DIY EMP / Solar Storm Electronics Protection

Рет қаралды 1,933

2 ай бұрын

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We just survived the big Solar Storm of 2024. Will we get so lucky the next time? Will there be a bigger storm? An EMP? Can you protect your radios, computers and other important electronic gear from getting fried? Can you do it for under $20 bucks? I'm going to build and test a super inexpensive faraday cage right here right now.
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Пікірлер: 36

@EricSolomon-op8ti 2 ай бұрын

As a “NEW” Ham (General). You have helped me immensely!! THANK YOU !! I ALWAYS stop & take time to listen to your videos. Keep up the GREAT Info flow. This video is Superb!!! Hoping to “chat” sometime Keep the Grind

@raymondmartin6737 26 күн бұрын

I was a patient of a Dr. Faraday a while back, his tests were with beer from the church, a coronal mass ejection. 😊

@desimonevd 2 ай бұрын

Amazon also sells a metallic 5 gallon can and lid. I used your metallic tape to seal the seams and sponge sheets for cushioning. Finally, I wrapped my electronic stuff in good old AL foil. It passed the tests!

@tdg911 2 ай бұрын

Go down to your local Army surplus store and pick up some ammo cans. Remove the rubber gasket, remove some paint from the top where it meets the can, wrap with cord board, shove in some tin foil between the lid and can and there you go. Love your channel, thanks.

@goosecouple 2 ай бұрын

Too much work and more expensive.

@K6UDA 2 ай бұрын

I tried that years ago. can't fit much more that an HT & charger in it.

@jeffwright6685 2 ай бұрын

Try adding a ground strap military equipment is in metal boxes with a ground connector for a reason , the grounds are pounded in the ground on a angle so when you leave the area you attach to your truck and pull it out easily.

@ManuelPinner 2 ай бұрын

a steel tool box for your HTS, in a large steel file cabinet for your mobile rigs, can be used as large fatty cages,

@moshelehmann7539 2 ай бұрын

Another way to test RF - stream content from your phone and close the lid and listen if the streaming stops after a few seconds. Try twice - cell service and WiFi.

@Swamp-Fox 2 ай бұрын

Your DIY budget faraday cage may not be perfect, but it is certainly better than no protection!

@raymondmartin6737 26 күн бұрын

Prince Albert in the Can 😅

@LordGryllwotth 2 ай бұрын

11:00 those bags are regular antistatic bags it seems. Nothing fancy.

@tomramanauskas4898 2 ай бұрын

Add a solar power cell as an EMP will prevent standard recharging.

@ensom 2 ай бұрын

i wonder if thicker steel walls would make a difference. im thinking ammo cans.. but also, i've read that good shielding / faraday cage has dual layers. so maybe a metal container inside another metal container.. insulation in between them. attaching a grounding wire to the outer shell of the outer container might be useful as well, and can be done pretty simply & low cost.. most houses are already wired for ground, or a grounding rod can be installed.. most HAMs are already utilizing a ground of some sort anyhow.

@K6UDA 2 ай бұрын

I've made a few out of old ammo cans. They worked marginally and your limited to very small items and few of them. Simple grounding may help but according to my friend who worked in the military end of the industry, they would build $250K grounding systems to secure against EMPs.

@SteelWolf13 2 ай бұрын

Can inside a can? Cage inside a cage. Insolate from each other. Wonder if that would fix the Weak RF getting in?

@richhall1808 2 ай бұрын

Suppose we had a Carrington level event and we had stashed our electronics in a Faraday cage and society was back in 1850. How would we know when it was safe to take our stashed stuff out? ... would amateur solar astronomy be a necessity after that event - looking for prominences and giant sunspots?

@K6UDA 2 ай бұрын

That is a very good question.

@MaryBrownForFreedom 2 ай бұрын

Typically a massive X flare is a 1 off event. It may be followed by smaller X flares or preceded by smaller X flares like the last round we saw when the departing sunspot tossed out an X8. The X28 in 2003 was a one off, M flares before and after...

