New Mexico Urban Homesteader

Hello, I am A 50 Something, Prepper ;-}; former 60's Flower Child, don't believe in taxpayer subsidized special interest groups (political parties), DO believe in the Constitution and Bill of Rights (1st 10). Long time Independent & Informed Voter. Lover of the outdoors and firm believer that History Teaches - if only we will listen!

(No longer Urban or in NM. Now Rural in the mountains of Maine.)

This blog was started at the request of some dear friends that wish to become Preppers.

“No man who is not willing to help himself has any right to apply to his friends, or to the gods.”

Demosthenes (384–322 BC, Greek statesman and orator of ancient Athens)


Tuesday, February 26, 2013

What Are the Odds?

We are bombarded daily with all kinds of possible crisis’s, emergencies, disasters and hazards.  Yet what do the ‘experts’ of science and education say the odds of these things are?

First we have to remember that science and education have been wrong.  The world is not flat, the Earth is not the center of the universe, blood transfusing is better than bloodletting and ‘100 year floods’ have occurred 2 or more times in a 20 year time frame.  

We humans can’t solely rely on our gut instincts and sixth senses either.  Our guts can be wrong and we tend to have irrational fears that taint our ‘accuracy’ or perception of the odds.

Not to mention that our very humanness means we cannot just ignore one over the other, even if our rational mind or science indicates we should.  Whenever we do, we usually end up drastically lowering our survivability quotient.


Now add that we humans hate thinking about anything remotely sad or bad.  We will subconsciously avoid talking, thinking or researching these ‘sad’ and ‘bad’ subjects and as a result these are the things we usually get blindsided by.

The most common of these ‘don’t want to think about it’ (or ‘that can’t happen’) crisis are:
  • Some kind of FIRE:  We hate thinking that we may have a house fire or a fire at work or school or while at the theater.  Yet historical fire events show and the ‘experts’ state, that the odds of us being affected by or experiencing a fire of some kind is greater than any of the larger catastrophic type crises we hear and worry about, and even some of the natural type crises too.
  • Some kind of CRIME:  This can take the form of a carjacking, home invasion while you are home or not home, a robbery while at the grocery store, a mugging, identify theft and so forth.  Crime is on the rise around the world and the U.S. is no exception.
  • Some kind of severe ILLNESS or INJURY to you or a loved one:  This can be anything from falling off your front porch and breaking a leg, a heart attack, auto accident or some other illness or injury.
  • Some kind of PERSONAL FINANCIAL crisis:  This can be from a poor investment, losing a law suit or getting laid off and the like.

Lastly, add in that we can’t rule out plain old Luck either!

This means that logically we need to balance these factors against one another and come up with ‘odds’ that ‘best match’ for our mental quirks, beliefs and understanding.

How?  Well, there is a simple three step process to do this.  I call it the Possibility, Probability and Moderated Crisis lists.

First list all the crises that you are concerned about.  Don’t think about this; just list them as they come to mind.  Usually the order in which you list these potential crises is what priority you are placing them at - It is the subconscious priority list of what you are concerned about.  This is your Possibility Priority List.  Be sure to address those 4 “can’t think about it” type crises, even if they are listed last as an afterthought.

Next do some research on what the ‘experts’ say the odds of these things occurring are and what any historical events of this kind have taken place to date.  Doing this puts your concerns into perspective and is your Probability Priority List.  These are the exact same crises as your Possibility List, only prioritized based on the ‘experts’ and their odds.

This will also entail doing a home hazard hunt and a review (or discussion with your physician) of your general health habits and condition. Going to the FBI Uniform Crime Report and checking on the crimes in your area (how often and what kind of crime), as well as checking with your local, county or state fire department for information on the kinds of fires they respond to and their frequency.

The tables discussed latter in this article, will assist you in this research.

The third step is to moderate these two lists into a priority list that you can live with, consciously and subconsciously, or what I call the Moderated Priority List.

