Or a steel garbage can? Or a mylar bag inside of some “EMP-proof backpack?”

Those are certainly available: galvanized steel garbage cans, backpacks that supposedly will stop the electronics-killing effects of an electromagnetic pulse or even a coronal mass ejection, or just the now ubiquitous “EMP proof bags” made out of mylar and some secret sauce material to ensure its EMP proofness.*

In discussing the problems of EMP and occasionally mentioning our eventual startup to manufacture our EMP cases while a guest on various radio shows and podcasts, I’ll occasionally get to speak to callers about EMP weapons, the Carrington event (the first recorded coronal mass ejection) or even answer some questions concerning when I was a Soviet instructor for the Army.

On two different shows, a caller would actually say, “Well, when the time comes I’ll just go get a galvanized garbage can and put my electronics in that.” Pretty easy for me to determine that neither of these folks had a wife at home - wanting to keep a steel garbage can in the living room or home office - and seem to be sure no one else would take out the trash. That would be a pretty expensive error. Not to mention ugly and inconvenient.

There is something else - could someone please tell me what “when the time comes” actually means? Can you predict in advance a coronal mass ejection event? How about a few days’ early warning on an EMP attack over American airspace? Which storm will produce a lightning bolt that will hit your home or building? There must be a life insurance story in there somewhere . . .

One more thing the prospective protector of electronics and data must consider - the vast majority of items like the mylar bags, the backpacks and other “EMP protective” whatevers - are made in China. Does anyone believe that it is in China’s best interests to protect US computers, data, personal electronic equipment?

The EMP cases made by EMP Survival Systems are strictly American made, of USA-sourced components. Engineer Don and I are both Army veterans, so we’re rather less than interested in having China profit from both our idea and folks seeking portable EMP protection. Also, quality control is always available by us during manufacture. You will not get an EMP case with a Chinese labor production flaw that allows in radiation.

Pardon the lengthy sentence. If you want portability in an EMP protective container that is of a known material - aluminum - that is lined to protect against lightning and electrical events, one that is water resistant and is a rigid product, shaped appropriately for your laptops, your hard drives, and regarding the Large EMP case, offering plenty of room for your small electronics, there seems to be a single product solution. EMP Survival Systems offers the Standard and Large cases for preorder right now. Soon, we’ll have available protective, portable cases for intermediate electronics, Ham radios and servers.

Your equipment. Make the choice to appropriately secure your equipment.

* I’ve never used a made up word like “proofness” in a report or article, but I figure in a blog describing some supposed trait to a bag, this just might be allowed.

Ever since we began our prototypes of EMP protective cases, Engineer Don and I have gotten various version of one question. It goes something like this: “What needs EMP protection, what does not?”

Fair enough. Not everyone is experienced in electronics, and not everyone has had gear destroyed by lightning. While some things powered by battery or grid power don’t need specific protection from EMP or CME, we do recommend quality surge protectors on pretty much anything more delicate than a toaster or blender. (If you’re Will Smith, you may want to surge-protect that beloved blender.)

Discussions with Don as well as a few other people skilled in the ways of the electron have led to this list. Caveat: it is not all encompassing, it is a decent beginning guide. If you have any highly specific questions, email us.

More than one person has asked for an EMP case to be designed to fit around a filing cabinet. Unless the filing cabinet contains electronic gear and not paper files, folders, printouts - not a good use of EMP shielding. Also not portable, which is one of the defining features of our EMP cases.

Here is the first list of items that will need protection from an electromagnetic pulse or a coronal mass ejection. More will be added in future posts as we receive specific questions about this item or that, and the protection level required of the item in question.

• Computers: Desktops, laptops, tablets, handhelds, calculators
• Data storage: External hard drives, thumb drives, RAID systems, Time Machine volumes, archival external drives
• Cameras: Digital cameras, their storage media (SD cards, micro SD/XD cards, Memory Sticks, USB devices), the flash systems on SLR camera
• Radios: AM/FM/SW type radios (desktop and portable), walkie talkies, handy talkies, police/fire handsets, Most HAM radios, CB and Marine Band units
• Cables: Cables with chip sets in their connectors, such as USB, Thunderbolt/Lightning cables, FireWire, HDMI, power bricks for electronics
• Lighting: LED bulbs and flashlights, any type of pocket (“pointer”) lasers
• Time pieces: Plug in and battery powered clocks and watches
• GPS units: Stand alone, portables and in-phone GPS devices
• Optics: Night vision devices, infrared scopes, ranging systems
• Solar systems: Charge controllers, inverters
• Smart Phones: Any smart phone, cellular communications device (such as a sat phone), PTT systems
• Other: Multimeters, Geiger counters/radiac meters, video or audio recording devices, motion detectors, webcams, iPod and MP3 devices

