# EMP's and Flashlights



## Seneca (Nov 16, 2012)

Do you think an EMP would damage or have a negative effect on a flashlight, say like a mag light or one of the higher end streamlights.


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

Only if it was exposed. The filiment in the bulbs is not made to handle the over-voltage and the LED lights would be knocked out because the LEDs are diodes and very sensitive to EMP.


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## prep2death (Apr 10, 2013)

In an EMP scenario I think the best bet would be to rely on lamp fuel, campfire light just to be safe. It also depends on other factors like the distance of detonation etc.


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

When you are talking about 10s of thousands of volts per square meter the bomb that generates that EMP can be a long ways off. A standard 1.4 Mt device can easily generate that kind of voltage from space. It is a very clean way to take out a small country. Very little blast, heat and shock waves, and only the immediate radiation from the blast. There is no fallout, no contamination just a bunch of dead bodies in a small area and a big area with no power, communications, electrical or electronics. Pretty neat stuff.


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## Ripon (Dec 22, 2012)

Also remember shining a light is like putting a target on your back. I can't even imaging our world without juice; a moving car, home with lights on, a moving light (flash light) would attract a lot of attention after a day.


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## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

Ok so what can I use to protect my flashlights? And other electronics. I mean like use lead or what?


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

Get some metal boxes and some metal tape (200mph tape) Insulate the inside with something non-conductive (neoprene will not work) put your stuff in the box and then tape all the seams and joints around the lid. The best insulation is plexi-glas but silicone rubber will do nearly as well. Glue it to the inside with contact cement. Cover all sides and overlap any seams - especially where sides and top meet and be sure to get the top. You don't want any exposed metal on the inside.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Try this website Aluminum Foil Deflector 

Sorry, couldn't resist.


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## PrepperThyAngus (Sep 30, 2012)

I would not worry about your flash lights because most do not rely on integrated circuits to operate. A flash light is simply a incandescent or LED bulbs, conductors, battery, and switch.

So the incandescent and LED bulbs are the only things that would be affected by EMP but not too much. Both of these bulbs can actually handle the high voltage low amperage discharge that an EMP would produce. Will the bulbs be damaged by EMP? Maybe, depends on the intensity of the EMP discharge. Do you have to worry about protecting them against EMP...no.

The best way to protect against EMP for your sensitive electronics is successive metal containers inside each other. Each container must be fully sealed with conductive metal. Think container, inside container, inside container, all metal.

This information comes directly from US Dept Of Defense "Effects of Nuclear Weapons"

The Effects of Nuclear Weapons


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## Montana Rancher (Mar 4, 2013)

budgetprepp-n said:


> Ok so what can I use to protect my flashlights? And other electronics. I mean like use lead or what?


Read this thread

http://www.prepperforums.net/forum/general-prepper-survival-talk/3676-guarding-against-emp.html


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## Seneca (Nov 16, 2012)

So it's possible an EMP could take out something as simple as a flashlight...wow!

How many people have AR's with rail mounted flashlights...which after being exposed to an EMP and may or may not work...that would not be good...


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## Infidel (Dec 22, 2012)

Seneca said:


> So it's possible an EMP could take out something as simple as a flashlight...wow!
> 
> How many people have AR's with rail mounted flashlights...which after being exposed to an EMP and may or may not work...that would not be good...


It would also take out any type of sighting device that uses batteries. Think red dot or night vision optics, anyone without back up irons will have issues if their battery operated optics fail. This is where the 1-4x variable scope with back up iron sights comes in very handy.

-Infidel


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

Any device that utilizes semiconductors is likely to be useless after an EMP. Diodes, transistors and even capacitors are all the most sensitive devices to EMP. Those LED flashlights and solar panels use diodes. LED stands for "light emitting diode" and a solar panel is made up of a series of diodes that convert light into electricity. Unless they are protected they will be useless.


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## Seneca (Nov 16, 2012)

Well there are these...

Amazon.com: emp bags

They are advertised as EMP protection for electronic equipment. I suppose they would work...


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

I'm very skeptical of the "EMP" claim. I know these for protection from static, etc. but an EMP is a whole beast.

Reminds me of the guy on the Internet, who for $29.99 could diagnose whether or not you car's computer was susceptible to the Y2K bug.
All you had to do was give him your credit card # and hold your cell phone by the battery of your car for 15 seconds. OMG


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## Seneca (Nov 16, 2012)

Well there is the possibility of that...I read the product description and they point out that some bags are actually for static protection yet optimistically labeled for EMP...this one seems legit...then again...

Even if they work...and the grid crashes due to am EMP attack what little is saved is probably not going to amount to much. 

I just want my flashlight to work...lol


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## sbasacco (Sep 10, 2012)

please do a little bit of research on EMP.....take the batteries out and that will disconnect the circuit, thus not allowing current to flow through the light causing damage to it. That is why if you have some idea of a strong EMP coming towards us, disconnect your car battery and you should be ok.....some of the internals might not be though.....


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## Seneca (Nov 16, 2012)

I have and there appears to be good arguments on both sides of the EMP issue. One side says very little will happen and everything will will be fine don't sweat it. While the other side says no there could be problems.


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## Infidel (Dec 22, 2012)

paraquack said:


> I'm very skeptical of the "EMP" claim. I know these for protection from static, etc. but an EMP is a whole beast.
> 
> Reminds me of the guy on the Internet, who for $29.99 could diagnose whether or not you car's computer was susceptible to the Y2K bug.
> All you had to do was give him your credit card # and hold your cell phone by the battery of your car for 15 seconds. OMG


I was thinking the same thing, when I used to do a lot of side work on computers I had hundreds of those bags laying around it's nothing but an anti static bag. I'm not sure I'd want to trust my sensitive electronics to an anti static bag in an EMP event, not that I'm particularly worried about one. If I still had all of those bags I could make a fortune on them, DOH!

-Infidel


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