There is only one rule to this moderation.  Say a crisis is # 2 on your Possibility list and # 7 on your Probability list.  This means you must list it somewhere between # 3 and # 6 on your Moderated List.  Conversely, if something is # 7 on your Possibility List and # 2 on your Probability List, you must list it somewhere between # 3 and # 6 on your Moderated List.

Above all, keep all of this in perspective.  The truth is that 99.99% of the disasters we are likely to encounter will NOT involve a widespread, government/world altering event or mega disaster.  Instead they will take the form of lost jobs, accidents, medical issues, fire, crime, etc., followed by the usual severe weather and natural planetary issues; for example:  flooding, earthquakes, land/mud slides, meteorite and the like.

Perception and Reality are more often than not, 2 different animals!

Fact is that every place has its dangers; we just have to assess them. And it’s probably reasonable to assume that no matter where we live to 75+ years of age, we’ll probably see at least one local event like an earthquake, hurricane, or flooding and many people will see several. Not to mention that most of us will experience some kind of medical issue or ‘accident’ type injury.  Think about this - the United States has some of the fewest massive crises type events, with some of the lowest injury and mortality counts than most other countries.  In fact most ‘tier 1’ or ‘western’ cultures experience fewer massive crises than those countries that are not ‘tier 1’.

There have been many ‘Preparedness’ and ‘Risk Factor’ surveys and reports over the decades; some rather scientific (and quantifiable) and some not so much, that quantify the above statement.  The results of some of the more recent surveys can be found @ http://www.scribd.com/doc/126965157/What-Are-the-Odds

Situational Awareness is the # 1 asset in a crisis in any situation; it is one of the greatest variables to our survivability quotient that is within our realm of control.  One cannot just learn it, one must DO IT to be good at it!

To help you keep your Situational Awareness high, here are some links to assist you with staying aware of what is happening around you.  The more aware you are the less risk to you.


There are 3 'Odds" tables in the document What Are the Odds? @ http://www.scribd.com/doc/126965157/What-Are-the-Odds that contain the odds of occurrence (that I could find) that resulted in injury and or death; from alien invasion to various work & play incidents like dying from a drinking straw (perspective, remember perspective)

One table is in % per average Lifetime (75 years) or Century.  The other is the “1 in” odds per average Lifetime (75 years) or Century.  Both of these tables are sorted by the most likely to occur to the least likely to occur.

The third table is general information on the occurrences to date, of most of these various events.

Fourth, for all of us ‘visual’ type people is a bunch of charts or graphics arranged kinda by date, on all kinds of things from risks, crime rates and trust, to cost of various past events, taxes, mortality causes and general economy; what state gets the most government funds, Federal Court districts, as well as time zones and the like.

Fifth, are descriptions and links to 4 terrific sites that will keep you informed on all kinds of ‘threats’ from natural to man made causes.  These sites provide up the hour, real time data.

At the end of all of this is a table with links to all kinds of related information; including an Excel Workbook that has state by state rankings (2010) on the various characteristics Preppers look for (just in case you are looking to move or purchase a retreat).

I know all these tables makes for a rather long document.  Yet, I have never known research to be quick or easy.  I’m helping you out here by sharing the results of all of my research to date.  So no matter how boring you find this, please remember that this is to assist you with the research part of your Possibility, Probability and Moderated Crisis Lists.  These tables will also be beneficial in putting all kinds of ‘concerns’ into perspective.

I hope this helps and Good Luck  ;-}

TNT


Monday, February 25, 2013

Alert ! Firearms Legislation For New Mexico

“Both the oligarch and Tyrant mistrust the people,
and therefore deprive them of arms.”
Aristotle



U.S. Constitution – Bill of Rights

In the beginning there was the ‘shot heard round the world’ on April 19, 1775 at a bridge between Lexington and Concord where the British were out to confiscate colonial citizens of their firearms.  Our country was founded on the principle that each and every one of us have 'inalienable rights' given to us by God the Creator and they cannot be taken away from us by ANY human-made government. 

