Letter Re: EMP Protection Measures

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Hugh and James:

I’m missing something regarding EMP protection measures, and I could use some help.

I have researched EMP, how it’s created, and the common frequencies of EMP. I’ve looked into its relative intensity based on creation mode, altitude (in the case of nuclear devices), and the extended effects attributed to conductive networks. I understand what a Faraday cage is and how it works. And I’ve read numerous articles, lots of forum comments, endless opinions, a quantity of engineering documents, and several much learned evaluations on protecting against EMP.

The Problem

So here’s where I keep running aground: Protecting from EMP is, at its base, a simple affair. You provide a conductive shell around what one wishes to protect. Grounding that shell, or not grounding, is a subject of debate. However, my experience with electronics indicates that if the shell is doing its job, grounding it is not a problem. It may or may not be required, or even useful, to electrically insulate sensitive contents from the conductive shell. That answer depends on to whom that question is addressed. But consensus seems to indicate that it can do no harm.Continue reading“Letter Re: EMP Protection Measures”

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.

Wow! Mrs. Latimer informed me of this jewel. A self-proclaimed far left liberal writes about the accuracy of conservative social predictions and the refusal of college campus professors to even discuss their offenses to block conservative voices and debate. While he disagrees with conservatives about what is good and bad, he admits we have some things correct.The professor is concerned about the lack of discussion. The conservative voice is being shut out and no one is allowed to discuss it. Furthermore, he states that it would be difficult to be a conservative professor on today’s campuses, particularly in humanities and social sciences. What does that tell us about sending our young people off to college?

Excerpts:

“Social cons said that no-fault divorce would read to vastly higher divorce rates, and it did. Social cons said that ending the norm of the two-parent family would lead to more single-parent households, and they were correct. Social cons said that widespread access to birth control would lead to sexual licentiousness, and they were right. Social cons said that legalized abortion would decouple sex from procreation, and that happened. Social cons said that decriminalization of gay sex would lead to social acceptance of gay people, and so it was. Social cons said that social acceptance of gay people would lead to gay marriage, and that was true. Social cons said that efforts to end stigma against trans people would lead to a general rejection of the gender binary, and so it has… Again, these are mostly all good consequences, which is the difference between me and them.”

“The number of boilerplate conservative opinions that are taken to be too offensive to be voiced in the campus space just grows and grows, and yet progressive profs I know are so offended by the idea that they could be creating a hostile atmosphere, they won’t even discuss the subject in good faith.”

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

The Editors’ Quote Of The Day

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“There is a tide in the affairs of men. Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat, And we must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures.” – William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

Notes for Wednesday – May 10, 2017

May 10th is the birthday of the late Col. Jeff Cooper (born 1920, died September 25, 2006).  It should be a National Holiday!

May 10th is also the birthday of the late Janis Pinups (born 1925, died 15 June 2007). He was one of the last of the Forest Brothers anti-communist resistance fighters. He came out of hiding, after five decades, to obtain a Latvian passport in 1994, after the collapse of eastern European communism. (He was never issued any communist government identity papers and by necessity lived as a nonexistent ghost during the entire Soviet occupation of Latvia.)

Prepping on a Budget- Part 1, by The Newbie

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It’s good to prep on a budget, as economic collapse is coming. I believe many people are new to emergency preparedness. It is hard enough to come up with the funds to get a good start of just having enough food for your family and yourself. That’s alot without all of the things you need for a bug out bag, cache, and all the tools to be self sufficient. We would need a homestead and a thousand other things, if we were without modern convinces and technology. We take so much for granted, including that we can just run to pick things up at the grocery store. For those of us newer to prepping, preparing is all quite overwhelming.

Certain Economic Collapse

The economic collapse isn’t like a “possible” Y2K thing. It is 100% for sure going to happen. The question is when. It is going to start when our debt clock hits 20 trillion. Forecasters have more firmly established the date as 2021. This means we are running out of time. We don’t have to just worry about the dollar being worthless. We need to realize we could very well face hyper inflation. So being prepared, even if order is kept, is critical.Continue reading“Prepping on a Budget- Part 1, by The Newbie”

Letter: Faraday Cage Question

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Good afternoon!

I have a question on adapting a homemade Faraday cage. I am getting a little paranoid about these two North Korean satellites in orbit over our country.

Would a metal mailbox, such as can find at the local hardware store, be acceptable protection? I am trying to put together something simple for really, really cheap! It has a larger size and is easier to obtain. It is also cheaper than some of the other options I have been reading about on constructing a Faraday cage.  T.B.

HJL’s Comment:

Most any metal container will work as a Faraday cage with a few simple preparations. The metal needs to have a good electrical connection between the various parts. If you are using painted metal, you will have to remove the paint where the electrical connection needs to exist. Galvanized metal works really well. If a metal mail box is not large enough, you can consider a 30 gal trash can with a metal lid.Continue reading“Letter: Faraday Cage Question”

JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

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Here are JWR‘s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers:

Books:

The Mobile Internet Handbook

Real Goods Solar Living Sourcebook: Living Beyond the Grid with Renewable Energy Technologies

Movies:

Gone with the Wind (Two Disc Edition)

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

(Note: Three of the Indiana Jones movies are now on Amazon Prime. Ditto for the entire Young Indiana Jones television series.)

