The threat of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) being used as a weapon against the U.S. isn’t as far-fetched of a threat as many out there would like it to be. There are a number of other nations with EMP weapon capacity, and many of them hate the United States with a passion.
Perhaps it’s in recognition of this fact that you’ve come to the conclusion that you need to do something to prepare for such an event.
If you’ve read One Second After and both of the Lights Out books and know that the threat is real but aren’t really sure where to start in mitigating your disaster, you’ve come to the right place.
Let’s take a look at what you’ll need in such a kit.
The Kit Itself
If you read enough on EMPs, you’ll hear the term “Faraday cage” thrown around a lot in conversation. The term sounds all scientific and all that, so the concept of actually crafting your own Faraday cage sounds like something only an engineer can accomplish. Thankfully, it’s rather easy.
All you need are the following:
- A metal trash can (with lid)
- Aluminum HVAC tape
- Lots of newspaper
If you have those three items, you’re all set. Stuff everything you need for your kit inside this trash can, using balled up newspaper to ensure that nothing comes into contact with the metal of the can. If it comes into contact with the metal, it could easily be fried in the event of an EMP.
It’s best to insulate all of the electronics within your kit from each other as well. Try to keep everything inside from physically touching other objects.
Related: 5-Minutes DIY Tested Faraday Cage Out Of A Trash Can
Once this is accomplished, put the lid on tight, and then seal around the edge of the now closed lid with the aluminum HVAC tape.
Tada! You made a Faraday cage! Everything inside should easily survive an EMP.
But what should we stuff inside this EMP Survival Kit? That’s where the real conundrum lies, isn’t it?
A Rocket Stove
At the very bottom of the can, I would place a Minuteman Rocket Stove.
While this most certainly isn’t an item that needs a Faraday cage, the goal here is to create a total EMP survival kit.
So while there are going to be protected electronics within the cage, there are also going to be other items that don’t need such protection but will help you to survive an EMP.
In the event of such a disaster, this makes your EMP survival kit a one-stop-shop.
The reason you want a rocket stove is that post-pulse, you’re going to quickly run out of options for cooking your food. There will be no microwaves and few stoves, and what grills are out there will quickly run out of propane and charcoal.
However, a rocket stove can run on sticks and leaves, lights incredibly easily, and is very portable. I can’t recommend these highly enough.
Ham Radios
The next thing that you’re going to want to place in your Faraday cage is going to be ham radios.
Ideally, you’re going to want to stuff in as many different types of these as possible. Handy talkies, base stations, portable and mobile units – you’d ideally want them all.
Learn here how you can legally turn your CB car radio into a powerful transmitter capable of emitting and receiving communications from hundreds of miles away.
If nothing else, I recommend having three UV-5Rs in here for group comms on supply runs and for retreat security. If possible, see if you can put an Icom handy talkie that can hit the HF bands in there as well.
This will help you to listen in on out-of-state conversations so that you can get a better glimpse of what’s going on in the rest of the world.
Mission Darkness Faraday
This may not initially sound like it makes a lot of sense (What’s the point of having a Faraday cage after an EMP?), but hear me out.
If somebody is willing to destroy a country with an EMP, they’ve already shown that they have the ability to do so. As such, there is a possibility that they could launch a second EMP a few months after the first one so that all backup equipment would be fried. This would truly plunge the U.S. into the Dark Ages.
Personally, I would invest in three or four MD dry phone sleeves and store my ham HTs in these when they’re not in use. Better safe than sorry.
Food and Drink
You likely already have food stocked elsewhere in your home, but it never hurts to add more of what you can to an EMP kit as well. The more food you have after a disaster, the better off you will be.
As such, you should throw some supplies in here that store for a long time, and don’t take up a ton of space.
So here are some of the things that I recommend:
- Power Bars
As far as I’m concerned, these things last forever. They’re not the most flavorful of snacks, but they’re virtually indestructible and have a reasonable amount of nutrition. I’ve often found myself on backpacking trips chewing on one that was more than a few years old. I highly recommend keeping some of these on hand at all times.
- MREs
While somewhat of a bulkier item, if you can fit it, I highly recommend stuffing a few MREs into your can as well. Most of the time I make my own, but I am a fan of Patriot Supply MREs as well. A lot of times you can find them on fantastic sales of three days’ worth of food for $10 or so.
- Cup of Soup Packets
I’m personally a fan of these little individualized packets of dehydrated powder. They last fairly long, take up virtually no space whatsoever, and can serve as a wonderful base to a host of recipes. I do a lot of cooking with different online recipes and a cup of soup packets get featured in there pretty regularly.
- Instant Coffee
Because living in a post-pulse world will be hard enough, attempting to beat a caffeine addiction on top of things is just too much. Throw in a couple of those vacuum-sealed bricks of the cheap stuff. They should last for a very long time.
A Handpump
You’re still going to want to have access to gasoline if you can find it. Pre-1964 vehicles don’t have computers built into them and are still going to work post-pulse. There may be other vehicles that you’re able to get started as well. Gasoline is going to be a hot commodity item for a number of reasons. But the problem is that people aren’t going to be able to access the gas that’s right under their feet.
A handpump is essentially two long pieces of tubing that have a bulb pump in the middle of them.
You squeeze this part to begin pumping gas out of one container and pump it into the other container.
Even if the type you get isn’t long enough to reach down into a gas station’s underground storage, you’ll at least be able to siphon off gas from abandoned vehicles without having to suck through a garden hose.
