If bad solar flare hits nothing works?

large military trucks come on the online govt auctions all the time, and a good part of them have the multifuel engines (run off of anything burnable)... I've seen a few modified into 4 wheelers, (bob tailed) that I'd love to have... esp. one with gear driven winches...

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Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Seneca
Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival. W. Edwards Deming

A Faraday Cage ? How did you build it ?

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"The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend." Henri Bergson

"Does anyone know the force of the largest flare to hit earth directly? "

Do a search on Carrington Effect. It's where solar flares got their meaning from.

Last biggy I remember was in 1989. Was in McMurdo Station, Antarctica at the time and it wiped out all comms there for awhile. McMurdo couldn't talk to USAF cargo planes overhead. I think think NE and parts of Canada lost power from the grid for
numerous days because of that one.

It's an interesting thing to think about because if the computers go down for anything more than a little while, the "Just in Time" ordering for major stores and companies goes with it. To put it simply the local WalMart would be effectively BLIND when thinking about its inventory status. Not only that but the cash registers and atm's wouldn't be communicating either. Not much cash being used for purchases these days, even food stamps are on a debit card. The real problem starts when the stores run out of smokes and beer. People (??) have rioted over less.

We haven't yet, but DH has been researching how to build one. It's my understanding that it has to be well grounded and pretty much no breaks in the seam, but I really don't know much about it. That's my DH's area.

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I think in the book thing I posted yesterday, it estimated the carrington event at a X29. Maybe because there is no 10X designation after X class?

Put it in the microwave oven. Not the best place but better then nothing.

I have a small faraday cage. Designing a larger one. I intend (when I get a chance) to line the inside of my computer/ham shack with copper mesh. Close the door and unplug when not in use. Should protect my radio gear and spare computer. Of course it will be my luck I will be using it when an event happens and I will be SOL.

If you have an old microwave oven cut the cord off and it will make an OK farady cage, like I said not the best but better chance surviving then nothing.

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There you go.

Solar storms don't happen all the time, but they aren't uncommon. This solar cycle was 'late' in starting, so the past couple years have been unusually quiet. Now that the cycle has started cranking up, we'll be seeing more and more of these storms for a couple of years, and then they'll start tapering off again.

I work in the satellite comms field, and this is a non-event for us. Just the normal, basic precautions - mostly redundancy. I've been through some bigger storms to the point that we started masking antennas.

I was at my Ham club last night teaching and there was a lot of buzz about strange propagation, but when I swept the bands, nothing struck me as particularly odd

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"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist"- Archbishop Camara

The Mad Luddite

QST (Ham radio magazine) had some articles on how to protect equipment from EMP. If you can't find it on the internet, mention it here and I'll post some links. The ARRL web site has it, but you need to be a member.

SC

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“When the night comes to bury your arms, the dawn to dig them up has passed.”-Spartans of ancient Greece.