@ensom 2 ай бұрын

i have solar eclipse glasses. the most recent sunspot that was the source of the x-class flares & CMEs that triggered the recent geomagnetic storm, was visible with the naked eye through eclipse glasses. you could use eclipse glasses on binos / monocular.. even a rifle scope. absence of low latitude auroras would be one metric. strong events generally seem to occur during solar maximums. never really can know for sure. best to have some gear stored that is shielded. most stuff not hooked up to the grid and that doesn't have an antenna attached should be safe.

@MountainMan7.62x39 2 ай бұрын

Hope is not a strategy, lol

@K6UDA 2 ай бұрын

+@MountainMan7.62x39 it isn’t. But I can’t very well simulate a nuke in backyard can I.

@Stewart-HA5RV 2 ай бұрын

I really need to do this too - I live in Hungary (we border Ukraine) and since things are getting a bit nuts here I better do it sooner rather than later. Firstly I's make sure to have a bigger distance or better insulator. Remember high voltages can cross big gaps so I'd have a much bigger distance between the can and the stuff inside (or different insulator) a bit of cardboard may not be enough to insulate against a 50kV/m EMP... For air It's typically around 3 kV per millimeter (kV/mm) I think so something better than that +20% maybe. I was thinking to use big old surplus ammo cans as I don't know how easy it is to get those trash cans here. I think I'll have at least two one sealed very well with stuff I will not open or only rarely - it will have an old laptop or Tablet + Battery + PSU + HD or USD drive loaded full of documents/manuals and eBooks etc., an offline copy of Wikipedia and other similar sources of info - with no internet this will be gold! Buck/Booster converter & maybe also throw in a solar power bank and/or Genesun charge controller and maybe a battery balance board + small mains inverter. I think basic solar cells and backup battery cells or car battery are safe outside if space is an issue. Plus of course some radios! In this can rather than so many commercial Faraday bags I'm going to use aluminium foil and put each item in a plastic anti-static bag and then wrap each item in the aluminium foil. For these items the inconvenience won't matter too much. For the second one I'd keep more items I want access to more regularly and the will need options closer to your solution to balance convenience and protection.

@MaryBrownForFreedom 2 ай бұрын

There won't be a huge voltage differential inside the can. EMP is RF and RF flows on the outside of conductors...

@Stewart-HA5RV 2 ай бұрын

@@MaryBrownForFreedom Maybe but in any case why take a chance? 🙂 Placing items inside decent plastic bags also prevents potential water ingress, if its airtight best also drop in some oxygen and moisture absorbers in case of condensation etc.

@Gumby1978 2 ай бұрын

Great demonstration! KJ5BCP

@vidcreator5276 2 ай бұрын

Would it improve the desired result by first lining the can with Faraday fabric? Then like you did and used the Faraday foam gasket to seal the lid. Just wondering because I have been trying myself to protect my a portion of my ham radio equipment.

@K6UDA 2 ай бұрын

That may be a good option but it’s going to significantly increase the cost of the build.

@ko4eod85 2 ай бұрын

I sealed the seams and other connection points of my cans w faraday tape and my tests all pass just fine. Perhaps not all cans are created equal.

@K6UDA 2 ай бұрын

@@ko4eod85 That could very well be true. Or I fk'ed up.

@MaryBrownForFreedom 2 ай бұрын

@@K6UDA good ole aluminum foil... wrap your electronics in thin foam packing sheet or bubble wrap then wrap in aluminum foil making sure to FOLD the edges and make no tears. Cheap and effective. Then put it in your can as a secondary layer of protection. We all have a roll of the stuff i the kitchen! I buy the extra heavy duty 18" wide foil in 1,000 foot rolls(I bbq a lot...)!

@JanJeronimus 2 ай бұрын

When are you getting things out of the cage? Some time after an EMP a second EMP can come.

@K6UDA 2 ай бұрын

No, I dip in there on a regular basis. Charge batteries, reprogram a radio or two, training. Yes its a risk but not keeping up with maintenance and training are a greater risk.