A Sizeable Amount of Cash
I, and many others, argue that there will be a maximum of three days post-pulse until society collapses.
If you have reason to believe that it was an EMP strike that took out your power, I highly recommend getting to the nearest grocery store or gas station to clean them out of anything edible.
This will help top off your food stores with what has now become worthless.
Hygiene Tips
Proper hygiene is essential to health, and there’s a reason that strange diseases begin to pop up all over the place within disaster populations. Germs thrive in filthy environments, and post-disaster is no time to end up with some obscure form of infection simply because you couldn’t keep yourself clean.
So here are some of the things you should consider adding to your EMP survival kit:
- Toothpaste and Toothbrushes
These really don’t take up a lot of space, and your teeth are something you’re going to want to take very good care of post-disaster. If you’ve ever experienced the pain of a toothache, you know how it can absolutely devastate your ability to get anything accomplished. The pain quickly becomes all-encompassing.
Related: 10 Home Remedies for Emergency Toothache Relief
If you imagine such a situation occurring when there is virtually a zero percent chance that you’ll be able to see a dentist anytime soon, you’ll understand why it’s so important to take care of your teeth.
- A First Aid Kit
In my opinion, one of the prime pieces within your first aid kit should be Neosporin.
Our soldiers in the Vietnam War quickly learned how even the tiniest of nicks can quickly grow to be a nasty source of infection, and thus, how important it is to keep wounds clean.
⇒ 10 Medical Supplies You Need To Stockpile Before It’s Too Late
A small kit with plenty of antibiotic cream, a variety of bandages, and other odds and ends can both easily fit within the can as well as be a great aid post-pulse.
- Camping Shower
While improper handwashing and drinking contaminated water are going to be the chief culprits of disease, you’re still going to want to take a shower as often as possible as well. With a camping shower, all you have to do is fill the bag up with water and then hang that bag up from a high enough height that you can stand underneath it.
Besides the hygiene benefits of such, this is a huge morale booster after a disaster.
A Fire Striker, Bic Lighters, and Vaseline-Soaked Cotton Balls
You’re going to need a reliable means of starting fire now that there’s no electricity, and using a bow saw takes a heck of a lot of effort.
By keeping a fire going and having plenty of Bic lighters, and a couple of old pill bottles full of Vaseline-soaked cotton balls within your EMP survival kit, you’ll have a number of ways to ensure that you always have the means to cook your food and stay warm.
Candle Wicks
While you can easily find a number of DIY emergency candle articles out there online, I’ve had trouble getting any of them to actually hold a flame.
The best form of wick is still going to be a candle wick that was created for that specific purpose. Possessing a bag full of these will save you a lot of trouble in the future, and can potentially serve as the seed to a valuable source of future income as well.
LifeStraws
You likely already have a few different means of purifying water. However, there’s simply no reason to not throw a few more LifeStraws in this kit.
All of your water is now going to need to be treated before you drink it, and you need to ensure that you always have the means to do so readily available.
Powerless Tools
It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to fit these tools within the can, but that’s okay. They’re not going to need to be protected from an EMP to begin with. Provided that you have easy access to these post-pulse, you’ll be fine.
- A Crank Drill
Do you know those really old drills that rely on your spinning a handle to power them?
They’re absolutely fantastic tools, and you’re going to need them post-pulse. On a daily basis, my power drill is without a doubt the tool I use the most.
However, if the insides were fried or I no longer had access to electricity, I could easily resort to one of these old drills that I picked up from my grandpa. They’re readily available at antique shops.
- A Hammer
Who doesn’t have a hammer in their home? That’s a good thing because, as an old Marine taught me, you can do just about anything with a hammer.
- An Ax and Maul
Though I do prefer getting to use my chainsaw, gas will be at a premium post-pulse, and things are going to begin having to be done the old-fashioned way. Chief of these things that need to be accomplished is keeping your house warm, and that involves firewood. It’s wise to always have a well-maintained ax and maul handy.
- A Crowbar
I live on a farm, and a crowbar is quite simply one of the most useful tools out there. I end up using it all the time for projects that I never thought that I would need it for.
Related: Farm Murders: What You Need To Know If You Live On A Homestead
It’s not always used for demolition jobs either. I constantly find myself using it to help pry up tree roots, lift up a board so that I can screw it flush with an adjacent board, and so on.
Honing Stone
Post-pulse, you’re going to be using edged surfaces a lot. Whether we’re talking about an ax or a knife, you need to be able to sharpen all of them. A honing stone will enable you to do this.
Self-Defense Weapons
You’ll likely want to have your self-defense weapons kept out of the can, as once again, they’re not going to need pulse protection. The best weapon that you can have in a post-disaster world is a quality gun that can spit out lead when you need it most. I’m personally a fan of platforms that can be beat up and abused and still fire.
If you’re living in a world where you’re going to have to have a firearm on your person on a daily basis due to a very real threat of engaging in a gunfight, you’re going to be exposing your weapon to a lot of dirt and grime.
Having a weapon malfunction in the middle of a shootout is a good way to get yourself killed, and you want something that can handle a bit of dirt and still go bang. I highly recommend the AK-47 platform, Glocks, an SKS, or lever-action .30-.30s.
Generic Survival Gear
There are two other main items that you’re going to want to have within an EMP survival kit that will also easily fit in the can.
- A Quality Tarp
I use tarps for just about everything at my place. They get used on backpacking trips, to cover firewood, as makeshift shelters for farm animals, for covering lawnmowers, and for a host of other uses. I highly recommend picking up two or three of these from your local Harbor Freight and lining the edge of the can with them.