Continue reading“JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:”

Economics & Investing for Preppers

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, and derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the quirky “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor):

Precious Metals:

First of all, let’s look at our recommended metals market analysis: CPM Precious Metals Outlook of May, 2017

Commodities Economics:

Next, over at The Business Standard: Commodity Picks: 8 May, 2017

Forex:

On to the foreign exchange (Forex) news: Dollar Higher But Sensitive to Growth of US Economy in Q1

Continue reading“Economics & Investing for Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote Of The Day

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“Try to imagine a life without timekeeping. You probably can’t. You know the month, the year, the day of the week. There is a clock on your wall or the dashboard of your car. You have a schedule, a calendar, a time for dinner or a movie. Yet all around you, timekeeping is ignored. Birds are not late. A dog does not check its watch. Deer do not fret over passing birthdays. Man alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running out.” – Mitch Albom, The Time Keeper

Notes for Tuesday – May 09, 2017

On May 9th, 1945, Herman Goering– commander in chief of the Luftwaffe, president of the Reichstag, head of the Gestapo, prime minister of Prussia, and Hitler’s designated successor– was taken prisoner by the U.S. Seventh Army in Bavaria. Goering, who was addicted to painkillers due to a wound, was instrumental in creating concentration camps for political enemies. It was Goering who ordered the purging of German Jews from the economy following the Kristallnacht program in 1938, initiating an “Aryanization” policy that confiscated Jewish property and businesses. Tried and convicted at the Nuremberg trials, he was sentenced to hanging, but before he could be executed he committed suicide by swallowing a cyanide tablet he had hidden from his guards.

Water Contamination and Filtration 101, by MHN

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*For those of us who prep, I am tailoring this guide to contaminants that would be found anywhere: radiation from fallout, chemical contamination from industry, contamination from urine and feces, natural sources that one might encounter on a homestead, and the technologies and techniques like filtration that would be most widely available in a SHTF scenario. I am an engineer who has specialized in water treatment in the chemical industry.

Most of us rely on clean tap or bottled water for everything from drinking to cooking to showering. We pay little attention to the process that takes raw water and transforms it into safe clean potable water. Once upon a time our ancestors drank right from streams and lakes. While the quality of this water was most likely better than the quality of water from most modern day surface sources, it was still contaminated with various pathogens and minerals. Even though our ancestors’ digestive tracks were heartier than ours, waterborne illnesses ranging from minor stomach bugs to cholera and dysentery took their tolls.

Continue reading“Water Contamination and Filtration 101, by MHN”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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This column is posted on Tuesdays. Here, we present news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region.  We also mention companies in the region of interest to preppers. The Redoubt region is perhaps the safest and most free place to live in these United States.

The American Redoubt has seen an unusually wet spring season. Near record rainfall has been the gift of the Jetstream which seems to have parked itself over the northern Redoubt. I can safely predict that the fire season will be mild this summer–at least in the northern part of the Redoubt.

Idaho

Here is a headline from Redoubt News about Boundary County, Idaho: There’s a New Sheriff in Town and He’s Been Busy His First 100 Days

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Southern Idaho man admits being masked gunman in staged robbery

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

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.

RKBA

President Donald Trump’s full remarks at NRA-ILA Leadership Forum in Atlanta. While his speech was not specific on particular gun law policies, it was encouraging. He previously mentioned that he is in favor of the Hearing Protection Act.

Columnist who defended NRA quits after being suspended. JWR’s Comment: I’m confident that a conservative network like Fox would benefit from hiring Stacy Washington!

Tactical Training

Fort Bragg released a video of a team engaged in an active shooter drill. The video underscores the importance of training. As the writer points out, the reason we train is so foolish (and costly) accidents don’t happen. I like his saying: “Remember, amateurs train until they get it right, professionals train until they don’t remember how to do it wrong.” (Warning: The second video is graphic.)

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

The Editors’ Quote Of The Day

“We mortals, men and women, devour many a disappointment between breakfast and dinner-time; keep back the tears and look a little pale about the lips, and in answer to inquiries say, ‘Oh, nothing!’ Pride helps; and pride is not a bad thing when it only urges us to hide our hurts— not to hurt others.” – George Eliot, Middlemarch

Notes for Monday – May 08, 2017

May 8th is the birthday of missionary and U.S. military intelligence officer John Birch. (Born, 1918, died August 25, 1945.) Many considered him to be the first American casualty of the Cold War.

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SurvivalBlog is introducing a new column this week. We intend  to let our readership know that we are not “armchair preppers”.  We actually live the life that we write about! Each week, we will share a bit of what our plans for the week are to further our preps and we invite you to do so as well. Be prepared, because we all know that no plan survives contact with the enemy. This weekend, we’re going to ask you how you did with your plan.

A couple of things to note:

  1. As you share, please be mindful of good OPSEC and don’t post personally identifying information.
  2. Visit our bookshelf if you need some ideas or search our archives for help.
  3. Remember that SurvivalBlog readers encompass those of all different stages in prepping – From begining to advanced.
  4. If you’re a beginner, don’t be afraid to post or even ask for help on how to do things.
  5. If your advanced, don’t be afraid to chime in and help keep others from making the same mistakes you made.
  6. Have fun!