All of our founding documents have one common theme:  The freedom of choice within the constraints of the 10 Commandments.   Because of this I will defend any US citizen's right to NOT own a firearm, as strongly as I will defend any US citizen's right TO own a firearm.  I will defend this inalienable right of personal choice with my last breath.

There are several versions of the text of the Second Amendment, each with slight capitalization and punctuation differences, found in the official documents surrounding the adoption of the Bill of Rights.  One version was passed by the Congress, while another is found in the copies distributed to the States and then ratified by them.

2nd Amendment - Right To Bear Arms as ratified by the States and authenticated by Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State:

“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

The original hand-written copy of the Bill of Rights, approved by the House and Senate, was prepared by scribe William Lambert and resides in the National Archives.  The Second Amendment is the only amendment to the Constitution which states a purpose.

“If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege.”
Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878

The following is from http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Article_II,_New_Mexico_Constitution

New Mexico Constitution - Article II, Section 6

Right To Bear Arms

(Article II of the New Mexico Constitution is entitled Bill of Rights and consists of 24 sections.)

Section 6

“No law shall abridge the right of the citizen to keep and bear arms for security and defense, for lawful hunting and recreational use and for other lawful purposes, but nothing herein shall be held to permit the carrying of concealed weapons. No municipality or county shall regulate, in any way, an incident of the right to keep and bear arms.”

(As amended November 2, 1971 and November 2, 1986.)

"Gun control? It's the best thing you can do for crooks and gangsters. I want you to have nothing. If I'm a bad guy, I'm always gonna have a gun. Safety locks? You pull the trigger with a lock on, and I'll pull the trigger. We'll see who wins."
Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, Mafia assassin,
Vanity Fair interview, September, 1999, p. 165


There are currently 6 bills before the NM State Legislature – 3 of which demand the attention of anyone who is a holder of the Constitution of the United States and New Mexico.

HB 77 FIREARMS TRANSFER ACT  Sponsor: Miguel P. Garcia
(background checks required for all private sales, including gun shows)
Passed House – Current Location:  Senate Public Affairs Committee   



HB 114 PROHIBIT ENFORCEMENT OF FEDERAL GUN LAWS Sponsor: Nora Espinoza
(just as it sounds, preserve & protect the 2nd Amendment as written)
Current Location:  House Consumer & Public Affairs Committee (tabled?
  

HB 402 RESTRICT ASSAULT WEAPONS & LARGE MAGAZINES Sponsor: Stephen Easley
(just as it sounds, max mag size 10 rounds)
Current Location:  House Consumer & Public Affairs Committee  
 


 These next three seem to be just for 'special' folks to protect themselves ;-{

HB 137 CONCEALED GUNS IN LIQUOR ESTABLISHMENTS Sponsor: Zachary J. Cook
Current Location:  House Judiciary Committee   


HB 454 JUDGES' CONCEALED HANDGUN LICENSES Sponsor: Thomas A. Anderson
Current Location:  House Consumer & Public Affairs Committee   

SB 230 SCHOOL EMPLOYEE CONCEALED HANDGUNS Sponsor: Sue Wilson Beffort
Current Location:  Senate Education Committee  
 

“A system of licensing and registration is the perfect device to deny gun ownership to the bourgeoisie.”
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin


Contact the Governor and your legislators today !

