasket with either aluminum foil or aluminum tape? Still going to bare metal with your dremel tool.

Or....maybe put the ammo can in a galvanized trash can? Lol

What do you think about mounting a grounding strap from the box to the lid?

Could you wrap the rubber gasket in copper shielding tape?

A post on Reddit brought me to your videos and I want to thank you for spreading the knowledge you have. But I noticed in your testing that you have used 3 different lemgth antennas for the 3 value readings. I would imagine that the reading would be different if you changed the antenna for open air readings. What was the reasoning for changing this?

Why doesn't the adhesive material interfere with the conductivity? Is it made of some type of conductive material?