(This article is dedicated to Dave, who fielded the question that is the topic of this piece)
An excellent question was asked by Dave, one of the commenters on SHTFplan pertaining to EMP’s (Electromagnetic Pulses) and their effects on vehicles. Here it is:
“SERIOUS QUESTION: IF there is an EMP attack on the continental United States; is there ANY way you could protect your car? This might seem like a stupid question; but IF an EMP Strike fries everything electronic; I figure you have approximately about 15 – 30 minutes before the Mushroom clouds start going off in every major American City. You guys on this board are pretty knowledgeable; and I thought if someone would know; it would be here. Thanks.”
So with that, where to begin? The first thing to remember is that although scientists have studied the Compton Effect (the actual effects resulting from an electromagnetic pulse generated either by an EMP weapon or a “standard” nuclear detonation) they are not able to ascertain a precise answer to exactly how the effect will proceed. Such is because there are many factors that will influence such an EMP, and these variables are not able to be measured or quantified in a precise manner.
Some of those factors are the weather patterns and the existence of electrical storms that could disrupt or alter the pulse. Geography, the time of the year, and solar activity are all factors that could affect a pulse. These are not variables that can be controlled, making it an “inexact” hypothesis. Knowing this, there is still information that can be used to make a few choices and take some actions from a personal perspective.
For some starters, Wikipedia has a comprehensive article entitled Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse that will answer many questions about the nature of an EMP. Some case studies it mentions are the Starfish Prime test conducted by the U.S. and Soviet Test 184 by the USSR, both in 1962. The EMP produced by the tests knocked out streetlights 900 miles away (Starfish Prime) in Hawaii, and surges that knocked out power lines and started fires (Soviet Test 184). The tests are of interest because the U.S. and the Soviets actually conducted them to measure the effects of an EMP detonated at a high altitude. The Soviet tests in particular were made with smaller weapons of 300 kilotons.
This last statement is of significance because those tests were in 1962; today the world is much more adept at miniaturization of nuclear warheads for such a purpose as an EMP. Such is the reason that nations such as North Korea and Iran with their doctrines to employ a Super EMP weapon pose a threat…more than they would have fifty years ago. This is why we can’t think of them as just “backwards” states (which they are) from a conventional mindset of numbers of missiles they have, or an exchange with one of the superpowers. With miniaturization, here is the bottom line:
One small warhead in the kiloton range could produce an EMP that sends the U.S. into the Dark Ages.
With that being mentioned, go to dbtest.com, the website for Dayton T. Brown, Inc., that actually performs EMP testing in their private facility for electronic equipment, military equipment, and vehicles. The site informs us the company has an RS-105 EMP simulator to conduct such tests. They have a toll free number, 1-800-837-8456.
There being no reason to invent the wheel, that is one source of information. Here is another: an in-depth article that explores the effects of an EMP on vehicles. The article is entitled, EMP Effects on Vehicles, by Jerry Emanuelson. The article cites numerous studies, especially with test results from experiments conducted by White Sands Missile Range.
With regard to vehicles, the author points out an important factor:
“When it comes to wiring and electronics, however, the differences are much more striking. This fact makes generalizations about vehicles and EMP very difficult. Even if every make and model were tested on one occasion in an EMP simulator, the EMP sensitivity could be changed dramatically just by moving a wire or by changing the way that a cable is routed. This makes statements about the EMP sensitivity of any particular make and model nearly meaningless. This is why you will not find a listing anywhere of which makes and models of vehicles are EMP resistant.”
The author believes that most cars and trucks will not be affected by an EMP: the problem is with the microcircuits and computer chips found in almost all models from the 1990’s and forward. The rest of the car may very well be unaffected; however, computer ignition chips and microcircuits that control many engine functions may be rendered inoperable by the pulse.
“This pulse induces an electrical charge in material which conducts electricity — like the components of a computer or battle tank. If the pulse is strong enough, the electronic components can be fried or severely damaged. It is very possible, then, to have such a high altitude nuclear explosion from which personnel will suffer no ill effects but they may be out of business because none of their electronic gear will work.”
Public Press Release in Mr. Emanuelson’s article, White Sands Missile Range Public Affairs Office. April 2010
So what to do about this type of thing? The article goes on to provide specifics from research on shielding and how vehicles can (to a certain point) be protected, either from shielding within/upon the vehicle, or from blocking the EMP with use of a structure, either steel or concrete. There is a list from Clemson University that can be accessed in the article that gives data on shielding for different types of vehicles; the list is not comprehensive, but it gives a good idea of where your particular vehicle may fit in.
The author also cites another, even more comprehensive article as follows, and I’m quoting it directly from the article, as he explains how to reach the link to it:
“EMP Mitigation – Protecting Land Mobile Vehicles from HEMP Threat Environment” which was published in March 2011. They keep moving their web library, so I cannot link directly to it. To find this document, go to the Protection Technology Group page, then click on the Media Library link at the top of the page. On the Media Library page, click on White Papers. Scroll down on the White Papers page until you get to the article that you want. The article specifically applies to military vehicles, but has relevance to commercial vehicles as well.”
I visited the site. In addition to the author’s instructions, you will have to enter “EMP Mitigation” in the search bubble, and do not enter the entire title of the article. Then the piece comes up in its entirety. I must also mention there is a plethora of information in these White Papers that have to do with all kinds of EMP effects, ranging from vehicles to communications equipment. It’s all right there for the taking. By the way, HEMP stands for “High altitude Electromagnetic Pulse.”
