Long term storage of electronics:
-Remove batteries.
-Keep very dry, condensation is a killer. Possibly plastic bags with packs of silica gel, ammo tin with decent seal and silica gel.
-Moderate temperatures, Condensation is a killer.
Alternative Comms
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the-gnole
Re: Alternative Comms
What about the possibility that a solar pulse (EMP) could damage them Ian, is it likely?Ian wrote:Long term storage of electronics:
-Remove batteries.
-Keep very dry, condensation is a killer. Possibly plastic bags with packs of silica gel, ammo tin with decent seal and silica gel.
-Moderate temperatures, Condensation is a killer.
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Ian
Re: Alternative Comms
Zilch for a hand held, much too small.
Should you have radios with long, say fiveish plus metre aerials, disconnect them before storage.
Lightning, solar and nuclear pulses is a big, complicated subject which I personally feel is much overrated. There can obviously be a problem, but historically the risk is low and the cost for complete immunity is phenomenal. Whatever we ordinary people can do we can only reduce a tiny risk of damage to a very tiny risk.
I consider that it is better to put that money and time into other things and not worry about it, not even the much touted Faraday cage.
For my sins I used to design nuclear shelters and later was responsible for a County Emergency comms setup so deeply involved with the subject.
Should you have radios with long, say fiveish plus metre aerials, disconnect them before storage.
Lightning, solar and nuclear pulses is a big, complicated subject which I personally feel is much overrated. There can obviously be a problem, but historically the risk is low and the cost for complete immunity is phenomenal. Whatever we ordinary people can do we can only reduce a tiny risk of damage to a very tiny risk.
I consider that it is better to put that money and time into other things and not worry about it, not even the much touted Faraday cage.
For my sins I used to design nuclear shelters and later was responsible for a County Emergency comms setup so deeply involved with the subject.
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preppingsu
Re: Alternative Comms
I'm not an expert but if the radios/comm units are being saved for using during or after an event then wouldn't it make sense just to store in a way that would protect them from the 1 in a whatever chance of a EMP?
Just a thought...
Just a thought...
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the-gnole
Re: Alternative Comms
Cheers Ian, So to reduce from small to very small may just be something as simple as removing the batteries and leaving in a drawer, or would it be something a bit more elaborate?
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Ian
Re: Alternative Comms
Not quite, tuck the kit away without batteries to stop them being damaged by corrosion.
Any day to day pulse threat is small, say one in a billion or less (how many radios were destroyed in the world in the last year on any particular day by any kind of pulse?).
Spend a thousand or so on protection such as pulse arrestors, added circuit protection, Faraday cages and so on and you will reduce the risk to very small, say one in ten billion perhaps. Never worth it.
The only documented NEMP damage I have ever found was some light-bulbs in Miami during the first tests, none since, although there have been thousands of nuclear explosions.
Any day to day pulse threat is small, say one in a billion or less (how many radios were destroyed in the world in the last year on any particular day by any kind of pulse?).
Spend a thousand or so on protection such as pulse arrestors, added circuit protection, Faraday cages and so on and you will reduce the risk to very small, say one in ten billion perhaps. Never worth it.
The only documented NEMP damage I have ever found was some light-bulbs in Miami during the first tests, none since, although there have been thousands of nuclear explosions.
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the-gnole
Re: Alternative Comms
There was a concern about an EMP causing damage in Canada, but I thought it was more damage than that, blown transformers or something.
Or was that the Solar Magnetic Storm?
Would that be more of a concern?
Or was that the Solar Magnetic Storm?
Would that be more of a concern?
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Ian
Re: Alternative Comms
Solar storms and/or CME are very common. Ones sent in our direction are much fewer and significant amounts of energy arriving on Earth are rare. In 1859 there were reported fires and damage to the new US Telegraph system but that was very long lines and crudely set-up. 1989 a grid failure in Canada was blamed on solar storms. Note both events involve very long wires as aerials to pick up the energy.
The sun is behaving oddly at the moment and we are getting bright auroras in the north which is a good indicator of a lot of energy floating about, but no problems yet. We are much more likely to have damage to the grid or the telephones than personal radios, they just are not big enough to intercept enough energy to cause harm. You are hundreds of thousands much more likely to have a lightning strike destroy your television and who worries about that or installs protection?
The sun is behaving oddly at the moment and we are getting bright auroras in the north which is a good indicator of a lot of energy floating about, but no problems yet. We are much more likely to have damage to the grid or the telephones than personal radios, they just are not big enough to intercept enough energy to cause harm. You are hundreds of thousands much more likely to have a lightning strike destroy your television and who worries about that or installs protection?
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the-gnole
Re: Alternative Comms
There was meant to be something happening this February gone, but I never heard any more about it, guess it was a "solar storm in a tea cup" 