Clearly, some items by their very function of being turned on and online 24/7 are not protected from getting damaged by such an external event (EMP, CME or lightning). Having a completely adequate shield around such item yet having it plugged in to power and/or connected to the internet via ethernet or cable will not offer it protection. The cable itself serves as a type of antenna to be energized by the event and carry this damaging energy to the item in question.

A list of such items will be separate, and as this be as complete as any introduction can, with recommendations provided in an update.

The next blog will list items that do not need EMP/CME protection, or in a few cases are presently questionable about having protection. We’ll also list the things that due to their use and deployment will not be protected, and you’ll likely need to make do without their use [wearables, digital watches, pacemakers/defibrillators, always plugged in items like routers and switches, DVR systems, major appliances . . .]

If it doesn’t use electricity it most likely does not need protecting. However, as we both have had numerous requests for lists, we will have a list out of “not protection needed” items so you can best make your own decisions.

Note: in this list and others, “power,” “wall power” and “the grid” are used interchangeably to denote an item plugged in and receiving or ready to receive AC power. The type of power, be it 60 or 50 cycles as well as 120 volts or 200, 220 or 240 is irrelevant.

Until next time.

Stopping an EMP - an electro magnetic pulse - is well over my pay grade. Same for a coronal mass ejection, an even larger problem as a CME would be a global event. Like hurricanes or earthquakes, preventing them is just impossible.

However, if you live in a hurricane area of the world (our families grew up in Florida and we live there now) you take precautions. You learn what will survive a tropical storm hitting you if you live inland, likewise you learn how to protect your property and your lives when you are near the coast and a Category 3 storm is rolling in.

People in earthquake areas know how to protect their belongings, ranging from what type of home they own or rent, what type of area to live in if they have that option, to how they secure their cabinets and bookshelves to the wall. There are things they cannot help - earthquakes occurring - and things they can take care of and for which to prepare.

Across the country it’s the same with people living in areas of forest and range fires, lightning strikes, tornado corridors and dust storms. The problem will occur, and the people cannot prevent the storm, the earthquake, the fire. But people can and do prepare to keep themselves safe, and protect and preserve their personal items.

While not having any capability to stop these natural disasters, we take care of the things we can.

So what to do about a possible EMP? How about preparing for that overdue - as we are told - Coronal Mass Ejection? Does anyplace in North America not experience lightning strikes?

Some sort of Faraday shielding is certainly warranted for these problems. The best of which would be rigid, metal and portable.

There are some “Faraday Shields” out there which are metallized plastic and claim to do the job. So, a plastic/foil bag for your electronics, your data, your photos, your records. What could go wrong? Other “solutions” are the size of foot lockers - not quite the most portable means of securing your gear - will cost you a bundle, and have no liner, leaving your equipment and data still unprotected in case of a lightning strike.

EMP Survival Systems has worked for years designing, testing, tweaking materials and designs for superior EMP protective cases. Portable as well as water resistant, these products will protect your data and your valuable electronics.

Our campaign launches on Kickstarter later in November. Please see the photos of our two models ready to ship.

This weekly post will be our writings involving EMP – and protection from same – as well as a few other subjects. I’ll address coronal mass ejections (CME), solar weather, lightning protection, shielding, the weaknesses of the U S power grid and the internet, and EMP-type weapons.

There will also be the occasional words of wisdom from our engineer, Don Joye, who has spent an entire career building electrical infrastructure and managing a sizable fraction of Florida’s power grid. Finally, we’ll have details of technology involving the use of gamma ray weapons, shielding from such, new protections from CMEs and protective techniques being employed for more advanced technologies.

We’ll also have hints about preserving your data, easy and effective ways to archive your personal documents, photos and your valuable electronic transactions. What needs protection and what does not will also be addressed.

Of course, questions and ideas are always welcomed. Don’t hesitate to post what related subjects you’d like us to address.

While our website, EMPSurvivalSystems.com, is about our current and future protective products, this blog is about education, ideas and resources.

We will have weekly posts from this point.

James F. Ponder - CTO/co-founder EMP Survival Systems