In closing, some of the comments pertaining to Dave’s question were very sound, especially one by Old Guy who mentioned that it might mean death to be driving around with a vehicle when everyone else’s are inoperable/defunct from an EMP and they see you. Sound advice that I agree with. I add that in such a case, driving on the back roads to reach your home or your safe location would be priority, avoiding the IHM (Incredible Human Mob) along the way, and after that? You may only wish to utilize your working vehicle in the event of a dire emergency. Some of these sites and articles may get you started on researching what is needed for your particular vehicle. Hope to hear from you with plenty of good information to add to what’s been covered.
Jeremiah Johnson is the Nom de plume of a retired Green Beret of the United States Army Special Forces (Airborne). Mr. Johnson is also a Gunsmith, a Certified Master Herbalist, a Montana Master Food Preserver, and a graduate of the U.S. Army’s SERE school (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape). He lives in a cabin in the mountains of Western Montana with his wife and three cats. You can follow Jeremiah’s regular writings at SHTFplan.com or contact him here.
This article may be republished or excerpted with proper attribution to the author and a link to www.SHTFplan.com.
Related:
The Prepper’s Blueprint: A Step-By-Step Guide To Prepare For Any Disaster
A Green Beret’s Guide to EMP: Practical Steps to Prepare for a “Lights Out” Scenario
Build Your Own Faraday Cage Out of an Ammo Can
An EMP Attack And Nuclear War: Our Biggest Security Threat Is Not From North Korea, Russia or China
How To Survive Occupied America: “Red Dawn Just Started… And You’re In It”
I drive a 71 Buick Skylark… EMP survivor.
Mark,while a great car as not even 4X4 with all the dead cars on the road not much use.You at home perhaps locally useful or a damn good genny.
“damn good genny” … yupe got the inverter Faradayed.
A long winded rant by JJ when the bottom line is, nobody really knows what would happen.
My Bicycle is EMP Proof. I was trying to put together a bicycle cart, just before I moved to my rural BOL. There are a lot of clever ideas on Ytube. See what works for you. It will be a way to haul your stuff around in, or get groceries. I found a Deer Cart on Sportsmansguide for like $49 that will hold 300 Lbs. I’m trying to reconfigure it to make it more compact and like a box cart. Finding a good way to connect it to the bike seems to be the biggest challenge. There are also 1 wheel carts that seem really cool, but pricey, if you are riding on trails and want to keep you tire foot print single lane, one wheel bike trailers look great but can only carry about 85 Lbs.
A bike trailer would need to be sturdy enough to carry your Bug-Out Bag and gear on, guns and ammo boxes. Bikes are pretty stealthy, and you can camp anywhere there is cover and bushes, and hang up a hammock for sleeping quarters and have some camo blind material to camo your position with mosquito netting.
I was also thinking of a fold up bike to put on my Kayak for a back water escape if needed to get further in the boonies. Kayak to a road crossing, camo blanket over the kayak to hide that, and ride the fold up bike on the road into town. Reverse the travel route back to your hidey hole. Finding a safe place to be for months will get you over the initial hump of a total EMP collapse. Lots of killing, and looting will happen, mostly in search of food.
~WWTI… Some speculate to EMP Proof your car is to “Ground your car,” using Jumper cables from the engine block to your house ground wire and pole. Any thoughts on that technique to EMP Proof a vehicle? Think that would work?
I didn’t find the article “long winded”. It was concise, factual, and well cited. Great article.
I drive a Dodge Stratus!
Well, won’t do you any good after this one gets here:
Apocalyptic asteroid with power of 3 billion nukes may be headed for Earth…
ht tp://www.aol.com/article/news/2016/09/16/apocalyptic-asteroid-with-power-of-3-billion-nukes-may-be-headed/21473685/
It might be time to stock up on emergency supplies and finally invest in that fallout shelter you’ve been talking about building — not that it would really do you too much good in this scenario…
…there’s absolutely nothing you can do.
Nice knowin’ y’all
Lol.
I hate you dad!
78 ford E350…emp survivor…but it’s still a ford…soo..yeah… ~:|
Well,cars electronics get fried at least it’s fuel consumption improves greatly!
I will not bother with carrying a brain/other parts if on road for say work as too many cars will block me way.I do have a older 4×4 with electronic ignition but also originals points system,perhaps useful locally.I will perhaps be on a long hike with me Molle if emp hits while on road.
Another thing you can do is go to a junkyard and get a spare ignition module and or whatever else it takes to make your truck run and keep in in a mini-faraday with your vehicle. Just swap it out and away you go!
Hmmmm….,Warchild hates driving in traffic!All those dead cars mean no go unless 4×4.While others are figuring out what happened will be well on the hoof with car go bag and all that entails,panic will set in quick and if on a highway want out quick!Plus,as I said before,Warchild hates traffic1
I think a EMP could possibly effect the battery. I don’t rightly know. I have What I think will be fool proof. I own a old letter series Model M Farmall tractor. Its a LP burner. and has magneto ignition. Doesn’t need a battery to run. just a strong arm to hand crank it. I have extra magnetos stored in a faraday cage. That tractor pulling a pickup bed trailer can go places even a 4 wheel drive cannot go. it can also ford deeper water than most vehicles. It could follow power line or pipe line right of ways. Even go down the Rail Road track if I adjust the rear tires out to clear the rails. No need to travel the main or back roads.
Old guy,
EMP that everyone here worries about is a current imposed on long Inductors, like powerlines.
Small junctions such as a MOSFET junction will look like a volcano, if you hit them with thousands of volts, but you have to be really, really close, like not wearing static protection when swapping out a card in your computer.