- Paracord
You wouldn’t buy a gun but never buy ammo, and buying a tarp without picking up some paracord is kind of the same concept. You may as well get the other half of the kit. This will easily fit within the can, and you’ll find a host of uses for it without any problem.
Final Thoughts
Throughout history, mankind has done what he can to insulate himself against specific threats. For the ancient Romans, this entailed training with swords. For the British Empire, it involved learning how to fight at sea. Although mankind’s weapons now are more abstract and out of sight than they’ve ever been in history, this is by no means an indication that we should do nothing to prepare for disaster.
The threat of an EMP is very real, and it only makes sense to do some things to help to lessen the havoc that such an event would unleash on your family. However, by following the above steps to create an EMP survival kit, you’ll be exponentially more prepared than the greater part of the American populace.
Are there other items that you think we should have included in this kit? Have you made one of these before? Do you have any experience with making Faraday cages in general? Let us know in the comments below!
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Emp is interesting but unlikely when compared to civil unrest or collapse.
Most cars will be running while the power grid won’t. If you live in town you’re dead.
Most cars wouldn’t be running a strong enough EMP would disable any car with an electronic fuel ignition , so pretty much any car made after 1985. That’s why I have and maintain a 1976 F250.
Its nice but you spent to many years in prepper porn novels.
Its unlikely that the majority of cars will be fired. Most newer cars have shielding that your 77 doesn’t.
Raven: I believe you are confusing an EMP with a CME. There is a good chance many motor vehicles will survive a CME which influences anything connected to long strips of metal, including railroad tracks. The effects of an EMP are more generalized and certainly any EMP set off by an enemy would be maximized to affect motor vehicles. The more miniaturization the electronics have, the more susceptible it is to an EMP sourced wave force.
It is unfortunate that the only test that has been reported so far on motor vehicles was an inconclusive test that was next to worthless. There may have been secret goobermint tests done but if so, I think the results were such that the goobermint buried them beneath Cheyanne Mountain.
It is my personally held opinion that all motor vehicles using some form of electric drive will be toast unless they are buried deep in a cave under a mountain. The goobermint, especially under Two-Shot Joe is committed to everybody running around in useless electric cars. If an EMP just totally wipes out electric cars as I suspect it would, I think the goobermint would bury reports of any such tests under penalty of a black rendition to an unknown location deep in the Middle East if revealed.
I think it is most unfortunate that there have been no significant tests done on motor vehicles and the results of those tests reported to the general public. The only reported tests I have found were half hearted testing done on privately owned vehicles which made the folks conducting the testing very reluctant to test to total failure. As reported, as soon as cars started to go south they stopped testing. Only understandable. I wouldn’t want my personal vehicle turned into a junkyard scrap heap.
I would agree LCC: The last 15-20 years the auto manufacturers have pretty much turned vehicles into computers on wheels. The multiple ECU’S on vehicles now are very miniaturized and full of very delicate circuitry. They also need to communicate with each other to start the vehicle let alone drive it.
The pre 1966/1977 vehicles do not have electronics that
require shielding.
If fact checking is too difficult for you and Illini Warrior just
keep making stupid comments. The rest of us will make the necessary corrections.
You both need to get back on your meds.
You should get Russian media translated. They will use an EMP to hit the decision making areas of the countries who decided to put missiles on the Russian border. In this country, that means D.C.
My EMP bag contains a small solar charger. The rationale is that my radio and flash light batteries can be charged. There are several small items like a personal fan for comfort that can also be run on batteries and living in the south, this could be a true luxury in the summer, or a life saver depending on severity of over heating.
I’m new to all this and I’m curious as to why you say food should not be included in the EMP survival kit. Will an EMP strike contaminate food?
CC:
The short answer is no, electromagnetic pulses don’t affect food. There is some questions about whether or not they can affect the human neurological system, but I believe the overall opinion is that it’s not a huge risk.
I think the main objection is that any food stores should be checked over for damage and rotated into use more frequently than your EMP proofed tools and gadgets.
Once you have sealed your EMP kit, it shouldn’t be opened unless you have reason to believe that it may have sustained damage from say, a flood. Or to check/rotate batteries. The more you open and close a sealed container, the more opportunities there are to damage the contents by allowing humidity into the packaging. You also might forget to close it up properly if something came up whilst you were doing so. If an EMP were to occur in that interim, your preps would be useless.
That being said, food also might be damaged by off gassing corroded batteries, so your best bet would be to have a farriday cage for your electronics, a separate EMP proofed container for your batteries, and a third container (s) for food. That way, you can check and rotate food and batteries without disturbing the electronics or each other. Keeping food with your electronics is not necessarily a good idea unless it’s a package of lifeboat survival bars and a cheap transistor radio in your BOB.
BTW, you should also make sure you have your can up on a pallet if you store it in your garage or basement. This allows for air circulation underneath to prevent moisture build up that can corrode your can, and will keep it above floor level in case there is some sort of water leak from heavy rain or a broken water pipe. A corroded can won’t protect your tools.
Hope this helps, CC, and welcome aboard!
Miss Kitty: Good reply. The only addendum I would add is that most “authorities” I have read seem to feel that batteries will not be affected by either an EMP or a CME. That is for simple batteries. If you have batteries that contain some type of circuitry, then the answers suddenly turn vague. So based merely on general consensus, run of the mill batteries might be safe in just the factory packaging. Of course, for those of us who wear a belt and suspenders, storing batteries in an ammo can that has the edges of the lid sealed with duct tape and the batteries insulated inside from contact with the outer shell of the can just seems like good common sense without much further ado.
