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I remember back when JADE HELM 15 was going on and all of the doom and gloom happening on various forums and social media platforms. Something that a lot of folks were talking about was a faraday cage. Everyone was asking how to make a faraday cage. Some of the stories from those who had built their own for various reasons were pretty intriguing.
Reasons that I had not really ever thought of. Like using it to block out wifi signals in certain sections of their house. I thought that was neat.
Now we have more solar storms which can damage electronics. We’ve always had solar storms but they are getting more intense as we’re getting closer to the end of the solar cycle.
- What is a faraday cage?
- What is the best material for a faraday cage?
- Where to buy a faraday cage?
- How to make a faraday cage?
- How to test a faraday cage?
- FAQ’s
- Conclusion
What is a faraday cage?
Named after Michael Faraday, an English scientist, a faraday cage is essentially an enclosure that blocks out electromagnetic interference (EMI).
The conductive material that is used to make a one absorbs the energy from the wave and helps protect sensitive electronics inside the enclosure.
They come in all shapes and sizes. It’s been used a lot in medical equipment to help keep the equipment from having interference with objects around it which could be harmful.
What is the best material for a faraday cage?
Copper is the best metal to use for the cage since its great at reducing both electrical and magnetic waves.
Aluminum is another popular choice for a more lightweight and cheaper approach but you also sacrafice some of the resistance.
You can use sheet or even wire mesh but the solid sheet tends to be more effective.
You really need to pay attention to the hinge points especially if you’re using a box that was designed for something else.
Where to buy a faraday cage?
When you’re looking to buy a faraday cage you should consider the size you’ll need. What are you planning to store in it? Just handheld radios or something small like that? Amateur radios or CBs? Do you need to block out a section of your house?
Once you determine your size needs you can go from there.
If you’re needing something compact go with something like this. This is big enough to store your key fob’s, cell phones, bank cards and more. It’s size makes it easier to hide or store.
It also comes with two faraday pouches. These block out WiFi, Bluetooth, RFID, and GPS. Don’t let your new RFID bank card get its info stolen in your wallet. Protect it and your bank account with an RFID blocker.
I need bigger! If you need a bigger cage, you can purchase a kit that you just wrap a box no bigger than 12″x12″x24″ in surface area with the materials provided in the kit (6 yards of material, two 10’x2″ copper joint tape, & four 30’x4″ copper wrap tape).
Do you need something bigger? Keep reading below!
How to make a faraday cage?
It is simply an enclosure. You can turn a regular cardboard box into a faraday cage if you cover it with EMI resistant material.
It is cheaper to use an old cardboard box, but you can build you a frame, that way you can have it big enough for your needs, fairly inexpensive.
Once you’ve measured out how big you’ll need it go to the hardware store to pick up your supplies. You’ll need strips of wood, plywood or other material to sturdy up the sides bottom and top, EMI resistant material (a few sheets of copper, or metal mesh), copper tape for the edges and corners.
If you’re like me, you’ll want to pick up some screws for the project, you never can have to many extra screws. Also staples if you go the wire mesh route.
Build out the frame with the wood strips and screws, add the bottom and sides to the frame.
Cover the frame in the EMI material starting with the bottom first, make sure you fold over the edges. Using the conductive tape, tape down the EMI material. It’s kind of like wrapping a present.
It’s better to wrap the outside of the cage than the inside of the cage especially when storing sensitive electronics. You’ll still want to wrap it over the edges to the insde of the cage but just the edges.
Once you’ve gotten all sides covered and wrapped around, ensuring no gaps and to tape all seams, now you can start working on the top.
There are a few ways you can do this part. First thing is to cover the board for the top side in the EMI material and conductive tape.
From there you can either have the top act as a lid with hinges or you can screw the lid on for a more long haul approach (like you set it and forget it). If you screw it on, you’ll need to cover the screw holes up with EMI material or some conductive tape.
When using it as a lid with hinges, you’ll want to make sure you have the conductive tape around the hinge points.
How to test a faraday cage?
There are a few methods to test out the effectiveness of your cage. It wouldn’t hurt to try them all.
Firstly get a battery operated radio, test it out to make sure that it works outside of the cage. Stick it in the cage with the volume up as loud so you can hear it, if you still hear a radio station after you’ve sealed up the box, then there is an issue with the seal.
In order to test out its ability to block out Bluetooth, WiFi, and even GPS tracking I would use a cell phone.
Connect the phone to your WiFi and a Bluetooth speaker. To test out the GPS part use an app like Life360 to track the phones GPS location.
Once the faraday cage is all sealed up, you should have lost WiFi and the Bluetooth speaker should have disconnected. You can open up Life360 and refresh that device’s location. If it can still be found, then close the app out completly from memory, and try again. It shouldn’t be able to locate the device. If it can then there’s an issue.
FAQ’s
Can it block an EMP?
Yes, for the most part.
You need to make sure the cage is well designed and uses good material like copper that reduces EMI.
Another big determining factor is how big the emp is. Big as in strength. Think of the Carrington event, if we we’re hit with a CME like that again, I doubt even the best faraday cage would succeed.
Does it block WiFi?
A well constructed faraday cage should block out WiFi. If you’re still able to connect to wifi from within the cage, then something is likely wrong with the seal, make sure all edges are taped up with conductive tape and that there are no gaps in the material.
Does it need to be grounded?
You don’t need to ground your faraday cage but it is suggested to ground it. If it doesn’t have a way to discharge the energy on the cage itself, it could give you a shock depending on how energized the EMI was. Like in the event of a lightning strike.
Is a safe a faraday cage?
Not quite. Even though a safe is a metal chest, it isn’t normally designed to act as a faraday cage.
You can make them into one though, but you need to make sure to fix the gap issue and hinge points. Just use EMI material with conductive tape the same way you would with a cardboard box or cage you’ve built youself.
Does it protect against a CME?
Yes it can but it also depends on how well built the cage is as well as the strength of the CME.
Conclusion
Should you have a faraday cage? I think you should, for numerous reasons. I know most phones you can download videos and PDFs to the device. You could have multiple phones or other devices that are fully charged before sticking in the cage and turned off.
This could be very helpful in a SHTF scenario. Especially if you haven’t been able to perfect your skills with hunting, fishing, gardening, home repairs, and much more.
Aside from phones, you can store your CB, Amateur radio, or walkie-talkies for use after widespread grid failure.
You could buy one or you could make one yourself. I’m sure if you have kids, they would love to help put it together and learn more about it in the process.