Contact the Governor   http://www.governor.state.nm.us/Contact_the_Governor.aspx
Find Your Legislator http://www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/leg.aspx?T=S
Find Your District  http://www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/districts.aspx

“The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the supply of arms to the underdogs is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty.”
Adolf Hitler


New Mexico State Legislature Committees involved with these bills

House CONSUMER & PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Tuesdays & Thursdays - 1:30 p.m. - Room 315
Representative,    Eliseo Lee Alcon     Chair
Representative,    Patricia Roybal Caballero Vice Chair
Representative,    Thomas A. Anderson Member
Representative,    Gail Chasey     Member
Representative,    Jason C. Harper Member


House JUDICIARY
Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays - 1:30 p.m. - Room 309
Representative,    Gail Chasey     Chair
Representative,    Georgene Louis     Vice Chair
Representative,    Eliseo Lee Alcon Member
Representative,    Cathrynn N. Brown Member
Representative,    Zachary J. Cook Member
Representative,    Brian F. Egolf, Jr. Member
Representative,    Kelly K. Fajardo Member
Representative,    Miguel P. Garcia Member
Representative,    Nate Gentry Member
Representative,    Emily Kane Member
Representative,    Antonio "Moe" Maestas Member
Representative,    Terry H. McMillan Member
Representative,    Paul A. Pacheco Member
Representative,    William "Bill" R. Rehm     Member
Representative,    Patricia Roybal Caballero Member
Representative,    Mimi Stewart Member


Senate  PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Tuesday, Thursday & Friday - 2:30 p.m. (Room 321)
Senator, Gerald Ortiz y Pino Chair
Senator, Bill B. O'Neill Vice Chair
Senator, Jacob R. Candelaria Member
Senator, Ron Griggs Member
Senator, Daniel A. Ivey-Soto Member
Senator, Timothy M. Keller Member
Senator, Gay G. Kernan     Member
Senator, Craig W. Brandt Ranking Member


Senate  EDUCATION
Monday, Wednesday & Friday - 8:00 a.m. (Room 311)
Senator, John M. Sapien Chair
Senator, William P. Soules Vice Chair
Senator, Craig W. Brandt Member
Senator, Lee S. Cotter     Member
Senator, Bill B. O'Neill Member
Senator, Michael Padilla Member
Senator, John Pinto Member
Senator, Pat Woods Member
Senator, Gay G. Kernan Ranking Member


“The measures adopted to restore public order are: First of all, the elimination of the so-called subversive elements .... They were elements of disorder and subversion. On the morrow of each conflict I gave the categorical order to confiscate the largest possible number of weapons of every sort and kind. This confiscation, which continues with the utmost energy, has given satisfactory results.”
Benito Mussolini


THANK YOU New Mexico Gun Owners Association ;-}

“Germans who wish to use firearms should join the S.S. or the S.A.. ordinary citizens don't need guns, as their having guns doesn't serve the state.”
Heinrich Himmler



New Mexico Gun Owners Association is a no compromise gun rights lobbying and activist group. They primarily work on gun rights issues in New Mexico, and will be providing a way for New Mexicans to be more proactive in defending their Constitutional rights.
Their Mission:  To protect Constitutional Rights of New Mexicans to keep and bear arms as written in Article 2 Sec 6 of the New Mexico Constitution.


“All political power comes from the barrel of a gun.
The communist party must command all the guns, that way,
no guns can ever be used to command the party.”
Mao Tse Tung

"If we could save just one life ..."

Well my firearm has saved 3 lives, dosn't this count? Two men broke into our home and I locked myself with my then two toddlers in the master bedroom bath with the phone (this was before cell phones).  These criminals broke two steel doors and two solid wood doors in order to enter our bathroom.  All the time I was on the phone with 911.  Because I owned a firearm, knew how to use and did not hesitate to use it, my children and I are alive today! Just as an FYI, it took the police 9 1/2 minutes to arrive from the time I called 911 - which they did a full 2 minutes AFTER I was forced to discharge my firearm!

Now they’re tryin’ to take my guns away
And that would be just fine
If you take ‘em away from the criminals first
I’d gladly give you mine
Charlie Daniels Band, A Few More Rednecks


"We have given you a Republic, if you can keep it."  
Benjamin Franklin

TNT

Friday, February 1, 2013

CME? EMP? Faraday Cage? – Oh My!