Batteries( other than the new chinese Lithium solar batteries) are as simple as can be.
Mags are virtually impervious, why do you think they were adopted for airplane use?
As long as it it Diesel your tractor will run. I don’t trust gasoline as a fuel when the SHTF.
Gasoline when stored loses its octane. diesel when stored loses its cetane. both fuels can go bad rather quickly. LP never goes bad. It will last forever as long as it,s container tank doesn’t leak. I fill 100 pound bottles. I simply strap a 100 pound bottle alongside my tractor at a angle with the valve pointing down. I use that tractor quite a bit. When my supply of LP is used up. It would be possible to generate methane to power it. Im also modifying some 4 cycle engines to run on steam. The thing is surviving of hoarded supplys and fuel is actually simply enduring. When those supplys are exhausted its stone age. However if you have backup that can replace your fuel you can still plow your fields , pump water , generate electricity and possibly maintain a tolerable lifestyle. You need to be aware that when It all unravels you cant de doing anything that others don’t have. You are going to have to remain out of the spotlight and endure until after the 90% die off. Then you form your group. A group who endured and have been tested and proven & are healthy and no longer have illusions that its just going to be a ( reset). Folks who are not denialist. Only then do you plant crops and form a community.
Others have already put that in their list of places to keep an eye on, as they too intend to follow the power lines and creeks (with their rock-crawlers).
Most cars, with less pressure in the tires, will fit nicely on railroad tracks, and so you’d be up a creek again. Reverse on a tractor is mighty slow last time I used it. heheh…
Umm, nothing in a battery to be affected sir. The most I could see happening may be the ‘jolt’ might blow off some of the ‘white crud’ on the lead-plates (lead-acid types). Most do not feel a battery would be the worse for wear, nor be ‘flat’…
I do ‘hear ya’ on the strong back for the hand-crank though. Had my butt thrown more than once by those things…
I can cut the steering wheel lock one brake and spin my tractor around 360 degrees faster than you can stop and put a car in reverse. yes a car will run on the rails with deflated tires if the track is flat and level. slip off and you might get hung up at at the best have to drive to the next crossing to get back on the rails. And those big tanks you see on the side of locomotives. that’s not fuel. Its a slurry of sand and water. Used to spray on the tracks to gain tracton. and it wears the rail and leaves a razor sharp edge where theirs a curve and a grade. And that is where the car is most likely to slip off the rails. and the sidewalls will likely be cut open. And say you high railing and you hear a train coming. And your between crossings? how are you going to get off the tracks? my tractor could leave the track and go down the slope and right back. I spent a couple of years operating a backhoe on the Rail Road. We had steel wheels on the front bucket to guide it when high railing. There are all kinds of obstacles on the tracks things like frogs and switches. And they sometines place derail devices on seldom used tracks.
The timing of this article made my neck hair stand for a moment – started reading One Second After a couple days ago.
In an attempt to drive anywhere you better have a darn good means of pushing vehicles out of the way without risking a tire blowout or chassis damage,coolant/fuel leak, ect. A stock bumper won’t cut it and even with a beefed up bumper guard it could well be a drive into hell depending on how long after the initial hit occurred. There are a lot of firearms in this country and you better count on a lot of desperate and hungry people, some of them you may know and care about. In such a scenario seconds count. Have your plan together before hand, and at that very moment you’d better be busting your chops hardening the house. … or getting home
I sold my nice powerstroke truck for an IH 6.9 diesel f250. The only electrical component necessary for it to run is the fuel shutoff solenoid. However, making noise after the fact will most certainly attract attention from many who will seek it’s home.
Think about how many people still have car loans, and if an EMP hit, will the insurance companies cover that repair on the vehicle for EMP damage?? Will you keep on making your car payments on your car, or just tell the Bank to come get their piece of junk out of your yard?
Go ahead come repossess this hunk of junk. lol
Banks and Insurance Co’s will be out of Biz. What to do with all those inoperable cars sitting around? They will be stripped of all parts that can be used for something else. Tires off, stacked and filled with dirt, like a sand bag fighting position. Gas siphoned out of them, Mirrors missing, hubcaps used as a cooking pan. Car Jacks used to breach locked doorways by widening the door jam till the bolt is cleared.
~WWTI… I think having a set of good BOLT Cutters in SHTF will be a Huge Asset.
Forget your gas burner there will be no gas. Get a good bicycle . Expecialy a load hauling three wheeler. Get a hand truck with solid wheels . Or folding golf cart.your big problem will be hauling water. You will have to ruff it for at least one year. Then things will get back on line. Tubes and patches and a good air pump.
Our 4 wheelers have racks front and rear and get extremely good mileage. With a full tank and a 5 gal. can on the back we could go many many miles offroad and carry a substantial amount of stuff. Always have tire plugs and a small 12v. air compressor. Just got a winch for mine today… 2500 lbs. capacity, 59 bux at harbor frieght (I usually never shop there but..). Also picked up a set of steel loading ramps for 59 bux.
Bicycles suck for offroad and you cant carry shit and they have weak easy flat tires and you go slooowwww. I could make 10 gallons of gas last me a year if all I did was haul water and large game. Try bugging out in the mountains on a bicycle and let me know how that works out for ya….
Genius. People go Mt biking / Camping all the time. Where have you been? I spent a week out in Vail Mt Biking. Bikes are a huge asset. I ride mine on the trails, with a camel Back with hydration. You can add bike racks with packs and you can ride all over and cover a lot of ground. And beats the crap out of walking. Flats? You carry a couple of spare tubes and a tire pump, patch kits. Got all of that, and lots of smaller pouches for goodies. I pack a pistol on my bike pouch with extra mags.
