By now I suspect most of you have read the novel 'One Second After' by William R. Forstchen. If you haven't, I'd recommend you bump that one up on the priority read. It's an EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) story and the author explores just how devastating one would be if used against the US. In a nutshell, the energy pulse derived by a nuclear detonation above the earth's surface would be magnified many times through what is referred to as the Compton Effect. As the theory goes, the resulting magnified pulse of energy would destroy anything electronic rendering it useless. This includes everything from the electrical grid to your car down to your handheld calculator and watch.
Some simple things could be done to protect key electronic components in such an event. Namely the Faraday Cage which is a grounded structure that houses sensitive electronic items. The pulse would hit the metal structure and be routed around and out the grounding rod.
From what I read, Faraday Cages can be constructed of a wire mesh or solid walled metal material. For all I know, chicken wire might work as well. I'm no expert on the subject, but I pondered what I could do to somewhat protect my assets in such an event.
My first "Faraday" idea was to get a metal garbage can and lid and ground it to a grounding rod in my basement. This project was a rather quick install. i lined the can with a military foam sleeping pad as an additional insulator and of course grounded the lid to the can. I think it will work as far as a Faraday Cage is concerned, but it really is awkward storing stuff inside and having to dig through everything to retrieve items.
Here's a better idea.
I kept an eye on crags list looking for a metal storage cabinet. Not many were listed so it was a waiting game. You could also use a metal file cabinet but I wanted the storage capacity and ease of use of a cabinet. New - this cabinet runs about $500. I found this one for $50 as it was a damaged freight item. It's 4'x2'x7'.