Holy cow! What does all this mean?

Well let’s start with some explanations and definitions …

Solar Flares, Storms and CME or Coronal Mass Ejection:  

A solar flare isn't just an explosion of hot gases. It pushes out waves of light all across the spectrum. That includes light we can't see -- including radiation in the form of X-rays and gamma rays. These rays can be dangerous to humans. Fortunately, the Earth's atmosphere absorbs most of these high-energy rays.

That's not to say everyone is in the clear after a solar flare. Humans in space or at high altitudes -- on board an airplane, for example -- could risk exposure to intense radiation. Short-term damage could include skin irritation. Long-term consequences might include an increased risk of developing skin cancer. But it's likely that any affected human would eventually recover from the exposure.

Electronics are also vulnerable to these rays. If high-energy rays were to hit a satellite, they could strip electrons from the metal components, ionizing them. As electrons break free, they could short out the electronics within a satellite. They could also create a magnetic field that would damage the satellite's systems. Some satellites have shielding to protect them from these rays, but many are still vulnerable.

Because our atmosphere absorbs most of these dangerous rays, terrestrial systems are fairly safe from solar flares. But another solar event called a coronal mass ejection (CME) can cause serious problems for electrical systems here on Earth.


A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a massive burst of solar wind and magnetic fields rising above the solar corona or being released into space.

During a CME, the fluctuations of the sun's magnetic fields cause a large portion of the surface of the sun to expand rapidly, ejecting billions of tons of particles out into space. Sometimes CMEs accompany solar flares -- but not all solar flares produce CMEs and not all CMEs accompany solar flares.

Unlike a solar flare, a CME doesn't produce intense light. But it does produce a magnetic shockwave that extends billions of miles out into space. IF Earth is in the path of that shockwave, our planet's magnetic field WILL react to the event.

While a solar flare alone might not be enough to cause problems on Earth's surface, a powerful CME is another story. In fact, massive CMEs have affected the Earth in the past. But we weren't as advanced in electronics and electricity, nor did we depend upon them as heavily the last time a CME really smacked us around.  The magnetic forces of a powerful CME would induce electricity in any large conductor and or conductive material. That includes power transformers and the power grid itself.

That's not the end of the bad news. The power grid in North America operates at near capacity. It wouldn't be able to handle the increased electrical load from a solar super storm. Power lines could sag and even snap as a result, especially in the older components of the grid. Massive power outages could affect much of the continent. The magnetic fluctuations would interfere with radio signals and communication and satellite systems would collapse as well.

It could take weeks or months to repair the damage. During that time, people would have no way to find out what was going on. Emergency services would face serious challenges. While the magnetic fields would probably not short out individual electronics devices like cell phones or computers as severally, communications systems could fail regionally. In other words, some small devices may still work but would lack the services they require to be useful.

It's possible that a CME could even affect your computer and cause glitches or short out circuits. In most cases, a simple reboot would solve the problem. But with the loss of the power grid, you'd be limited by your battery's charge. Once that ran out, you'd be stuck.

Even in these worst-case scenarios, the super storms don't wipe out ALL electrical systems across the planet. Some regions would remain relatively unaffected. It would require a solar event of the 1859 Carrington type or greater magnitude, to wipe out the electrical systems across the entire planet. But even a modest CME could demonstrate how vulnerable we are to the sun's magnetic temper tantrums.


ElectroMagnetic Pulse or EMP:  

This is humankind’s way to mimic nature or a CME and of course it is considered a weapon of mass destruction or WMD.  An electromagnetic pulse (commonly abbreviated EMP) is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high-energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field.

The resulting rapidly changing electric fields and magnetic fields may couple with electrical/electronic systems to produce damaging current and voltage surges.

In military terminology, a nuclear warhead detonated hundreds of kilometers above the Earth's surface is known as a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) device.