Rather than keeping my foodstuffs in a garbage can and duct taping the lid down. I prefer to keep them in, now illegal in the PDRK, styrofoam ice chests. I have already seen the future. Cold shipping containers emanating from the PDRK will be composed of some kind of paper composite — that is until the greenies start to decry the use of paper as murdering trees. Then all cold shipments within and emanating form the PDRK will cease. Of course, Amazon will merely switch to shipping cold stuff from Arizona or Nevada, probably from their giant shipping center just outside Reno. That has happened before.
Many people overlook the value of insulating their stored foods. They are misled by the fact that the insulation doesn’t keep the food at an even temperature. That is quite true, but the insulation ameliorates the dramatic temperature swings that otherwise would occur.
MREs stored in an insulating container might experience a day/night temperature swing of 65 to 85°F whereas not in any kind of insulating container the day/night temperature swing in the summer might be on the order of 85 to 140 or more degrees F. Limiting the temperature swings to a lower arc is better than having extreme temperature swings for long term storage.
The same applies to water. I have taken water out of a styrofoam ice chest with no ice, just the bottles stored in the container at the height of the heat of the day and the water will be cool to drink. That means the temp of the water is less than 96°F even though the temp inside the car in the summer in SoCal might easily be 140 or more. Summertime is coming. Try it for yourself. Styrofoam ice chests are still available at a very nominal cost in — I really don’t know what adjective to use to describe the incredible nonsense that takes place in Schitzomento, but other states with at least a modicum of sensibility.
Our solution to a Faraday cage is the large metal garbage can lined with a slightly smaller heavy duty plastic garbage can. Insert the plastic can lid upside down snuggly on the plastic can, then put the larger metal lid on.
Best homemade Faraday cage instructions I’ve read so far. I will definitely make some like this.
I wish I could give you more than one “thumbs up!”
I noticed the article had called for newspaper. I haven’t read a physical newspaper in years. Your solution works far better.
I am old enough to remember that appliance electric cords insulated the wires inside the cord in wrapped brown paper. Apparently 80 years ago,brown paper was considered sufficient insulation for small appliance electric cords, toasters, mixers, hot plates etc. I believe the practice of paper insulation continued up into the 1960s. I seem to recall household appliances that we had that would have been purchased post 1959 that had brown paper insulation.
Chuck … you talking about that paper mice and rats used to use for flavoring while gnawing their way down to the copper wiring? Yeah, I’m old enough to remember those days as well. I also remember crank telephones and black and white TVs and 15 cents a gallon gas. Those were just about the days we were learning about EMPs over the Atolls. But for some reason I am failing to get your point friend.
99.9% of the time I agree, or at least partially agree, with the gist of these Ask A Prepper articles of interest. After all, being an avid decades-long prepper myself, I am always on the lookout for new ideas. But the offering above is, at best, reaching. #1 If another country hits us with an EMP attack all heck is going to break-out all over the world …. there will be no second strike months later. #2 Storing food in your Faraday Cage is not a good idea. Matter of fact storing anything other than electronics and electronic repair items in your trash can is a bad idea for too many reasons to list here. #3 Keep your Faraday Cage as small and lightweight as possible. #4 I saw no mention of keeping spare brain-boxes and electronic switch parts for your automobiles and/or 4 wheelers, etc., in the can. I saw no mention of good radios (to listen to superstitions that will be broadcasting) or small solar generators or LED flashlights or … well, you get the picture. #5 There was no mention of where said large trashcan Faraday Cage might be stored. IE: Under a house maybe? Partially buried? In the garage? In the barn? Storage shed? Under the back deck? Oh wait … please tell me the author wasn’t suggesting somewhere inside the home? #6 Line the inside of the can with cardboard, not newspaper. Preferably waxed and treated cardboard. Better yet, spray the inside of the can with a thick coat of elastomeric coating (Flex Seal, automotive wheel-well rock coating, etc., etc., etc.) AND THEN line it with waxed and treated cardboard, bottom, sides and top and then separate items with bubble wrap or foam packing, even foam peanuts … but not newspaper. NEVER newspaper.. Nothing absorbent, nothing that shrinks and compacts or deteriorates over time under gravitational forces. Nothing that bugs like to eat or nest-in. #7 Use desiccant inside the can. Electronics damaged by moisture are not even good anchors. #8 Store critical electronics inside heavy duty plastic bags or specially made zip locks or even inside of mylar and vacuum-packed bags. #9 If you need batteries for any of your electronics make sure you store those in bags and MAKE SURE you check them regularly. If they go bad inside the can they will begin to outgas and the gas they give off will deteriorate plastics and can potentially ruin valuable electronics. #10 Store necessary electronic-centric tools and equipment, small non-elecric soldering irons, solder, various tubes of flux, dielectric grease, acid neutralizing agents (a box of baking soda for instance, in a bag) etc. Remember, when it comes to valuable Post SHTF items two is one, one is none. I could go on and on but this gives a little insight as-to why I found the above article to be beneath the normal Ask A Prepper standards.
Lol you think the ecu is cheap …. yeah we got endless money to buy spare programmed ecus for everyone
LOL… I think your posts are cheap Raven. You seem to have endless time to troll every comment section on article basically adding nothing to anything or anyone of substance.
