Editor’s note: This article was written by one of our readers, Susie Harrison, who published a trilogy on post-apocalyptic America that you can check out here.
Even before the pandemic hit the U.S. I had seen the videos from China and knew it was at our doorstep by late December, early January. I had already done my shopping (including toilet paper) before the ‘empty store’ crisis hit. Then as violence broke out in the streets, I knew our turmoil was not finished. The women in our family, we began to prep, even while being mocked by some of the boys and men around us.
Realizing that there was a huge potential for possible grid/cyber outages around election day, we got busy. My mother in California, my daughter in Wyoming, and me, in Nevada. I wish we were all together; as a team we would be formidable.
Faraday cages became important to us realizing we had refrigerators, freezers, and generators. My mother went all out, while I could only afford small power sources… and a mini frig. Most things we depend on may be small but could very well be rendered useless in an EMP. I did my research. With a little creativity and a son who likes to help, we successfully and affordably designed our own faraday cages.
Related: A Step-by-Step of What to Do Immediately After an EMP Strike
Here is what you need
- 20 Gallon (or larger) Behrens Galvanized Steel Trash Cans with locking lids are recommended, however the ones with locking lids were sold out. I got the regular lid with foil tape. Cost app. 40$ each at Amazon, check your local hardware store for brands and prices.
- Aluminum Foil Tape: I bought Scotch Aluminum Tape for app. 6$ at Amazon.
- Extra Cardboard
- Utility knife (or in our case a kitchen knife since we could not find the toolbox)
- Guerrilla Glue and Tape (or strong glue packing tape) if not using a tape-able material.
Another way to insulate your faraday cage, which I like the results much better, was some extra carpet padding I found in the garage. If you use this however, tape is of little use, so any kind of strong glue should be efficient.
Cardboard, Carpet padding, and Bubble wrap are all good to put a barrier between your metal protection and your electronic devices. If your objects are touching the metal, or your barrier has open spaces, this will reduce or remove protection for your cell phones, laptops, computers and any other electrical device inside.
Directions
1. You can use the box your cans came in (if shipped) or other material. Put your trash can on flat cardboard and cut around the bottom of the lid in a circular fashion. Repeat. Now you have 2 circular barriers, one for the bottom and one for the lid of your metal can. You can use Guerrilla tape or packing tape to hold the inside together.
2. If using cardboard, or your box place a large piece in a circular motion and/or cut up other pieces to fill in the entire sides of your metal can. Use tape to fasten the bottom, lid, and sides securely to the can. I found with the carpet padding, I had to use glue, which seems to work fine.
Although my carpet pad barrier looks loose at the top, it helps seal around the top of the lid around the pad lining the lid. The day you decide to seal around the top of the lids with foil tap. Both insulators (upon testing) are solid faraday cages.
3. Last phase: Seal around the lip of your metal can lids tightly. You may wait to do this last part till disaster is at hand. However, you can even test without it and get good readings. You just don’t want to waste foil tape and it’s sticky.
I would like to add a tip for power sources and generators. I can’t speak to large generators as much, but I’ve found that if you put your smaller power sources in their original packing and place them in a box, put a few layers of aluminum foil securely taped around the boxes… you’ve just created your own faraday cages for small generators. This saves lots of space in your metal cans for other things.
Do not forget to wrap any solar panels for those generators as well.
To test your devices, you can use cell phones or a radio. Some cell signals are stronger than others. We tried this with all our phones. We put each of 4 cell phones inside the faraday cages (both padded cage and cardboard cage) 3 of them, when called from the outside line, went straight to voicemail. Nor did not ring in the cage.
My son had a strong phone and it only worked on his some of the time. After wrapping his twice with foil, we finally got the desired result. The padded can worked better than the cardboard can.
The best way to test was with a battery powered radio. You can clearly hear that the music playing starts to go to static as we put it in the box before even introducing the lid. With the lid on we knew they signal was completely gone.
It was a fun Saturday afternoon project and quite successful. You could make a day of it with your kids and/or family. Not only fun, but with a secure feeling that if S does HTF, you are well prepared.
You may also like:
Nuclear Powers, the Rise in the Middle-East and the New Bomb
Do You Make These Fatal Mistakes In A Crisis? (Video)
If An EMP Hits The US, Will Other Countries Help Out?