Effects of a HEMP device depend on a very large number of factors, including the altitude of the detonation, energy yield, gamma ray output, interactions with the Earth's magnetic field, and electromagnetic shielding of targets.

It is possible that either a CME or an EMP can strike and play havoc with our ‘Techno Bubble’, this society that we have built around electricity and all of its various digital components.  IF one of these events should happen:


  • ALL non-protected electronics will be affected by an EMP or Carrington sized CME.  It doesn’t make any difference whether or not your electronics are plugged in, how long of an antenna you’ve got on something, what voltage it is, or whether or not they operate with batteries.
  • Batteries will be affected, usually in the form of “shorting”, even in the package on the store shelf.
  • Electronic phone systems will also be damaged - landline, cell, cordless or satellite
  • Surge protectors are useless in the event of an EMP or Carrington CME type exposure.
  • Computers anywhere, including motherboards in a warehouse or the little chip in your vehicle will be damaged.
  • Anything that conducts electricity will, even if it is just a nail.
  • Gamma radiation is common and expected with these events and we humans don’t deal with it well.
  • Electrical shorts are known to cause fires, with no phone service, these fires can become major firestorms – urban, suburban or rural. 
  
 Thankfully a CME of the magnitude of the Carrington Event in 1859 (aimed at the Earth) only happens about once every 500 years, according to historical records in glacial ice cores.   


Not so thankfully, we humans are very unpredictable.  All it takes to trigger an EMP attack is for one wacko, one unbalanced or arrogant government, to get a hold of the technology and have the stupidity to actually send and detonate one of these things somewhere.  


The “experts” say the chance of an electromagnetic event (human or natural) is slim.  Yet governments, utilities and IT technology corporations, as well as, industry heavily laced with technology to produce their product or service, seem to believe the chance of such an event is high enough to create and implement ‘protection’  tools and protocols for at least parts of our ‘techno bubble’.  If these entities haven’t actually implemented these tools yet, they are least in the project planning phase.


The Worlds Electric Grid Reality Check


Don’t get fooled by all the political mumbo-jumbo on how a ‘Smart Grid’ will ‘protect’ against an EMP or CME or ‘fix’ any existing grid problems. 

  • Remember the Electric Grid is basically a string of physical hardware components; like transmission lines, poles, transformers, conductors and the like.  
  • A ‘smart grid’ is merely a specialized computer program that can process and react faster than us humans; however it CANNOT fix or prevent any physical hardware problem.
  • A CME (Carrington sized+) or EMP will cause such a surge in electromagnetic and ferromagnetic energy on the Earth that it creates a ‘short’ in the grid, enough to fry transformers, etc., and the grid will go down from hardware failure.  

What protection is there?  A Faraday (Farady) Cage or Electromagnetic Shield


In 1836, English scientist Michael Faraday conducted an experiment on electrostatic charges that resulted in the creation of the container that bears his name. He was not the first to experiment with this concept; his work was based on research performed by Benjamin Franklin nearly one hundred years earlier, in 1755.
    
 

A Faraday cage is an enclosure made of conductive material that blocks both static and non-static electrical fields and is grounded. The first such ‘cage’ was made of a fine ferromagnetic metal mesh or screen.  When constructed properly, this can protect devices from a weapons EMP strike, a solar CME event, or a lightning strike.  The key here is enclosure, meaning all 6 sides of the ‘box’ or ‘cage’.

 

The top 6 conductive materials (stick to the cheap ones) are:  copper, aluminum, iron, steel, brass or bronze.



Aluminum can work, however, remember that just as aluminum wire generated house fires when overloaded, so to can any Faraday Cage made of aluminum.
 