Have you ever gone Mt biking? Or is this an armchair opinion? lol
~WWTI… Facts BTW/ The North Vietnamese beat the US with a Trail of bicycles humping gear down the Ho Chi Minh Trail. See how that worked for them…
A good read – Link: In the early days of the Ho Chi Minh trail, bicycles were often used to transport arms and equipment from North Vietnam to South Vietnam. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minh_trail
There will be gas in the cars that won’t run. I carry a siphon and a bucket and ice pick to puncture gas tanks.
Lone,you have a well a Bison hand pump will get you your water,most important necc.The bisons can lift beyond 500+’.
War child . It should lift gas. Do you mean 500 feet?
Yes eventually there will not be any gas. and eventually the batterys will go dead. Im actually thinking long term. The ( aftertime0 when it becomes necessary to produce almost everything locally. It might be after im taking the dirt nap. But hopefully my grandchildren will benefit. There are alternative fuels you can produce yourself. Its labor intensive but its possible.
10 gallons of gas per year? Ok. If water supply is close. And all the desperate people don’t snipe you. Driving any gas vehicle might be the most dangerous thing you could do post EMP . Even the cops will confiscate all running vehicles. The Vietnamese used bicycles to transport munitions. They didn’t ride the bike . They loaded it and walked it. A skate board and hand truck? A wheelbarrow ? Trying to puncture a car gas tank ? Pounding anything through hardend steel while laying on your back with a pan to collect the gas and pour into something with a funnel. Just slice the rubber hose and siphon . The hose looks like a radiator hose. Under the fender. But the sound of a motor will be like ringing a diner bell.
There are bicycle ready trailers easily hooked up and can haul up to 180 lbs. Works well on flat ground not so much on hills.Use two of them for the bike shop.
Modern vehicles would most likely be smoked by an EMP. I was thinking about getting a spare ECU for one of my vehicles. Unfortunately most of your late vehicles have multiple computers and sensors that could be effected. If any one of them is damaged the whole car is done. So you keep any of a dozen sensors and ECUs laying around for a few thousand dollars and hope you plug in the right one when SHTF? Unless you have the skills/knowledge to repair, you’re SOL. Even the computer you plug into your car to see what’s wrong could be fried.
Get a “hayburner” :).
Get a hay burner is correct, love horses, anything four legged,it will be the old west real fast….
I’ll give my usual advise.
Your car may stop, but it
will start right back up.
My newest car, a 02 VW runs a
OBDII on some weird SAE standard.
You can hit the car with lightening
and it will keep running just like
a jet engine does. Ever been in a plane hit
by lightning, I have several times.
Millions of amps and volts, just go where
they go, to put it simply.
If you have CE rated electronics and surge
suppressors your stuff will survive.
No need for Faraday cages, a CE rating
is essentially that.
I want to emphasize surge suppressors!
In a prior life I designed power supplies,
(and other things)that were certified to
fly on airplanes. My stuff passed EMP
conducted energy tests.
Here’s some testing data performed on cars. Realistically, IMHO, whether or not a car will run after EMP would probably be more of a function of the power of the EMP device and the distance from ground zero. When you have handheld EMP guns that can shut down a car it leads me to believe that probably an atomic EMP could do the same. IMHO.
ht tp://jalopnik.com/5937778/how-to-prepare-your-car-to-handle-an-emp-and-why-you-shouldnt-bother
Perhaps, in such an event, the least of our problems would be whether or not our vehicles would run. There would be no grocery stores, that were not void of everything, in a matter of hours (or less).
To possess a running vehicle would most likely mean you would be handing it over to the very first ‘road-block’ and then ‘commandeered’ (for the good of the many). Leaving you how far from your BOL? *I did not say the ‘roadblock’ was set up by LEOs either …people are SMART (and a fool and his money are soon parted) applies in this type of scenario as well, except you’d lose far more than your vehicle. (For instance, everything in it, everything in your pockets, your female family members and, your very life …in no special order of events). Simply put, GAME OVER.
I am quite sure this has also been thought out very well by hundreds of thousands of ‘loons’, and there are a great many ‘hoods’ who are CERTAIN to already have LEO ‘costumes’ and would be “chomping at the bit” for someone to come chugging down the road blissfully ‘unawares’. (Even if all you have is a horse-and-buggy that too would be confiscated by the first dirt-bag or TEAM-of-scum that caught sight of you. AMBUSH would become the new norm in less than a day if not the very first hour into “it.”
‘Tis best to have prepped previously, keep you and yours in a safe and defensible location and avoid any and all contact with (literally) everyone. No talking, no lights, nothing on that gives off a ‘magnetic field’ (anything electrical emits EMF for which a simple ‘sniffer’ can “sense and point you out” from hundreds of feet away (further if they have a parabolic antenna, which makes it easy to locate your exact direction). In fact, ample EMF can be ‘nailed’ from any number of satellites, or now, drones.
THERE WILL BE NO LAW ON THE STREETS and all things-of-horror will only worsen with time, for an endless period of time (or so it will surely seem, trust that much, cuz I’ve been there, done that …the ultimate test of perseverance on all levels).