How to Build Your Own Wall Hanging Can Rotator
15 Things You Think You Know About Faraday Cages But You Don‘t
a critical issue that never gets addressed in regard to Faraday cage design and builds >>>
most probably neither an EMP or CME will be a single occurrence event – there’ll be follow-up bursts for days/weeks/years to the initial blasl that could be even more powerful …
that calls for a “use and scoot” usage – the Faraday cage will need to be uber uber durable for almost constant entry & closing …
From what I read, aluminum alone will NOT work. They do have something called EMP cloth and it’s made from several materials other than aluminum. It has nickel in it also. Gotta do more research. To test it I seen a video showing to use a small am radio (it operates on weak signals) and a cell phone(it operates on stronger signals. If both doesn’t work it’s good.
I have a large 9500 Champion, dual fuel generator.
I want to build a doghouse for it to be used outside. What kind of metal would be good for dual purposing the doghouse as a faraday cage?
Also, the generator doghouse has to be ventilated, and this will interfere with faraday cage efficiency. So, are locking vent covers going to be enough to seal the faraday cage?
Has anyone ever done what I purpose?
Thanks!
Hey Tal,
I use to run power generators in the military.
And put mine in a hole that the generator just fit in depth wise. Being air cooled, you will need to have more than just exhaust vent.
I don’t think with a faraday cage that you can allow any openings.
I have 2 generators and plan on keeping them locked down until needed, if EMP or CME is forecast or if not foreseen, at least one will be safe.(The dual-fuel will be safe)….
Flat steel panels which you can buy at some bog box stores or from a metal fabricator in your town. Leave room for vents for your generator but make plates that fit over the vent holes. Screw them down against the plate covering the walls of your “doghouse”If they are a snug fit, the electron path will be interrupted and they will prevent any leakage into the interior. Make sure no metal parts touch any part of the exterior walls. You can sit the generator on cardboard to insulate the feet from the floor of the “dog house”. Be sure that you cover the bottom of the structure with the sheet steel.
It doesn’t have to be special steel designed to stop bullets, even aluminum sheeting will do the job.
Reread the above article so that you feel you clearly understand how the items inside must be isolated from the outside walls.
Don’t be afraid to ask clarifying questions. The only dumb question is the unasked one.
Hey Chuck, Thanks for the FYI!
I’m thinking of building the wood frame for the doghouse, then cover the entire outside with carpet pad, then cover the pad with sheet aluminum. There will be a cement pad to set this on and I’m going to make it so I can lift the entire doghouse off the slab to get the generator in & out. I’ll have the sheet aluminum extend down the sides a couple inches so it slides over the edges of the slab to seal everything up. I’ll do the cellphone thing to check it.
The only real drawback I can see is where the soft copper propane line & wires come in. If I run it under the slab and up to the generator will EMP energy get in from underground?
Will EMP energy follow the copper pipe that will be coming from the house and will be exposed to the elements for about a 6’ run before going underground and will be connected directly to the generator? Would a rubber connecting hose between the generator & copper propane line insulate the generator?
Sound like a plan?
TAL Just wondering, would an electric magnate work for a connection outside? If there was a jolt in the system, it would drop off. They were using this in prisons, where any interruption of the electric meant gates and door closed and locked. If so, that means a ventilation system would be easy enough. Just wondering. niio
red the speed of the EMP event is less than the proverbial blink of an eye. The time for the flap to drop when the “jolt” occurred would be too slow to protect.
So if an EMP occurred all prison doors would be locked?
There has to be a non-electric backup I suppose?
Michael: Lockdown is no longer supposed to be automatic because of problems, but yes, it’s needed to keep prisoners from escaping with every thunderstorm. Each cell can be opened with a key. BTW, the flash of lightning that can wreck your computer is just as fast, but there are surge protectors and so on. As said, just wondering. niio
Technically, a lightning strike is an EMP, just more local and weaker. most electrical things which are not plugged in or otherwise isolated, will likely not be affected by an EMP strike. some of the more light duty electronic things, like computers, cell phones, t.v.’s, radios and the like COULD be affected. Unfortunately, there is no one answer fits all, as we don’t really have much information from physical testing…The government kinda squashed that…go figure.
Use galvanized stock/water tanks for cows and horses. They come on all sizes. I sprayed 2 with Zinc from Lowes. balanced the smaller one inside the larger one with a wood support brace. Wrapped edges in grounding wire tape. Put the tops on and it worked great. Those stock tanks come big enough to fit a generator. good luck
I keep my old cellphones (including an analogue) & accessories in Faraday boxes. Then I realized that if all wiring around me went, I could not charge them. So I bought a small powerful solar charging battery/power pack & put it in a Faraday box.