Some Key Points:

  • Just because your car has rubber tires, it will NOT be impervious to the effects of an EMP of CME.  A car is NOT a Faraday cage sufficient to withstand an EMP incident. It has some similar components, yes.  Most cars made today consist of fiberglass and disjointed parts, not a continuous metal material.  In addition to that, they are on tires.  Tires on a car do NOT serve as grounding.   IF you had an old fashioned car that was made of metal, that had its tires removed, that was also attached to an Iron or copper pole and that was ALSO on dirt—not  gravel—then  yes, you may have a car that doubles as a Faraday cage.
  • Rubber containers are insufficient protection against an EMP or CME.
  • Faraday cages DO need to be grounded.  If it’s NOT grounded, then the Faraday cage merely becomes a reflector or an amplifier.
  • Faraday cages do NOT have to be solid, but they do have to be constructed continuously without gaps between the protective material.  Thus the name “cage” instead of the oft misused term—“box.”  In fact, many of them that you can build yourself or will see on the internet will resemble a bird cage or a very finely meshed chicken coop wire.
  • Contrary to what you may see on the internet, a sheet of foil on a box will not protect you.  It’s not thick enough to withstand the pulse. However, you CAN protect your foil insulated items if they are buried a couple of feet underground in every direction (up, down and sideways).
  • Unless the material is also ferromagnetic, that magnetic fields are NOT blocked.  Low-frequency radio waves are primarily magnetic waves (although with an electric field component), and may penetrate a Faraday cage because the varying magnetic field induces an electric field on the other side. Ferromagnetic materials are those substances, which when placed in magnetic field are strongly magnetized the direction of the magnetizing field.e.g.: - Nickel, Iron, cobalt, rare earth metals.
  • The cages must be grounded, continuously connecting, and the openings of them cannot be too large. Chicken coop wire would work, but only if you double or even triple layered it as the opening are too large. For a reference of opening size, look at the front of your microwave door.  It’s a small mesh.  Just a like a snake can slither its way through the right sized hole, so can an electronic wave.  

A Faraday cage is NOT fool proof.  The higher the frequency of the magnetic pulse, the faster and stronger it is. This is what causes the burn out.  


What should you store in your Faraday cage? 


Anything that you don’t want to live without post-EMP and anything that you can charge in an alternate manner is a good candidate for residence within the container.


Why protect items that must be plugged in if the entire electrical grid is down?

  • If the grid does come back up at some point, a person with devices that have been protected will be in the vast minority of people to possess a working unit. If the device has been unprotected, even with the return of electrical power at the flick of a switch, the item cannot be repaired and used in the future.
  • If you have planned other sources of power (such as solar or wind power) then the items that you have protected can be used with those power sources. If this is the case, also be certain to protect the proper inverters or solar chargers to be used with the stored devices.
  • If you have a ton of digital How-to documents that you didn’t get a chance to hardcopy, then even though the internet is down you and still access and read those documents.
  • If you have children that may seem lost without a TV or video game and you have alternative energy generation items that were protected along with the playing device, you can give ‘entertainment’ treats with your still working devices.

Note: Faraday Shield or Cage protection is NOT protection from the possible radiation (gamma rays) from CME’s or EMP’s; rather this protection is from the electromagnetic effects of these things on our technology.  Hence, you will still need some kind of radiation protection for you and yours.


Basically a Faraday Shield can be any conductive metal ‘container’ that has 360 coverage or encompasses all 6 sides of the enclosure, is substantial enough to take the projected electromagnetic energy and is large enough to hold your insulated electronic device in it.


Important Things to remember besides having a conductive metal container:
  
  • It is vital that none of your electronics directly contact the metal of the container. Insulate items by lining the container in a non-conductive material, like cardboard, foam, Styrofoam or wrapped in several layers of newspaper. You can also make cardboard sleeves for your devices.
  • Technically any make-shift or purchased Faraday cages should be grounded in order to disperse the energy.  The easiest way to do this is to have a wire lead from the metal skin of the ‘cage’ to the ground (good ol dirt) or the wire can go from the metal skin of the cage to a conductive metal pole that is stuck in the ground (like the old fashioned lightening rods).