I believe storing your electronics in the cardboard boxes they came in inside the trash can is adequate. The boxes will separate the electronics from the exterior of the can as well as keep them apart from other electronics. Don’t clutter up the can with additional cardboard or paper.
Spike, while I agree with your premise I disagree with your spacial reasoning assumptions. Shipping boxes tend to take up too much space and they are, by nature, square whereas trash cans are round. Round hole square peg sort of thing. You’ll pack far more electronics into a smaller can using foam or rubber insulation and, at the same time, it will protect your valuable electronics far better against, not only whatever alpha, beta, gamma wave attempting to do your valuables harm … but against moisture and the acid used in the production of paper products. Ever notice what unwaxes cardboard does to brass ammunition over time? See WWI Surplus ammo before they started waxing their cardboard in WWII for an example. Properly packing your Faraday Cage with a good insulating long lasting, shock absorbing, anti-rodent material is not clutter … it is good practice, common sense. If it were not product packers would still be packing with newspaper type paper products rather than Styrofoam or air bags or foam sheets … or thick treated waxed cardboard for that matter. The beauty of waxed cardboard is that it can be cut and bent and molded to fit needs. It can also be spray coated with the same Flex Seal type products I mentioned elsewhere and then bent or shaped to fit a particular can or box or space in need of insulating.
Sorry, i don’t agree to the idea of packing the cage with nonessential electrical equipment. I packed mine with only those things affected by EMP, plus some supporting equipment. That includes a couple of 30aH 12 vdc storage batteries, inverter, 12vdc power supply, test equipment (fluke VOM, fluke ammeter, etc) 100watts worth of solar panels, A couple of 12v alternators (can be turned into wind or water power generators), and a supply of common electrical components components, soldering tools ,paste, solder and the like.
Everything else is segregated and packaged by the frequency that it turns over or must be serviced.
I have my faraday “cage” grounded with #6 welding cable attached to a doubled copper plated steel ground stakes as per recommendations for lightning protection.
And YES.. there is some controversy as to the effect of grounding. By all means YOU should make your own minds up, just like I did.
I see no reason to store anything not susceptible to an EMP in your Faraday cage.
I agree. I have my brass pliers, brass screw driver and brass crescent wrench stored in my specially constructed Faraday cage. I don’t need no stinkin’ EMP magnetizing my tools. Also, my wooden matches have a special compartment so I can get to them easily (I still need to figure out where to store my candles), I believe radios will be non-effective since no one in my area had the foresight to prepare for the inevitable, so I am not wasting any money on such frivolous niceties. I have $200,000 confederate dollars (inherited – I am not THAT old), stored in my cage for the emergency cash reserve. I do have a beta tape player with recorded CNN broadcasts and Biden speeches.. gotta have some comedy available while I am enjoying my ice cream.
BTW.. this was all written tongue-in-cheek.. Faraday cages will be a lifesaver to some, and an Albatross to others. Time and events will let each of us learn just how well our training and preparations have been. Space, while not a problem to some, is not unlimited. Unless you are building a Faraday vault, research what will be most useful in your environment and situation. You may not have all of the equipment you need, but you do need to protect all of the equipment you have.
Wow! I’m glad you added tongue in cheek. I thought you had somehow slipped a couple of cogs and gone way astray. I don’t know who gave you a thumbs down. Obviously they did not read the whole post. Glad to see some humor show up every once in a while. It help keep a too serious topic a little light-hearted. We will all need a laugh when the worst happens.
Ok. Once you get your Faraday cage, wrapped up, packed up, and in place, what’s the best way to test it?
I’m going to have to disagree with the idea of this. Trying to stuff all of this stuff in a metal standard size garbage can is going to be difficult.
I’d suggest keeping your items not affected by EMP in a known location, and leave the electronics safely inside your Faraday cage.
Also, most folks would store something like this in the garage. Here in Texas my garage has hit 135 degrees in the summer. I can only imagine what that heat would do to those power bars.
Same here in southern Arizona. I think the power bars can just stay in the house.
Omega: Baked Power Bars is a gourmet delight in certain circles. I understand it is the de rigueur small plates snack in West Hollywood.(Smiling)
I have read Ted Koppel’s book, “lights Out”. What is the second book to which the author refers?
Food, food and more food is going to be everything. If a vehicle runs, can you keep it? It will be taken from you for sure.
If we get hit with an EMP attack the rest of the world will be ducking. Unless Biden has no gonads. Nuclear winter will then become a MUCH LARGER issue. An EMP attack on us would precipitate a full scale exchange for sure. It does not matter what you own at that point, trust me, I worked with nukes. If you survive the blast, then the fallout, then the raging fires, all of the material put into the atmosphere will darken the face of the earth for years.
I tend to view an EMP as more of a Carrington type event provided courtesy of our very own dwarf star. That one we have a shot at surviving by using Faraday cages and years worth of supplies. It will be extremely rough going but I believe it can be done.
Nuclear Winter is a bs theory that Carl Sagan started back in the 1980s.
He tried, dozens of times, to get computers to verified his theories and models. And every time, the computers showed him, he was wrong.
So, he put new data in, having fires, from nukes, that never stopped and put out clouds of smoke like oil fires, and BINGO!
Nuclear Winter proven.
Consco: I did find this searching Amazon books:
Estonian Army Uniforms and Insignia 1936-44
by Ted Koppel & Fred Limberg | Jan 1, 1983
I didn’t check a sample of the book to see if it related to prepping, I leaped to the conclusion that it probably did not.
