Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
There are many potential disasters to prepare for, but perhaps the one that deserves the most preparation is an EMP (electromagnetic pulse). If you’ve done any previous research on prepping for disasters, then you’ve undoubtedly at least heard of EMP's, and for good reason.
An EMP attack would be cataclysmic because, assuming it were large enough, it would bring down the entire power grid across the country. We would literally have no power, no communications, no banking, no internet, no transportation, no running water, and no supply systems. And what’s worse, it would likely stay this way for years. In an instant, we would effectively be transported back to the 1800's.
One of the best ways you can prepare is to build Faraday cages to protect your electronic items so you can use them after the EMP has occurred. You would think that making an apparatus that could truly shield your electronic devices from an EMP would be a complicated and expensive process, but it can be done with little more than a cardboard box, some aluminum foil, an old piece of cloth, and plastic wrap.
What is a Faraday Cage?
Faraday Cages were invented by a British scientist named Michael Faraday in 1836. They are defined as any kind of enclosure with an outside layer made out of electrically conductive material in order to block electric fields. The size and shape of the enclosure does not matter, and the enclosure itself doesn’t have to be conductive. As you'll soon see, it can simply be any normal enclosure or box wrapped in a conductive material such as aluminum foil.
In a future article I'll go into more detail about how it works. For now, check out this article.
What Goes in a Faraday Cage?
- Phones.
- Kindles.
- Laptops.
- Ham Radios.
- GMRS Radios.
- Flash Drives.
- Any other electronic device you can use after the SHTF.
What Do You Need to Build a Faraday Cage?
You will need the following items to build your DIY Faraday Cage:
- Aluminum Foil (preferably heavy duty).
- Cloth (you can use anything from old clothes to towels).
- Plastic Wrap.
- Cardboard Box (size of your choice).
- Packing Tape.
- The electronic item you want shielded.
Step-by-Step Process to Building Your Faraday Cage (with Pictures)
1. Have your items laid out. In this example, our electronic device will be an ordinary phone and our piece of cloth is an old T-shirt.
2. Wrap the electronic device in your cloth. The purpose of this is to form a barrier between the device and the aluminum foil.
3. Once your electronic device has been fully wrapped in the cloth, wrap it further (and tighter) in plastic wrap.
4. Now that your electronic device is fully wrapped in cloth and the cloth is wrapped in plastic wrap, proceed to gently wrap this packaging with at least three layers of aluminum foil.
5. Once this is completed, confirm that there are no holes in the aluminum foil and that every square inch of the packaging has at least three layers of aluminum foil surrounding it.
6. Place the packaging in the cardboard box.
7. Shut the cardboard box and tape it down.
8. Wrap the entire cardboard box with at least two layers of aluminum foil.
9. That's it!
Conclusion
As you can see, building a DIY Faraday cage is a very inexpensive and straightforward process. The materials only cost a few dollars, and if an EMP ever happens, you'll be glad to have some working electronics.
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