I keep my old cellphones (including an analogue) & accessories in Faraday boxes. Then I realized that if all wiring around me went, I could not charge them. So I bought a small powerful solar charging battery/power pack & put it in a Faraday box.
there’s a few UTubes from a scientist that did lab testing on garbage can Faraday cages >>>
found out that the almost invisible opening(s) around the handle rivets emitted critical damaging EMP level waves ….
you’d have to store that generator in a sealed steel box and then hope & pray another event occurs while you’re operating it ….
Illini: got it, thanks.
BLM burned a small church in Tucson. the cops refused to answer the calls. Neighbors took care of it. Got some fat and happy coyotes down there now.
niio
Red – Maybe they were all at the NRA Annual Meeting which was held today in Tucson.
CC: LOL! when someone tried to call the cops, they were shunted to a voice mail. Last month, Tucson demanded the colleges reopen. When that happens, dnc voter registration skyrockets. But, got to say it, the best thing to happen to conservatives in liberal states and towns is the BLM and antifa. Both show how desperate the dems are to own us. niio
Red – Who needs to prepare for and fear an EMP when we have the likes of these folks and their stance on fossil fuels? We’d be thrown back into the dark ages in no time under the Green New Deal! I’m sure LCC can speak to real experiences now in the PDRK under the likes of folks like Ms Kamala. May the Lord God help us all if they get in!
22: You just hit on another of the liberals’ hate crimes. Trump wants us energy independent and most dems are invested in oil- and gas imports. GND is pure nazism; Hitler said it was an integral part of Nazism; the earth is man’s only god. What it is, is green fascism.
Harris is an other greedy idiot. She made it to the senate because she bragged she put more blacks in prison than anyone ever in her district but never prosecuted a pedophile. Kali-fornia has the highest percentage of child slaves AND pedophiles. NYC is right after that. What senators shrieked the loudest when Trump said he’d fight slavery in the US? !
Arizona and other states declared sovereignty which is the in Constitution. the fed has no right to mandate anything beyond protecting this nation. With Barrett in the SP, I don’t think the dems will get very far. niio
Do you guys listen to yourselves when you talk or is it just Fox News and nationalist news parroting?
Trump wanted us energy independent, but the Green New Deal that focuses on renewable energy like solar and wind is…..Nazism and dependent on oil and gas?? It shows how little you objectively research something you don’t agree with. Having the nation run on solar, wind, hydro, and other renewable energy would be the epitome of energy independent.
I don’t even know where to start with the rest of the nonsense in this. Lay off the QAnon, thinking everyone you don’t like is a pedophile isn’t healthy.
Faraway from what we’re discussing. Gree New Deal is Nazism. Hitler said the the earth is man’s only god. He instituted quite a few things the dems love now. So far, wind and solar are mass failures that would collapse without taxpayer dollars going into them. they fine for an individual, but give nothing. Even Michael Moore saw that. Hydro is getting a lot more expensive, thanks to lawsuit, age and weathering on dams. The only source not so-called fossil fuel that actual makes a profit is geo. But, your friend, Hillary and the rest are anti-geo. But, they do own a lot of stock in companies like Haliburton, no?
Are you a pedo? If not, why why over it? I lived for years 25 miles from where biden was raised. The family is sex weird. Hunter is a violent pedo. Where did he get that from? If you don’t know by now, I suggest you stop watching Fox and mainline dinosaur news and seek answers. Very often, Indian Country Today has investigative reporting. Certainly Candace Owens, and a host of others do.
Faraway – The Green New Deal is an urban legend put forth by someone who knows nothing about energy and everything about junk science. I understand that she does however know how to make a pretty good mixed drink.
A Faraday cage does not have to be solid. Mesh works better than anything else. I always see people make “cages” and never ground them to earth which is a total failure. Also remember most comments about EMP energy are hype. We tested a 1970s era 4ESS communications system in a military HEMP camber and it worked perfect with no shielding. Long transmission lines absorb a lot of energy and will fail. Short length chip circuits make poor antennas and do not absorb much EMP energy. A well grounded generator case/frame in permanent installation is going to be fine.I have a small building over my gas generator with driven rod ground and code wiring to a manual grid disconnect. I have manual doors on both ends to allow air flow when running. Protect your electronics that have antennas because they absorb EMP. Everything else is going to be ok.