I didn’t know that Ted was that interested in Estonian WWII uniforms and insignia. As a matter of fact, I didn’t know that anyone was interested enough in WWII Estonian uniforms and insignia to pay for a book about them. No disrespect to the Estonians, but a book like that seems like a bit of esoterica, especially as it is written in English and not in the language of Estonian folk who just might be a tad more interested than I.
Ted has a couple other books mostly about the entertainment field, ie., news in the media. I again leaped to the conclusion that they did not contain anything pertaining to prepping. If other followers of this list have read his other books and if there is important prepping info in them I will happily be corrected.
It is hard to know exactly the extent of damage that an EMP would cause, There has never been high megaton
high altitude detonation with the possible exception of the
U.S. test many years ago code name Starfish Prime. The
Russians have also conducted one EMP test however
test data is unavailable.
The CME that impacted northeast Canada and the northeast U.S. caused power outages but no severe
long term infrastructure damage.
Maybe instead of fearing…we need to be more concerned about our spiritual elements…is your relationship with Jesus the way it should be….Are you living everyday as the best person you can be?? The end is coming nothing will stop it… Don’t shove your head in the sand like an ostrich….but don’t fear what is to come…cuz whatever ya fear often times isn’t what happens. Besides in most cases….no matter what…hoarding will cause raiders…being blind causes misery…moderation in all things….Walk the narrow path… Do the crazy politically incorrect thing….USE YOUR HEAD AND THINK FIRST!!!
I would also suggest whetstone oil and lubricant for your firearms. Maybe an extra handgun in the barrel and bullets. Sealing everything in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers might be a good idea too.
Living on the coast as I do, I’ve seen what the constant dampness and salt air does to metal, so maybe coating the trash can itself with a paint like rust-oleum might be a good idea.
I find that a prepper article is only part of the learning experience here. The 2nd part is the inputs from all the other readers. From that, I draw my own conclusions based on my own knowledge and common sense.
Regarding Ham Radios, I am a licensed Ham and think that getting a Ham Radio license just for prepper use is a waste of time. Let’s use some common sense. After an EMP strike, I would think the aggressor would be monitoring the nation with listening satellites to catalog the locations of all the radio signals that survived the strike. Then they would know where to concentrate their future strikes. Also, as the aftermath of the event degrades into life and death struggles, do you really want to give away your position to some nefarious people just so you can tell them what your status is? I think a better plan is to have a good all band receiver and just listen. On the right frequencies, time of day, and a reasonable antenna, one can hear all over the world. If our country is toast, then listen to news broadcasts from other nations. In even a small group, they might dedicate one radio savvy person to spend his time (maybe a few hours a day) listening for outside news. But I don’t think you ever want to use your transmitter, which means no license is needed. Back around 1950, I remember listening to my grandmother’s old Zenith radio that had some shortwave bands. As a kid, I could often hear Radio Moscow and other places.
The other form of radio communications for your group might be several of these cheap walkie-talkies that come in a blister pack from a number of retail stores. They are cheap, work pretty well up to a ½ mile in the forest, further in a clear area, transmit about ½ watt output, which means the batteries will last longer. In this case, some nefarious people would have to be fairly close to hear your transmissions. Picking up your signal with a satellite would be a challenge, but even if they did, it would be determined to just be a cheap walkie-talkie that happened to survive the attack. If that is all it is, no need to waste munitions on it. Especially if your group keeps their transmissions down to a bare minimum. But this would give your group a form of emergency communications within the distance that one might stray on foot from your home base.
For batteries, I would have extra rechargeable batteries and a solar panel. I have found that even the non-rechargeable batteries can be recharged, one to a few times, before the will no longer take a charge. Putting your solar panels out in the sun and recharging batteries could be an additional chore for your dedicated radio man. Solar panels are fairly cheap now. I recently bought a couple of standard size, 315 watt panels for about $160 each. I’ve seen EMP tests that claim solar panels will survive if not connected to anything.
If finances allow, I would also have an electric chain saw and other power tools, which would be a great labor savor. Charging a few golf cart batteries ($120 each) to run an inverter could lead to other labor-saving tools, even a microwave. If the golf cart batteries are cared for properly, they should last 3-5 years. You may double the life of your lead acid batteries if you always store them at the end of the day fully charged. That means use your power tools early in the day so that the sun can recharge them before sundown. This also means not using them much at night, which is probably safer than having your home base all lit up for an outsider to spot. Of course, if money is no object, use lithium ion batteries and most of these concerns go away, and they will last much longer.
Just avoid the license and get the equipment. You will have the option to listen as well as communicate. Plus hand-held are nice radios for the fireteams.
I agree, Raven. If it is truly an end of the world event, there won’t be any FCC to come calling because you made a transmission that might be illegal under a now defunct law.
It just may be that you will want to contact some other group to consolidate. This would be especially true if your group were quite small and felt endangered by larger organized groups that were hostile to yours. It just might be that they are a little further away than the quarter or half mile that you can reach with GMRS radios. Handhelds are better than shouting, but not by much. They are great hunting aids in open plains country but not much help in hilly country with numerous gullies and other blocking terrain features.
Oldprep is right that you want to be careful in broadcasting. That’s how the goobermint is able to track and record all your cell calls and posts like this without a search warrant because they are broadcast publicly for anyone, including the goobermint to capture and record and store for future usage. Or any other nefarious purpose.
Very Strange! A comment by Raven that made sense!
See.Your meds work if you use them
I prep somewhat lol and I read most of these prepper pages.