So how does one go about making one of these ‘shields’?  

An easy way to make a Faraday cage would be to acquire some 2 x 4 brass mesh sheets (Mythbusters did this on the Discovery Channel).  Make a box frame with the 2 x 4′s and staple the brass mesh to the outside. Create a securely attached/connected access entry within the frame. Solder a ground wire to one of the corners and ground the cage.  Scrap metal and mesh wires can easily be obtained in junk yards, on E-bay, the clay modeling section of a craft store, or at your local hardware or  “farm and feed” store.  


The important aspect of this to remember though is that mesh or sheet metal only shields magnetic fields if the frequency is up in the RF range. To properly stop the wave, you need some iron, steel, or some slabs of thick copper.  Most electronics are useful in the VHF/UHF/SHF range today and will need more substantial protection.

 

You can make your “cage” as small or as large as you’d like.  It wouldn’t be out of the question to continuously line a basement storage room or hole in the ground with copper mesh wire and a grounding rod.


Bottom line, with an appropriately constructed Faraday cage, you can likely protect that which is inside it from the electromagnetic attack of an EMP or CME incident, thus preserving the function of all that is contained therein (provided you have an alternate power source).   


What are the odds of an Electromagnetic Event?


For a solar flare, storm or CME – it is not a question of IF; it’s a question of WHEN.  At least the massive events of this kind (that can cause us problems), with the Earth in their cross-hairs, only occur about every 500 years.

 

For the human-created EMP type event, well as I have said – we humans are way too unpredictable.  The ‘experts’ (mental, social, political, economic) on this type of thing seem to be torn 50-50 that it is WHEN and not IF – so your guess is as good as mine or theirs.

 

Let’s face it folks we haven’t had a Carrington sized CME event or an EMP attack since our world has become electronic (Thank you Lord!).  No one really knows what will happen if one of these electromagnetic events should hit.  Most of the information being related is based on educated guesses, that are themselves based on small scale experiments or ‘logical’ assumptions of the issues endured from past similar events (at least where CME’s are concerned)Yet isn’t it better to be safe than sorry?

Read on for additional information on:  Past solar events, Everyday uses of the Farady Shield principle, Everyday household items that can be used as a shield, How make a Faraday Cage and more ... (includes Electromagnetic Spectrum Frequency & Radiation Charts) @ http://www.scribd.com/doc/123512814/CME-EMP-Farady-Cage-%E2%80%93Oh-My-Ver-2-includes-Electromagnetic-Spectrum-Frequency-Radiation-Charts

Be Prepared - Not Scared ;-}

TNT

If you would like some technical info on EMP's see:Boeing’s new missile takes down electronics without touching them 10/26/2012 http://www.nationalterroralert.com/2012/10/26/boeings-new-missile-takes-down-electronics-without-touching-them/ & http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/boeings-new-missile-takes-down-electronics-without-touching-them-1C6663618
CHAMP - lights out 10/22/2012 http://www.boeing.com/Features/2012/10/bds_champ_10_22_12.html
Lights out, Boeing creates the first working EMP bomb Dec 4 2012 http://www.nationalterroralert.com/2012/12/04/lights-out-boeing-creates-the-first-working-emp-bomb/ & http://vr-zone.com/articles/lights-out-boeing-creates-the-first-working-emp-bomb/18163.html with a Video @ http://youtu.be/yMOZvEnbPSU
Another video recently declassified by Boeing @ http://video.boeing.com/services/player/bcpid1173939806001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAAukPAlqE~,oAVq1qtdRjwBrIkHYj2MSytJiEK9s5fy&bctid=1913200772001
Boeing Non-kinetic Missile Records 1st Operational Test Flight Oct. 22, 2012  http://boeing.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=2454 and http://boeing.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=13&item=2093
Boeing CHAMP Missile Completes 1st Flight Test Sept. 22, 2011 http://boeing.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=1933