I’m not at all familiar with power generators, and EMP for that matter, but I’m thinking if the generator doesn’t have any electronics to start it and keep it running, it would not need to be protected. I have no idea if I’m right or not, but I’m looking into buying the same thing and your question gives me something to consider.
I built 3 in this way. 20 gallon can inside 32 gallon can. Both cans are lined with cardboard with the fluting vertical inside. Cardboard in both bottoms and lids. carpeting DID NOT block out radio waves in test. One can only was not as reliable in tests.
A while back I got curious about aluminum duct tape, so I took a 6″ piece & cut it in half lengthwise. Overlapped the ends so I had an 11″ strip and stuck that down on a board. Then I measured the dc resistance from end to end. It was an open circuit. The glue is an electrical insulator. You’re forming a very low value capacitor between the top of the tape & what you are attaching it to, so as a gap sealer against an emp it may/may not work. A capacitor will pass ac, the higher the frequency the better it is. Ran the same dc test with kitchen aluminum foil and some copper tape that had been discarded because the glue had dried out and got the same results. Kitchen foil should work if the strip was flipped so the shiny was making the contact across the gap. Taping the strip with packing tape would serve to hold it in place.
Tal
Your air intake problem can be solved by using metallic window screen (not the cheaper plastic they like to sell). Screen will restrict air flow so the opening will have to be sized to allow the air intake required.
Your main problem is getting rid of the exhaust.
Is your system wired so the gen comes on automatically when the power drops out? If so I’d suggest getting a spare control board & putting it into a separate, well sealed faraday cage. If you have a manual start system sealable hatches would work for power outage & the monthly exercises. (Generator manuf suggest a monthly start & run to make sure the system comes up to voltage & frequency as well as getting the engine hot enough to evaporate moisture that has condensed internally.)
I’m a big fan of Apocalyptic Literature. Some of the writing is pretty slick like the Forstchen books, but my favorites are the ones written by non-professionals who are pouring their real life experiences and a big part of their heart into their work. Ms.Harrison’s books sound like the latter, and I’m putting her next up on my Kindle.
Good article.
I will tell you that using a cell phone or radio to determine if your faraday cage is working, is worthless. An EMP pulse will be ten to a hundred thousand times as strong as any signel you are detecting. Even the CME will be a hundred or more times as strong. Determining that a cell phone needed to be wrapped more proves that you only have a metal box and not a real faraday cage. Sorry to dis-illunite you.
I keep my old cellphones (including an analogue) & accessories in Faraday boxes. Then I realized that if all wiring around me went, I could not charge them. So I bought a small powerful solar charging battery/power pack & put it in a Faraday box.
When I used trash cans for Faraday cages I made sure to tape all seams, inside and out including where the handles are fastened to the lid and sides. I wrapped all items in mylar bags.
Oops, forgot links to some detailed information on Faraday cages.
Here is the main website: https://disasterpreparer.com
Then scroll down to an assortment of videos for further information on Faraday cages
This is a nice HS science fair project! Fear these days brings home the cash! This is all turning into really big business. Lots of money being thrown around for what’s basically adult security blankets. Don’t expect to live pre EMP life post EMP, just expect to make do till things improve. Focus on Saving the knowledge and know how to do that is key.
CC: I agree. I think a great many folks just cannot imagine what life will be like after either a CME which is a sure thing or an EMP or just a significant attack on our grid system.
Generators are fine for a short term electrical outages, but having electricity for your home won’t be much help for urban peppers when the emergency generator that runs the sewer system fails for lack of fuel or the emergency generator for the water system fails for lack of same or, as in the case of the Thomas Fire a couple of years ago, didn’t work at all because the city folks at the water plant had never tried it to see if it worked. They installed the system and didn’t have a plan for regular testing of the system and so when the electrical infrastructure that ran the plant was burned in the fire and they tried to start the emergency equipment, it didn’t work! The resulting litigation is still wending its way through the preliminary stages.
While telephones with data stored and laptop computers with data stored can be helpful if stored in Faraday cages, as communication devices they won’t be much help when the cell towers fail due to overload or the backup batteries go down for lack of electricity.
So many folks just don’t get it. It will be “Welcome to the early 18th century without the infrastructure those folks had.” Sure, we will have knowledge they didn’t have. We know about bacteria and viruses that they didn’t know exist. We know why bad water makes us sick and we know how to avoid drinking bad water. We know — or should know — that bat’s wings, newt eyes, cat’s liver have no medicinal value. We know that oxen poop, no matter how fresh is not good stuff to put on wounds.