What I think may not be worth a hill of beans.
I ask you these questions.
Why will you be interested in what is going on in the rest of the world?
That is only your curiosity and curiosity killed the cat.
Why would you need any electronics other then some two way radios, some rechargeable batteries and a solar recharger?
Why go to all this trouble and expense when all you really need is 3 to 6 months of food, ammo, self defense guns, seeds for a crop, and to learn the old ways people used to survive.
Yes their will be people hunting for your food and ammo. But the trick is for them not to find it or for you to be ready to fight.
The problem with all this is most preppers can not afford all the equipment. They can not afford the price of a camp or camps to run to.
So what I have come up with is have a couple two way radios you can communicate with family if you are separated such as one hunting and another at home or camp.
Use your food supplemented by what you can find through hunting gathering.
3 to 6 months food depending on what time of year this happens, so you can raise crops to replace and store for the next year’s starving time.
As to defense hide so have your stuff you don’t want taken hidden well and fight only as last resort. There are cheap ways to do this. One thing when you go to your storage make sure no one is watching and that you don’t go but once every week. When you do go get enough for a week. This way no trail leads to it.
As to fighting that will be your last thing you will want. Hiding is best. Keep close watch and when you see or hear someone then put your hiding plan in to action.
The last resort is to fight.
Let them aggressive types fight each other.
After about 3 to 6 months you will find most of the aggressive people are dead because they used taking from others to survive and not using real survival tactics.
At this point you might want to make contact with outside people but cautiously.
The more contact you have with outside the less secure you are. The reason is people know you exist and will tell others.
If you are using a ham radio to communicate with some one, all it take is two ham operators with directional beams to give your direction and where the two drawn lines cross on a map is your approximate location. With three they can triangulate your exact location and thing is they don’t even have to transmit just receive.
So be independent and use your brain this is the most important thing you have as a prepper. All the rest is just window dressing.
Dreaded:
“If you are using a ham radio to communicate with some one, all it take is two ham operators with directional beams to give your direction and where the two drawn lines cross on a map is your approximate location. With three they can triangulate your exact location and thing is they don’t even have to transmit just receive.”
Yep, and that’s how the Feds got Cody Jarrett in the movie “White Heat”.
Self defense guns? Whats that kinda gun?
Six months of food without a resupply is just starvation. Why travel to get your food .
After the weak are killed off you will have professional killers now looking for you types
Self defense guns? Whats that kinda gun?
Six months of food without a resupply is just starvation. Why travel to get your food .
After the weak are killed off you will have professional killers now looking for you types
Dreaded: Three to six months worth of food just might not be enough.
Suppose you were a militant jihadist with a big enough budget to buy a tramp steamer, equip it with a mid range rocket and let it drift around to various ports doing what tramp steamers do; finally reaching the Gulf of Mexico in November.
Your captain fires his SCUD at the same time another tramp steamer off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico does the same thing, only a day later because he forgot about the Date Line.
In most of the U.S. November is the start of winter. It is going to be March at best and more likely April before you can plant crops in a goodly part of the U.S. That’s six months until you get the seeds in the ground. You are going to be pretty hungry by the time June rolls around and early crops are able to be harvested. Yeah, you can use green houses and plant protectors to get an early start, but that means more exposure and more stuff to acquire and skills to study.
Perhaps you live in a game-rich, people-poor area and can harvest wild game to supplement your 3 to 6 months of food. I would suggest that the biggest number of folks live in cities where possum, raccoons, rats, mice, crows, squirrels, rabbits and other small game and the rare big game currently resident in our cities will soon be depleted, certainly in less than six months. Inasmuch as most grocery stores only have a 3-day supply of food for normal purchases, you can see that Safeway, Publix, 7-11 and various gas stations/convenience stores will stripped clean before the dust settles.
Your thoughts are okay, but I would suggest that your food supply, without mentioning water, is a bit on the short side.
With regard to radios, in the event that the rest of the world somehow survives a devastating attack on the U.S., it might just be handy to contact rescue forces that might possibly come from any allies we might have at the time in time for them to bring you necessary food and medical supplies, which I noticed that you didn’t mention, in order to save lives.
True, it is easy to triangulate your location by skilled radio operators. That’s why it is essential to establish security protocols immediately upon contact with another “friendly” radio location. You should have the security protocols already thought out in your mind before you start attempting to contact others so that you don’t have to think of them while on the air.
It just might be really nice to learn to transmit in CW so that you can use code to transmit and not have to rely on voice transmissions. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending upon one’s viewpoint learning Morse Code is no longer a prerequisite for obtaining a license. If you and your radio contact transmit in CW there is a very good chance folks who can intercept your messages won’t be able to copy the code sufficiently to make sense out of it, especially if you use the ham abbreviations together with CW. They may not even be listening on that frequency.
While acquiring ham equipment is not at the top of my list of essentials, Given the opportunity to acquire the equipment and learn code, I wouldn’t reject it out of hand. If you have the cash and the time, I would acquire it. It’s nice to have and not need as opposed to needing it desperately and having it.