In order to ensure survival for “you and yours” (or just you for that matter), the LESS you engage the enemy the higher your chances are of survival. A team of trained men WOULD go on the offensive and “charge into them” (yet even knarly ole Marines will “advance to the rear” to avert taking fire when out-gunned! lol… A trained Commando, alone, would NOT choose to engage without first attempting to get back to “his own” (that’s what the Army’s SERE school is all about isn’t it)? Yep. SURVIVAL-EVASION-RESISTANCE-ESCAPE. (You don’t see “blindly attack” in there do ya)? lol… If you do, it would be in the 2nd and third phases of training, NOT your first choice – which is SURVIVAL!
*Notice that right after ‘resistance’ is ‘escape’ (meaning you were captured for (mayhaps) choosing to engage a “small, five man team” that turned out to be the equivalent of a Naval SEAL Team. GAME OVER
Personally, I prefer never to fight unless I can make it 100% “on my terms and turf”. There is NOTHING at all that can be called “chicken-shit” with ‘falling back’ to regroup or to save a life is there? (Like yours)? Hell no. It’s called SMART! You see it all over this site in little ‘tidbits’, (“shoot-small-miss-small”, “Be Quiet, Be Smart” …and many, many more).
We had a wind storm last November that took out power for large areas for 2-14 days. There was no panic, people made do. I figure sheeple will take at least 24 hours to realize that it isn’t a run of the mill outage. Add to that the lack of communication with cell service out, even if some people are smart enough to figure for an EMP, passing that info around will be slow going. If you can bug out as soon as you know what’s going down, you should be fine. Leaving as soon as it is light outside so you don’t have to use headlights and before most people are up will help you avoid roadblocks.
My comment wont really address EMP’s but along the same lines I would like to add.
Building an EMP and delivering it would be a huge expense.
I have no idea of the cost or the complexity of such an undertaking,suffice to say it would be outside the capability of most country’s and governments in the world today.
A grid down situation could be accomplished very easily with a few dollars and the will to make it happen.
The high voltage transmission lines that carry the nations electrical power run through some desolate country, the old NIMBY thing comes into play here.
The nations grid map is available on the web for anyone that wants to look,the US gov shows you for free where they are located.
A few two man teams with rifles and the entire county would be without power for a long time, none of that bs about replacing transformers that are made in China.
So the grid can be taken down for the entire country for a few thousand dollars, think about for a few minutes.
No pie in the sky nonsense, it would be easy to do and cheap.
You think there might be some men in the ME whos wife and kids have been killed by our bombs that would step up and volunteer ?
Um, sitting here brainstorming …and I think we are being idiots. Consider this please:
With ALL of the nuclear “tests” that have been conducted by “X” number of nations, isn’t it a GIVEN that at least ONE nation has had the brains to place a vehicle (like a boat), in close proximity just to find out whether or not she’ll run after a nuke EMP or HEMP?
Seems to hold water in my humble opinion. (And, if that much is correct, you need look no further than military and political vehicles). THEY ALL HAVE FARADAY CAGES PROTECTING EVERYTHING “STEM TO STERN”. (Or everything that’s got ‘integrated or silicon electronic parts). Perhaps the old vacuum tube radios and HAMS would be unharmed – – but then Carrington Event comes to mind (but their batteries made it didn’t they)?
Equorial, that is true! You have to be stupid to charge into battle if you can evade them and either escape or attack from the rear (with good odds). Having a good dual sport motorcycle to commute with would be a great choice (for those who are proficient riders) to get you home in a crisis. Get the largest gas tank you can and make it an air cooled engine. Keep a bugout backpack with you with a steel plate (or ballistic plate) to cover your back from boolits.
I meant to say that “all of the newer military machines DO have Faraday Cages protecting the “good stuff” (the older machines were not updated to my knowledge …but at least they’ve ‘beefed up’ the inside ‘decks’ to withstand most I-E-Dees). Saves a lot of legs…
Legs that were blown off while protecting us from the boogeyman? What about the legs of the women and kids and innocent people the protectors blew off? Ehh fook them, GO USA!
If you get an EMP and your car survives, you better have some siphon gear with you, because chances are good that the mostly automated pay-at-the-pump gas pumps will be out, cash registers inside C-Stores will be out, and while the pumps inside the underground tanks may survive, they won’t have electricity to run. You have perhaps 3 days to get where you want to go, and after that the government and pirate roadblocks will be up – making car travel too dangerous.
I turned a shipping container into a big faraday cage with my farm truck inside it. As long as the EMP doesn’t hit when I take it out once a week to drive it and perform any maintenance I should have a working vehicle. I plan on only using it on my ranch for obvious reasons. In the event I have to move I have a back roads route planned to my alternate location.
Are LED lights burned out from and EMP?
I think what will blow in an EMP, is anything that has stored power in it, or running a open circuit with electrical current or capacitors.
What I am saying, is your unplugged Toaster will not be affected by an EMP. However your battery operated watch that is running that you wear may be affected. If it is not plugged in or holding any charge, I don’t think an EMP will affect it. So maybe disconnect your battery from your car, and let the components drain down of any residual current flows.
The downside, I don’t think we will get much of a warning that an EMP is going to hit to disconnect your car battery. It will just happen. Initially I think you just look up into the sky and watch all the airplanes begin to fall to the ground. You don’t want to live anywhere near any runway in an EMP, as planes try to glide in for a crash landing.
~WWTI…
People nowadays have a great feeling of entitlement to things you own, and it will be a thousand times worse in a collapse. Try to lay low and keep them at a distance. They don’t even have to be neighbors or kin folks. They may even be rich but don’t prepare for anything but if you have things they need after a collapse look out. Looters will be in great supply. Prepare to defend yourself from these people, be tough, some will look for easier picking but others will hurt you in a heart beat. If you can help the very young but don’t put your self at dire danger to do so. Take care of all you can and stay alive, you will be needed to help put things back together after the unprepared die or find a place to survive.
