Protecting Electronics in Metal Military Surplus Ammunition Cans- Part 4, by J.T.

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In this article series, I am sharing a better solution for protecting sensitive electronics stored in a Faraday cage made from metal military surplus ammunition cans. Parts 1, 2, 3 provided instructions on how to build the cans. Today, I will share more about how I use my cans and also offer some enhancements that can be added.

Using These Cans

Inside each can are silica gel dry packets to keep the inside dry and to prevent corrosion. A florescent paint symbol discreetly marks each of the cans. A label on painters’ tape for eases identification. Only the trickle charger for the Emergency Battery Bank is connected to the household electrical service.

1. Emergency Local Communication

This can contains a 50 Watt Quad Band Yaesu FT-8900R radio for emergency local communication. It is powered by two 7.5 amp hour batteries but with internal PowerPole connectors that may also be connected to the larger 140 amp hour Emergency Battery Bank (see below), plus a rollup j-pole antenna and LED flashlight with rechargeable batteries. All of these are included in this can.

Continue reading“Protecting Electronics in Metal Military Surplus Ammunition Cans- Part 4, by J.T.”

Economics & Investing for Preppers

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Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on buying Sterling Silver. (See the Tangibles Investing section near the end of this column.)

Precious Metals:

First, the big news this week is that spot gold gave up about $5 in early trading on Wednesday. This left the Gold Bull “Longs” unfazed.  They know that the long term trend for paper currencies is down, and gold is up.

o  o  o

Frank Holmes: Brexit One Year Later, In Five Charts

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Notes for Thursday – June 29, 2017

Seed for Security is having a sale. Their Non-GMO Flint Indian Corn is now on sale at 25% off with shipping included. They offer 1/2 Pint, which is Approximately 960 seeds, in a moisture proof Polly pouch with a desiccant. This corn combined with dry beans provides precious complementary protein from your garden. This offer is for a limited time.

Protecting Electronics in Metal Military Surplus Ammunition Cans- Part 3, by J.T.

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I am sharing a better solution for protecting sensitive electronics stored in metal military surplus ammunition cans made into a Faraday cage. In the Part 1, I talked about the ammunition cans that can be used and began the instructions for building ammunition can gaskets by listing the materials and tools required. Part 2 of this series consisted of the bulk of the instructions of how to make and assemble the RF and EMP shielding gasket, and we are continuing with these today, in Part 3. The following instructions are for a 20mm M548 ammunition can.

16. If you want to “belt-n-suspender” the conductivity between the sheet metal gasket and the lid, then remove some of the paint to reveal bare metal so that you have a good bare metal contact between the sheet metal gasket and the lid.

The sheet metal gasket with the copper mesh tape will be the gasket that will attenuate any electromagnetic radiation. The highly-charged radiation will stay on the outside of the metal can, which is where you want it rather than inside the can. You also may tack a strip of tinned copper mesh to the bare metal areas of the lid to ensure good conductive and bonding between the sheet metal gasket and the lid.

Continue reading“Protecting Electronics in Metal Military Surplus Ammunition Cans- Part 3, by J.T.”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods – a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. Rain water collection is the name of the game today.

Rainwater Collection

Are you thinking of moving off-grid and want to use a rain water collection system but you don’t like the blue barrels? Reader B.L. ran across an innovative system with barrel kits that are much better looking. You may not even recognize them for what they are until you look closely.

Communications

Reader P.S. sent in this article on 6 meters: Survivalist Magic. I have a couple of Icom T90As that I’ve kept handy. They are tri-banders with 2m, 6m, and 70cm. The article is right, 6m is highly underutilized and of considerable use if you have the equipment. The stock rubber ducky antenna doesn’t work very well for anything over about a mile, but I’ve had decent performance with the MFJ-1720S. You can also use the military manuals shown in the article to make some portable antennas with much better performance. (They just aren’t as convenient.)

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:”

Protecting Electronics in Metal Military Surplus Ammunition Cans- Part 2, by J.T.

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I am sharing a better solution for protecting sensitive electronics stored in metal military surplus ammunition cans made into a Faraday cage. In the Part 1, I talked about the ammunition cans that can be used. We then began the instructions for building ammunition can gaskets by listing the materials and tools required. Now, let’s move on.

Making and Assembling the RF and EMP Shielding Gasket

The following instructions are for a 20mm M548 ammunition can, which is my preferred can size. If using another ammunition can, you will need to make adjustments in measurements within these directions to adjust for your ammo can’s size. I’ll give some guidance along the way for doing so.

1. Cut the sheet metal into a 7” by 16¾” rectangle, for the 20mm can.

But always start out by taking a good measurement. You know the old saying of “measure twice, cut once” still applies here. (See the description below as to how to measure and cut the right sheet size for the gasket.) For other can sizes, cut the sheet metal accordingly. Make sure that the sheet metal slightly overlaps the rubber seal but isn’t too big that it overlaps the exterior dimension of the lower part of the can or affects or interferes with the inside edge or lip of the ammo can.

Continue reading“Protecting Electronics in Metal Military Surplus Ammunition Cans- Part 2, by J.T.”

Economics & Investing for Preppers

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Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on Rhodium.

Precious Metals:

First, there is this: Gold Steady Ahead Of US Data This Week, Weaker Dollar Supports

o  o  o

Some good news: Louisiana Ends Sales Tax On Gold And Silver Bullion

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JWR’s Recommendations of the Week

Here are JWR‘s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week’s emphasis is on waterproof fleece clothing and propane.

Books:

The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit

The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus

Movies:

Rogue One: A Star Wars Movie

Krav Maga Lesson Vol.1 – Defense on Jabs and Hooks

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Protecting Electronics in Metal Military Surplus Ammunition Cans- Part 1, by J.T.

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In this multi-part article, I am sharing a better solution for protecting sensitive electronics stored in metal military surplus ammunition cans. There are many references for making a Faraday Cage on SurvivalBlog. Some references go back as far as 2005. One solution was proposed in 2006 that required the removal of the rubber gasket on ammo cans and replacing the seals with a conductive material (stainless steel or steel wool). Other articles suggested the use of a galvanized garbage can that is sealed up with conductive metallic tape, or an open head steel drum, or using an old microwave oven and a metal cabinet. I have read and researched many great comments and feedback on the effectiveness of these EMP protection measures.

Previous Proposals

All of the proposed solutions are more or less effective. Some have been tested using some sophisticated test equipment that gives you some confidence that different approaches will be effective. But unless your solution is tested, then it’s still unclear if or how effective your solution will be when needed in the future.

The problem with many of these solutions is that each didn’t make it convenient to access. Perhaps it required the metal container to be resealed, while other solutions were sometimes big and bulky, or untested and may not be reliable in the worst-case scenarios.

Continue reading“Protecting Electronics in Metal Military Surplus Ammunition Cans- Part 1, by J.T.”