Really good comments again. After an EMP there are no rules, no FCC. Transmit away. That said, OPSEC becomes priority and any “public” transmission should be brief and pre planned. Listening to other counties radios would be cool but I don’t speak Russian so unless I heard “NUKE” I would just assume they are looking for Vodka! The Faraday cage has captured my curiosity a long time ago. I have no expectations that the majority of them will run. I have planned for all of those useless road blocks to be fuel containers for a generator. I am building a sound box for mine to hopefully buy me some conveniences. Solar panels are a must and I think lead acid batteries are the best bet for the money. I believe that Lithium Ion use electronics to control the charge. If its not protected its toast with an EMP. Love the plastic trashcan inside the metal can idea. I keep all but 2 radios in pelican cases inside my Faraday cage. I have several for future group purposes I think the food issue is Meh. store food anywhere you can. I agree with potential outgassing but……..If you have the cage then you probably have someplace to properly store food. Just keep any batteries away from direct contact with concrete. Short range radios can provide security in a lot of suburban neighborhoods. If a gang is monitored coming in to your area, a few random shots may put them back on their heels without giving away your exact location. Community is a funny thing. Neighbors are friends for for the first few days. It will change after a week of nothing and it will change a lot after 1 month, 3 months. Choose your friends carefully. And yes, get right with God. He runs this show!
Did I miss anything??
I still dream about a shipping container made into an Faraday cage. It comes with 4 sides solid and welded together. That leaves the floor and end doors. Putting some sort of mesh screen on the floor should fix that. That leaves the doors. What sort of ideas can we come up with to solve that? Just think of the stuff we could put in there!!! An Atv or even a small Japanese mini truck and still have room to walk around it. How about some constructive ideas and leave out the criticism. Would putting it inside a bigger steel building help buffer the intensity of the EMP?
I have two 40′ shipping containers out by one of my barns of which their sole purposes are to act as Faraday Cages. I have Faraday Cages inside of Faraday Cages inside of Faraday Cages nested like Russian Dolls. The key to the door issue is to have hinged copper flaps battening the door seams automatically when closed via a springed hinged system. There are plenty of plans available out there for free. You can also use copper meshed gaskets, which some people choose to do. Speaking of nesting Faraday Cages … quite honestly baking tins and popcorn tins make for some great Faraday Cages and can be easily nested inside of garbage cans, etc. I am a true believer in redundancy because, be-it solar flare or a hostile attack, those with electricity (and the ability to generate it, by whatever means, and to store it) and the ability to communicate or listen-in will have an advantage (when combined with proper location and all other considerations). Same holds true for the ability to have mechanical transportation, mechanical farming implements, battery powdered night vision devices, etc.
Sounds like you’ve done a lot of research on this. Do we need metal to metal contact without any paint in between? If so, how would you stop the bare metal of the container from rusting? Rust by itself would form an insulating barrier between the metal parts. I’m not sure the metal needs to be metal-metal because just like a mesh isn’t solid either but still stops an EMP.
Metal is going to corrode over time, there is no stopping it. However, if you spray paint the outside, coat the inside with an elastomeric, you’ll have no problems making it last for decades provided you keep it dry and out of the weather. Keeping the inside dry is important. Layers is always the key to everything when thinking EMP and most who will tell you that modern vehicles are immune to EMP have not really done their homework. Some are more immune than others, it all just depends. Some may get you home if the vehicle is already running … but once you cut it off it will not start again without replacing certain circuitry and/or switches. Our grid needs to be hardened – experts have been warning about it for years now but congress will not fund it. We’re going to suffer a major long term outtage one day, that much is inevitable. The military will still function because their equipment is hardened to milspec standards … but most others will be adversely affected. There are some really good white papers out there on the subject, in PDF form, free for the taking. There has been tons and tons of studies done. Nesting essential spare electronics is easy and not that expensive depending upon how deep you wanna go. I’m lucky to have the space and the means and wearwithall to be able to prep for such an event over the course of the past two decades … and I am constantly tweaking things, upgrading, adding-to … to the point where I am comfortable with my situation. 20 years ago it was just the wife and kids. Now it’s wife and kids and their spouses and my grandchildren that I prep-for so it’s worth it to me. Let’s hope the need never arises.
Nevermind the metal eventually rusting out, but eventually the electronics themselves will wear out. Computer circuitry, which is in all new cars, is a good example of planned obsolescence. Once the motherboard and other components fail, will replacement parts even be available?
Spike-similar to the plastic trash can inside a metal trash can idea. Any metalic material will act as shielding. Ive seen the video from EMPdoctor on YT where he used chicken wire that performed pretty well. Im using aluminum window screen with aluminum/metal tape. Might be an easy option for flooring and doors. He sells emp cloth but that is expensive. Your best bet is layers from what I have learned.
LCC, how would I protect a gas portable generator with spark plug? Take off the magneto and ]UT in a faraday?????
Magneto is not silicon based.
They sell a large Faraday box and bags too that might protect generators.
Problem is twofold with generators –
1) They are LOUD (draws others to it).
2) Fuel is finite (when it runs out there isn’t any more).
How many days or weeks will your fuel last?
What happens when you run out?
Noise will attract others that want your stuff.
Sound travels a very long way at night too.
What good is a hammer without nails?
A hand drill without drill bits?
Screwdrivers without screws?
No mention of a hand saw.
If there occurs a “Pearl Harbor” style “EMP Sneak Attack”, by an unknown source, which is likely how this will go down, if and when it happens.
Then after the complete collapse of society, there will be those that were smart and stockpiled protected gear. For continuity purposes, If they have the funds, they should be redundant with extra critical electronic systems.
If China is behind the EMP attack, they will obviously deny it, but later they will float balloons (with listening devices) over America to locate technology activity, and then they will absolutely launch more EMP devices to completely end access to our technology.
Be Smart…Protect It when not using it.