Horses are nice. Riding is a skill almost anyone can acquire. You might have to drive a ways to get to a horse ranch that rents horses and/or gives riding lessons. Keep going until you become proficient.
Ride a bike. A bicycle is great. Exercise out in the air and sunshine. Sunshine gives you Vitamin D. Without Vitamin D you get the flu. That is why people get the flu. Real doctors know this. Flu vaccines make Big Pharma more money than other vaccines. Big Pharma is going to lie and make you think you need tons of Cancer toxic lotion, but you don’t. Forget the sunscreen. Get as much sun as you can without burning. It’s the sunburns you want to avoid. A straw hat, cotton or linen clothing on hot summer days. And siesta during the hottest time of the day if you are traveling by bike in the hot summer. Take 5,000mg of Vitamin D in a high quality supplement. You just might never get the flu ever again.
Walk for five minutes run for three minutes. Strengthen your heart. Loose extra fat and look better. Get your dose of Vitamin D. Sunshine cures TB. It’s in the medical literature for over a hundred years. Sunshine was used to cure depression before Rothschild via Rockefeller, also a J*w, but Rockefeller changed his name to hide his J*wishness and his ties to the J*wish globalist conspirators, the Illumanati (Satanists). Rockefeller controls pharmacopeia, all the Medical schools, and your brainwashed mind. So walk. Walking is required to maintain human health. Without walking at least fifteen minutes a day you will become dangerously constipated. People with diarrhea usually are just so constipated that a partial blockage has formed. So walk. If you get very tired at first, it could be because walking is stimulating your gastrointestinal system. That is a good thing. Keep going. If you have no car, you will have to walk. Better to get your walking shoes now so you’ll be fit if and when you have no other alternative but to walk.
Be well all.
___
I used to run a 5 minute mile.
In my day that was fast. Today
that is slow.
I wear a knee brace today.
In order to make sure that when I walk
for miles I don’t screw up a knee
that was repaired by a fellow runner.
I was also told that the repair won’t
last forever.
Stay in shape but don’t push it.
Most of us here are no longer in
our twenties.
I’m 61 going on 16.
Bad knees. Eat wild blueberries. Blueberries make skin beautiful. Help with vision. Build collagen which is why it makes your skin flawless and if you have beautiful skin, you will be healthier inside. Blueberries fight bladder infection better than cranberries which are also good. Blueberries have resveratrol (a very nice trol ?). And collagen in wild blueberries help arthritic joints and , wait for it Rellic, your boney man knees. So, stop being a victim of unnecessary surgery. Be a prettier man and a younger man. Then chase your wife around the bedroom, because if she eats wild blueberries with you, she’s going to look gorgeous and have more stamina as all girls gone wild.
__
Important thing left out is the process known as coupling, which is related to why people hold the dangerous misconception that their car will not be impacted by an EMP.
The way an EMP works is by hitting big stuff first, then progressively coupling down until it is finally able to couple into the smaller, extremely sensitive electronic components. An EMP DOES NOT couple directly into the smaller electronics; it needs a conductive pathway to get there, and it cuts a path of destruction.
Think of all the big things an EMP will hit and destroy: power grid, water grid, fuel infrastructure, to name a few. The fatal flaw of the power grid are the backup systems: they are hard-wired directly into the grid for convenience. Primary goes down, backups kick into gear, no disruption. In an EMP, the voltage goes through the primaries into the backups; once that happens, no more power grid.
Water grid works pretty much the same way. Primary goes down, backups kick into gear, water still comes out of your faucet. EMP means you no longer get a drink of water from your faucet. In the case of water treatment facilities, once the EMP hits, anything untreated or partially treated inside the facility is going to backflow into the surrounding waterways. Those same waterways the first place the unprepared will head when a drink of water is nowhere to be found.
Consider Sandy a bench test for what our fuel infrastructure would look like after an EMP. No power means no fuel goes into the tankers, which would then go to fuel retailers/suppliers. Then add in the possibility of natural gas/petroleum distillate pipelines exploding when the voltage from the EMP hits them.
If you do not have your backups hard-wired into the grid, and have an adequate reserve of diesel, you can continue to operate manually until the diesel runs out. Having battery banks that can be charged off that diesel can extend your diesel reserves a little bit further.
PETE, that’s true. Another thing you can do if you have a backup Generator is have a battery bank and an inverter/charger. Run the gen for a while then shut it down and let the batteries and inverter take over. You can add solar panels too to help extend non gen runtime. Most generators put out a significant amount more power than is being used, put that extra power to good use by charging a battery bank with it. A 30 watt solar panel will keep 6 batteries trickle charged and a high amp charger and cheap inverter can be used as a substitute for the more expensive charger/inverter.
Is there an electronics engineer
on this site other than me?
Junk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Most sites are trying to sell you crap
you don’t need and stuff that may
not work.
KISS is the way to go.
If you don’t understand it
don’t buy it.
Genius, I use this battery Bank Charger if I am using my generator to bump up the volts on my solar system Bat-bank. You can charge 2 separate battery banks with this Samlex 30Amp charger.
12 Volt 30AmpBattery Charger Info Model: SEC-1230UL
Link: ht tp://samlexamerica.com/products/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=171
Works great.. $200.
~WWTI…
Solar panels, night vision , cell phones, P.C your cars computer are gone.Better have some good Faraday bags. With you med machines in them. 3 M is the highest rated ones,
solar panels should be fine.
