Is it possible to build a secure faraday cage with aluminum screen?
Such as a roll of aluminum screen that you might get at Home Depot, and provided that there are no gaps and that it’s grounded?
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Yes, but copper works much better. It also has to be extremely fine.
Where would I buy extremely fine copper mesh?
@HungryGuy
This should work—> Mesh.
I remember a FM Radio station studio in the sixties that was right next door to the transmitter of another station. The arms and cartridges for playing vinyl records would pick-up the next door station. They built a 20 X 16 X 10 foot studio in the attic with this kind of mesh. NOT cheap.
Right. At $10 per sq. ft., it’s not cheap. But I only need enough to enclose a small stack of servers and a few odds and ends like a fist full of thumb drives and an external USB hard drive or two. Say a cage about 2’ wide, by 2’ deep, by 2’ high. Or 24’ square of material. At $10 per sq ft, that’s $240. Much cheaper than commercial faraday cages I’ve seen…
BTW, they also have a finer mesh for $5 per sq. ft.: http://www.twpinc.com/twpinc/control/product/~category_id=TWPCAT_3/~product_id=016X016C0110W60T
I’d also like to have enough to use to store a small portable gas generator and a couple of spare air conditioners, but that’s not as critical for now.
That radio station enclosed a whole room?! It would have been cheaper for them to move to a new location…
@HungryGuy I give you credit for getting ready for “the big one” . I have a metal cookie tin that I use to store thumb drives. It is connected to our hot water baseboard heat run which in turn is grounded.
@worriedguy – That’s a good idea! I have a bunch of old metal cookie tins lying around. I also back up to CD regularly, and I presume that CDs, themselves, are immune to EMP, right?
@HungryGuy Yes, but so are DVDs, and they take a smaller box when your backups get to be more than 700MB. Of course, the box is only really necessary to prevent physical damage (especially scratches)...
You could use aluminum, but I would suggest copper over it and silver over that, but silver is probably a unreasonable suggestion. If you asked how I would do what you’re trying to do, I’d do this. Start with a structural frame from the aluminum, kind of like just a simple skeleton, then use that mesh @Tropical_Willie is talking about and solder/braze that onto the aluminum frame. This of course, does mean for bigger objects and what not, but if you’re talking a handful of thumb driver and whatnot, cookie tin, then an aluminum lid.
When using Faraday Cages always use a lid, or surround from the bottom (or your ground). An open cage serves no purpose.
@Axemusica – I’d been plannig to build a 2×2x2 wood frame with shelves for the servers and a door, then staple the mesh to the outside of the frame and “sew” the mesh seams together with copper wire “thread.” Then use copper foil to line the edges of the door and frame to create an electrical seal arond the closed door. I’d need to run a power wire through the mesh, but I’d have a surge protector mounted to the outside the cage for that with the outlets facing into the inside of the cage. If I can find an optical isolator for the network cable, keyboard, mouse, and monitor, then it’s all good :-)
@HungryGuy it sounds like you’ve got a good plan going. Just remember it’s a shield, a barrier, if you have things going in and out make sure they permanent and are shielded themselves. As long at you have that in mind, it sounds all good. I like the idea of trying to keep the door part of the cage too. Most door hinges are brass (which is conductive. A little less than aluminum, but more than gold) so that could help out if you could bond some of that mesh and foil with it. Brass I think can be brazed, but not soldered. Don’t quote me on that, lol.
Although, you could always just built a door out of cage. Like you walk in the wood door, into a little room made of the cage (that of course is attached to the rest of the cage surrounding the room) with a swinging cage door and that would be your entrance to the protected area. Although that could be a bit more than you’d like I presume, lol.
That’s a nifty idea. Like an airlock for EMP. But then it would have to be the size of a small closet, and now we’re talking some serious bucks for the copper mesh. Besides, this thing’s going to go in the corner of my dining room next to my everyday computer desk. It can’t be too big and ugly.
@HungryGuy I think if you’re building a cage the size of a room, I think aluminum would suffice, haha, maybe even steel. Then maybe use copper in crucial areas, like your ground, or around moving parts, or the power inlet area, ect…
Nah. As worriedguy suggested cookie tins, I was also just thinking of running long SATA cables from my servers to external drives inside cookie tins…
I heard about EMP’s a few weeks ago and right away I began to look more into them and what the damage can be to our electronics. I did come across a few good blogs, but I must say the most informative one that I found is actually a Radio Blog. They have shows every Wednesday, it’s on the internet. I think that you guys would really enjoy the next one coming up, it’s about Faraday Cages. This Radio Internet Blog is really great; they have guests on that always know what they’re talking about. Wednesday the 22nd, Randy Tolman is going to be on it talking about the Faraday Cages- I really think yous should check it out: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/empact-radio/2011/06/22/pvp54-randy-tolman-of-techprotect-faraday-bags Good luck, all!
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