EMP protection

[Major Kong]

so say i just crawled out of a smoking crater where my house used to be
surviving that blast feel like celebrating little
maybe go for a drive to calm the nerves
the sport fires up just fine
the T.R.A.P. -B did the job

am I throwing money away
or could this possibly work

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[Quashish]

Not sure.... but this is the major fallback I have her wondered about with obd2 vehicles.

Kind of seems like a scam

 

[NoOneHereYet]

They're glorified surge protectors but do nothing to stop a magnetic pulse. Think of it like this having a power strip for your computer wont protect your hard-drive from a magnet. Same thing with a car.

 

[CaptainNedVT]

If you want a car that'll work after a nuke goes off, I suggest a stock '67 Camaro.

 

[o0260o]

If you want a car that'll work after a nuke goes off, I suggest a stock '67 Camaro.

If it's a manual so you can push start it. A battery probably won't work. And maybe a diesel so you can run it on vegetable oil. It's not like you can fill it up at a gas station.
In these hypothetical situations I would rule out cars completely. I can use my bicycle to travel hundreds of miles on MREs and water.

 

[wireman]

Reminds me of back in the 70's when they were selling magnets that you put around the fuel line to increase mileage.

Someone got that scam to pay off.

 

[Uncle Brad]

There is a difference between over-voltage protection and transients. Transients typically occur within a broad frequency range. Whatever this passive device is supposed to do, it might be able to dump to ground some nearby RF noise, like the old LC noise suppressors CBer's and hams have been using for years, but little more.

Unless we can see the specs detailing the frequency range, the power-handling by range, radiated vs magnetic vs pulsed - and the device response time for those contexts - and the test results for different EMP source scenarios, etc. this looks mighty gimmicky.

What is the warranty on this device, and does the use of this device adversely affect the vehicle (such as battery drain and the software sensing of battery parameters, which all Bronco Sport owners now know about)?

Furthermore, severe EMP exposure can destroy electronics well above the buss. What would be most important is physical shielding of the various modules which are used in modern vehicles, and then grounding that shielding to the system ground as close to that point as possible. This device cannot do those things.

If solving potential war-time or solar-event levels of EMP were a simple thing, our government could have saved a lot of time using this device rather than developing strategies going back to Tempest. Automotive manufacturers are well aware of the influence of potential strong RF and magnetic fields around their vehicles and have been taking this in consideration into their design for a long time.

 

[Ecom911]

Complete trash - the ONLY thing that will stop an EMP is if your vehicle was sealed in a Lead encased Faraday Cage hopefully buried below grade as to attenuate the pulse further....Have fun building that bunker!

I'll be ON my Bronco...LOL

 

[Mwittke5857]

If you want a car that'll work after a nuke goes off, I suggest a stock '67 Camaro.

or Mustang!

 

[Bill G]

Reminds me of back in the 70's when they were selling magnets that you put around the fuel line to increase mileage.

Someone got that scam to pay off.

Hey, I tried one — got .01mpg improvement . . . Honest?

 

[Sojourner]

The current theory is this:

Considering our current vehicles are always "on" whatever benefit this device MIGHT provide to the battery won't help any of the l'il computers/modules that will have been in operation at the time of the EMP.

The only way to have a vehicle that might survive EMP is to have one that has ZERO computers onboard. How many years back would one have to look to find a car w/o any sort of computer (to include the black box under the driver seat)?

And that vehicle's battery would have to be disconnected at the time of the EMP.

Edit. There's also a line of thought that the EMP threat is bunk. Why? B/c there's no way the military could harden equipment like AF1 and keep it light enough to still fly.

In the end, this is one problem that I really don't worry about it. Why? B/c it's either bunk or so bad that every bit of equipment I own from radios to generators to my vehicles will be totally trashed after the strike. I don't have enough time or energy to EMP proof all the Tier 1 gear I would need to protect. YMMV

 

[Mark S.]

The makers of this device don't really care if it works or not. If the nuclear balloon goes up no one will much care if their EMP protection device worked.

 

[Quashish]

The makers of this device don't really care if it works or not. If the nuclear balloon goes up no one will much care if their EMP protection device worked.

Lol good point

 

[GJarrett]

...The only way to have a vehicle that might survive EMP is to have one that has ZERO computers onboard. How many years back would one have to look to find a car w/o any sort of computer (to include the black box under the driver seat)?...

I believe the last manufacture year that vehicles were "EMP proof" would be `1974.... I have always regretted selling my '67 fastback that I restored in college long ago.... maybe I need to get another one again.

 

[Major Kong]

looks like the "nays" have it
time to check my extended warranty coverage

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