I agree, solar panels may be OK in an EMP, I was thinking the weakest part of the system that could blow are the Inverters or the controllers. Mine are inside an aluminum box below the panels which may act as a faraday cage.
However my Solar Guy said he saw the damage of a lightening strike on one of his solar systems like mine, and the entire system was fried and destroyed and all the thin wires inside the panels were totally discolored and shot.. The entire system had to be replaced.
There are so many variables to what may be destroyed. Your car may be fried but your neighbors may not. I do believe though that the electrical grid will collapse, and why it would be great to have your own off the grid solar system. And it runs quiet like the wind. Which just don’t advertise you got power to the locals. Unless she is smoking hot and just left her husband who was not prepared at all, then tell her to bring her hair dryer. haha.
And a note to all these people who are unprepared, be prepared to see your family walk away from you in search of someone who is prepared. That Hot wife you thought you had, when you had electricity, POOF!!! she’s gone over to my place for a hot meal, cold champagne and the music is playing.. Your Value as a husband will diminish very quickly being unprepared, “Daddy how come we don’t have any food.. or Power??” Wait till the Grid goes down and the Divorce rate skyrockets. No Power no Wifey!!
~WWTI…
The worst thing about emp issues is no net!Think about it,no visiting sites like this,a virtual Algonquin Roundtable of scintillating conversation/spirited exchange of ideas/disparaging remarks/what have you,the horror!
You mean we will have to use ham radio instead? Ha ha ha, can you imagine that? You couldn’t get a word in edgewise! I would def. miss this place 🙁
I would miss Mac. He’s dreamy.
No internet, oh, no, what’ll we do??
What I want to know is will my Hitachi gas trimmer keep working?? Got gas!
Think I’ll need a couple of goats.
Old guy those farmall tractors are tuff as nails. Very simple you can pickup the cub which is the garden master around here for around $3000. brother in law had borrowed one from a buddy had a plow on it good for grading dirt road driveways. We used the sub soiler attachment and it was ripping through 4inch roots in the ground and pulling up 15 inch diameter rocks. Way better than your Sears garden tractor. I love the farmall cub damn good little machine. Emp wouldn’t stop it. It’s from a bygone era where shit was built of iron. Anyway for me if things fry and there is no vehicles I got wheelbarrel hand truck kids wagon for them to move things with. Hand trucks with large hard rubber wheels can haul heavy shit like drums of liquid. I do it at work all the time. I like the nylon gi duffle bags with the backpack straps they can be had used for $18 they are good for hauling shit on your back short distances. Good for hunting kills in spots you can only get to on foot. People use them for sporting gear like bats and balls. Cheap rugged and it works. I’m surprised people don’t mention them more. People always talk about their backpacks.
I was wondering if cars with special stereo systems . Have the CPU hardened? to not make static on the radio. Maybe they would have a better chance? But still having one of the only running cars in town. The national guard or cops would confiscate it . If someone didn’t shoot you for it first.
I tried to make a go cart run with a car starter motor. With batteries and solar panel to charge. And the trigger of a screw gun to regulate speed. Never finished it . But a car starter has a lot of power if geared right. And very quiet. Mabey dual starters. Or 12 volt out board motor . A 12 volt four wheeler.
Stanley!
I wish some CB expert would write about amping up CBs or antenas. To get news. Truckers probably know tricks can we use stereo amps? Or extension cords for antenas?
Get an all in one solution at Vivos.
Seems poloticians would not want a emp attack. Not that they care for us, but their families could be effected.
Perhaps I’m quite wrong. The open borders and mass immagration tell of a country asking for trouble.
The trucking industry here could slow to a crawl. Empty grocery shelves & gas stations out of fuel. Not pleasant.
If I could make one room in the house safe from EMP it would be my garage, save the cars, tractors, generator, garden tiller etc.
To protect a garage, wallpaper the entire ceiling and all walls with heavy duty freezer wrap. Seams should be overlapped, or taped with aluminum duct tape. Remove window trim on the inside and bring the foil to the window frame. Cover the window with heavy aluminum screen and nail back down the trim (the edge of screen should overlap foil). The trim can hide the screen edges. If you want a window that opens, build a heavy frame and hinge it to provide access, when closed the screen should contact the foil tightly. You can have sunlight come through windows and shield from EMP at the same time.
Trim foil around outlet and light fixture electrical boxes so it can’t short out wiring. Use metal outlet covers and metal lighting fixtures.
I have metal garage doors, but wood doors can be covered with foil or even thin sheet metal like rolls of roofing flashing. Building code requires a solid core door or a steel door to the house. Make sure it’s metal or metal covered.
When you are done, you want no gaps anywhere. With all doors to the garage shut, cell phones should not work anywhere in the garage. The car radios should also not work on either AM or FM.
To keep it working, never leave any appliances, tools or extension cords plugged in or the rooms shielding is compromised.
There are ways to sheild electrical wiring feeds into the shielded garage that could feed a sub panel there. That can be looked up on the Internet. It’s a bit complex to describe here.
You are describing something we do for EMI
not EMP.
Rellik, Absolutely correct.
The best shield would be a ferrous metal, like steel. It would shield better than heavy aluminum foil.
In a nuclear EMP there are a shower of energy in a broad range of frequencies. This room shield would do nothing to protect from the very low frequency energy, which is what would take out the power grid, but it would work great for EMP energy in radio and microwave frequencies.
Cars are already shielded, placing it into a shielded room would not hurt, and I think would increase it probability of survival.