But, alas, many of us lack lots of knowledge that folks had then. My knowledge of animal husbandry is sadly deficient. It has been over 50 years since I saddled a horse. I think it would come back to me, but both the horse and I would be fairly uncomfortable for a while. I know zero about helping a cow deliver a calf. I know that sometimes one has to reach into the cow and drag the calf out but that is the limit of that knowledge. I know how to slaughter chickens from having watched my father perform the task but that was 70 years ago. The first couple of chickens I have to dispatch will be a sloppy job, I am sure. As far as the rest of chicken husbandry, it’s pretty limited.
For urban dwellers, unless we happen to have family or friends who own a small truck farm, it is difficult to really get hands on experience. Sure, we can read books and that is a big help but it really takes hands on to learn all the things the book didn’t mention. We are really going to be scrambling when a CME hits if the folks in power don’t do something about protecting the grid.
LCC: Tools make tools. It all starts with a fire and iron. Pretty much everything they did thru the 19th century can be done at home, even making rifles. If the people in Tian could make muskets out of bamboo and iron rings, we can do better. The original hand grenade was a small clay pot filled with pebbles and gun powder. Gun powder is sulfur (and can be bought already ground at most garden centers), charcoal, and saltpeter–dried urine. When push comes to shove, people get kick-started and learn like the ancestors did, fast on the brain. niio
Given your worst case scenario I think even a lot of well prepared homesteader types will find they weren’t really independent of the grid. Farm animals need feed, and most people don’t have the land or equipment to grow large quantities of hay and grain so they depend on the farm store. My neighbors that try to free range chickens have high losses to hawks and loose dogs. A surprising fact for me to learn was that most horses in the U.S. are not fit for work, they are basically pets. Put them to pulling a wagon or plowing and they will up and die.
Then there is the problem of boots and clothes, if you are doing ag work full time you’re lucky to get 3-6 months out of a pair of boots, mud, water, and manure eat ’em right up. Country living is tough, that’s why almost all pre-industrial cultures had serfs and slaves.
There’s several shows on RFD TV that instruct on how to train and use draft horses for a lot of work that would need to be done post EMP. If you’re going to feed something you might as well get something. A good draft horse would give you more bang for the buck sorta speak.
CC: Morgans are the best all-around if you can find one. At one time, Morgans and crossbreds were the horse of choice by the military, farmers, ranchers, and people in town. For cattle, give me an Andalusian. They love a good war. niio
Mike: Most horses will get eaten before neighborhood cats and dogs. Ranchers usually let work horse run when not needed.
Free range chickens kept in pods like Joe Salertain does and Pollo Royal in New Mexico do not suffer high losses; nor do Amish who go free-range. These are high volume producers. At one time, all poultry was free-range. The profit is high enough people are investing in livestock guard dogs. Sheep ranchers have said it’s harder to raise a sheep than poultry when close to town.
It’s hard to find street clothes that last long! But, for most who are making it, leather and homespun are going to replace the trash we have to pay so much for.
Good comments, thoughtful, but you always are that. niio
LCC – We can take some solace, in knowing that this is now being attended to under the current administration. After spending a lot of time on the job working through BCPs and DRPs for major Fortune 100’s, I would speculate that the formulation of the Space Force is an important part of that initiative. This issue must be attended to on shall we say, a much higher level which in hindsight will be much better than your basic wing and a prayer which we have now. Another Good decision by 45!
The doghouse idea is a good one. You can use metal mesh to cover the exhaust. For an idea of what size you need look no further than your microwave door.
LCC – We’ve got to do that “what if scenario” down to the next level to visualize what needs to be done! As for the poultry skills, same here! I happen to have an old meat cleaver in my kitchen draw which belonged to my great grandmother. Family legend has it that she raised geese in her backyard here in Queens – she called them her “feathered security team” with big benefits too – eggs, roast goose, pate, and down pillows and comforters!
CC: To loosen the feathers and make easier cleaning, use an ice pick to pierce the brain. Inside the mouth, his the top of the mouth and go deep. Do this when they’re bleeding out (we only cut the arteries along the head) because the heart will stop fast. niio
Red- Gee, Mystery solved! I have her ice pick too! It sure pays to hold on to stuff! So now all I need are geese! Very helpful. Thank you very much!
CC: Ain’t nothing. Too much experience with poultry, erk. Cattle and hogs were better, at least till we had to bring them down out of the brush. 🙂 For them, a good, large dog and a horse work the best. A good horse can outrun an angry steer or hog!
Did you ever raise geese? Usually friendly, funny, tasty, and in breeding season ganders attack to kill. Other than that they make great pets. The term ‘goosing someone’ came because of another bad habit they have, but we all have our little hobbies.
Best breed is Chinese. Lightweights, but hardy. One of Mom’s used to come to the back door and tap on it when she wanted some bread. Best ting, one gander will cover from 3-7 hens. European geese are monogamous and mate for life. African geese are the hardest to raise, the most aggressive. Chinas can lay up to 150 eggs a year in warm climates. China is said to have a new type that lays year-long. Euros lay about 50. In either case, if you steal the eggs, they can be put under Muscovy ducks or broody hens. One other thing good is, goose eggs can almost freeze and still go on to hatch. Yeah, Mom had her poultry.
You will need good pasture, and move them every few weeks. That’s true of any livestock to prevent build-up of parasites and flies. Up your way, earthworms will clean up their messes.
for eggs, best bet is the Asian breeds, which lay better than chickens on less feed. Were I farming up that way, I’d raise a flock of them just for eggs to sell. Waterfowl eggs are best for baking. (too much time spent as kitchen help when I was a kid, erk) niio
I lived in an old house on a ranch years ago. There was a flock of geese I wasn’t responsible for but always enjoyed them being around until I made the mistake of giving them a little corn. I only did it once but from then on the whole flock gathered outside my bedroom window at dawn every morning demanding corn. And waiting to goose me.
A faraday cage needs a grounding wire running to a copper rod in the ground to properly dissipate the EMP charge. DO NOT connect it to your house ground.
Can spray insulation foam be sprayed inside a metal drum to make a faraday cage? Is foam electrically conductive at all?
Quick question – I’ve been told that a good solid fire-proof gun safe locked and positioned in a lower level basement works as a great faraday cage. If there is any truth to that, it would be good to know. I always welcome a second opinion. And would like to also thank you in advance for any help you can provide.
One thing I see missing in the story is the need to ground the “cage”. Attach a grounding wire to the trash can/cage, and connect it to a copper rod that you can sink into the ground; the longer/deeper, the better. This will shunt any EMP/CME energy to earth ground.
For all who have questions about protection from EMP/CME, Dr. Arthur Bradley writing a new book, “Everything You Wanted To Know About Sex” — oops that title is already take “About EMP/CME” not nearly as intriguing as the first title but certainly of more concern.
On a more serious note, he has already written one book about gigantic electrical surges and in that book he details the tests he used and the results he got.
Interestingly enough, he found that plain ordinary duct tape blocked electron leakage better than the special electronic tape that was considerably more expensive. He described the tests he performed, the products he used and the results he got.
When his new book hits the market, I will post the information on this site so we can avail ourselves of some reliable information based on actual measured testing.
LCC: LOL, yes, thank you! niio
What kind of dung is everyone smoking? If you think your electronics are going to be useful after the power-grid goes down, Good-Luck. Where do you think the cell phone signals will go to – come from. How much fuel can U possibly store and for how long will it stay stable before it goes bad? You think U will be able to hang on to a gen. when the really bad guys want it to cool their beer? What good will a computer/I-pad be without an internet to draw from? If/when the Grid goes down, all electronics and power gens. will be just so much excess weight. Better to learn how to live totally without anything electronic. A Faraday cage is just so-much wasted effort. Nice to dream a little though.
This is an old thread, but it has been an interesting read.
To sort of answer the last question, posted by Chas, I can’t answer for everyone else, but for me – I really don’t care about cell phones. (I’d actually be pretty happy if the world was without them right now!) I’m printing out most “How-to” type info that would be stored on a flash drive, though more info could be stored on a flash or laptop drive, which would surely be useful, even without internet.
What I’d really like to do is preserve some small/medium solar capability to be able to power a few things on an as-needed basis – such as rechargeable batteries, a reverse osmosis water filter system (since that is one of only 2 ways I’ve found that should filter out radioactive particles, if necessary), maybe a small cooler/freezer to make ice when it’s hot. Perhaps to power up a small tool or appliance here and there. With rechargeables, you could use a set of walkie talkies to communicate with family if someone has to go out and about. Basically it could be useful for a few things like that.
I get the impression that most people are only using cell phones for testing purposes – just to see if any waves are able to get through. Though I have no idea if a cage would work in an EMP just because it keeps out a cell signal. Hard to say since there doesn’t seem to be much research.
Anyway, I appreciate all the articles and discussions here, as part of my learning journey!