Another post above talked of buying a shipping container to park his tractor in. I see that heavy steel container as a better solution than my shielded room, but code enforcement would not allow me to place a shipping container on my property. The steel shipping container also provides solid anti theft security.
Those Red Dot Scopes Sights you been counting on attached to your AR-15 may not work either, so always have your backup standard sites zeroed in at 100 yards as well, that you can quickly attach if needed.
~WWTI…
I believe you are wrong.
A nuke on the edge of space produces a very low frequency EMP spike. It would not effect small circuits. Mainly it would effect the power grid with miles of cable that act as an antenna.
Military EMP bombs produce much higher frequency energy spikes, those would break small electronics better. They put red dot scopes at risk. A nuclear EMP would be unlikely to damage them.
If you have a gun locker like a Stack-On or a safe, electronic scopes would be safe.
If there was a Red Dawn style war, complete with enemy air power, then your electronics would be at great risk constantly. If there was a North Korea “catch me if you can” one off nuke EMP, the risk is low, but still I’d expect a follow up bomb ten days later.
It is not that I don’t believe an EMP would be bad, but I have never seen any test showing how this would impact autos. It is just a little hard for me to believe that all vehicle will be killed. Has there been any test done on new vehicles Let say 2005 to present. And what is the results. What gets knocked out on the vehicles. If it is just the brain shouldn’t you buy one and have it on hand. I just want to know what gets knocked out so I can get and have on hand replacement parts.
Now saying this could someone guide me to the right area to research this for myself. THANKS
Sgt.
Hey Sarge,
Get a BS in Electrical engineering, Computer science, and spend twenty years at the Boeing company and Hughes, building EMI and EMP proof airplanes.
You may figure it out then.
The door on a microwave oven stops most waves but you can still watch. The new tech EMP weapons would Be like putting your cell phone in the microwave and pushing the on button . Anything with a silicon chip will fry. The CPU in your car. Voltage regulator in your alternator. Go to a salvage yard get them put them in a dead microwave oven. Or wrap them with paper then aluminum foil then paper again then foil then paper and foil again to make multi separated layers of aluminum foil. Any component or part that has a computer chip can fry. Watch a video to see how to change your alternator and CPU . Keep them and the tools you need in your trunk.
Think about having one of the only running cars. Bullet magnet.? Stay low.
And there are other chipped parts like ignition control modual. It’s a can of worms I keep a pair of roller blades or a skate board and a folding golf cart in the trunk. With survival pack. Sleeping bag life straw. You can load a folding golf cart pretty good. At least you won’t have to carry a heavy pack .
See my link below- Future Weapons did a test.
O they have a thing called a mountain bike . I’m not sure but I think it’s for the mountains . See how it works for ya…..
Wouldn’t one of those electrostatic grounding strips – used to prevent users getting a shock when touching the door handle – improve the protection of car electronics as the car becomes a Faraday cage?
I am truly amazed at how candy coated most sources are. The fact that references to articles some 54 years ago show how incredibly naïve people are. I have read most articles and they are very upbeat about the possibility for a modern vehicle’s survival of an EMP attack. This is all outdated pie in the sky stuff. What most sources cite is information based upon a “byproduct” of an event, or a Mickey Mouse test with some EMP contraption. It appears that the enemies of this nation are specifically designing weapons for maximum EMP effect, something most “authorities” on the subject seem to ignore. My opinion is that the knowledge of EMP effects has grown exponentially since 1962, and with that, the specialization of how to maximize the effect of such a weapon. Old points ignition vehicles or vehicles that can be converted to points ignition and carburetors aren’t selling like hotcakes for no reason!
Good luck.
Throw a metal screen across your engine bay each time you stop
With leads out to grounding stakes in the ground
Problem solved
Next
Although ,
If you are the only one rolling around in a operational vehicle , be ready to be shot dead
Lots of cars each week fall of a cliff during accidents and this is a well know fact or the time to live date is reached by the onboard computer and it stops the car from working.
Now i have never , ever lost a car to any EMP attack and it will be a small price to pay if we had one with all them CCTV’s watching our every move and if the computers at the tax office get fryed too then i will be quids in.
it’s you own government you need to watch because they can already stop cars by sending a signal to modern onboard car computers and it will be they that flip the switch if they need to and not China or Russia who will just turn you all to glass if you don’t control you’re rouge US government.
aahh… I see…only the U.S government is rogue..sure thing dickless..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUZZ3XflO-M
Hey, SHTF. I’m a frequent reader, infrequent commenter. Here’s a link to a vid showing a real world test of EMP vs a car from Future Weapons. Your car is F’d. Unless you park it in a steel conex or underground garage, you’ll be walking.
I don’t understand worry about a vehicle when EMP in the US = 100 potential Fukushima’s. Worse than that are cooling ponds that hold decades of spent fuel rods. So if all 104 nukes are scrammed safely – what happens in two weeks when fuel can’t make it to generators (assuming they work) to run pumps and spent fuel rods are exposed? I guess I am an alarmist – I am sure FEMA has a plan to get fuel to all those plants and keep the generators running until power is restored.
DOL
“..they are not able to ascertain a precise answer to exactly how the effect will proceed. Such is because there are many factors that will influence such an EMP, and these variables are not able to be measured or quantified in a precise manner.”
That never stopped the eggheads from pushing a conclusion before…
6BT cummins with a mechanical fuel shutoff. Carry a can of WD-40 for cold starts. Install an air compressor. Take out the electric starter and replace it with an air compressed starter.