Solar Max causing radio comms problems

[Silent Earth]

Apparently its Solar Max in the Sun Spot cycles and there are multiple big nasty flares ( 4 in the last week) buggering up telecoms systems


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...28-solar-flares-erupting-space-week--way.html

 

[Potter County Man]

Actually yes and no. Your original heading says -
Solar Max causing radio comms problems
In all reality, when there is a solar flare, the lower HF bands are affected more then anything else due to the fact that noise is inverse the square of the frequency.

When the lower HF bands are diminished, the upper HF bands are sometimes augmented. I have had excellent opportunities to make contact with people in Russia and abroad over the past couple of weeks.

When you do have a solar flare, aurora over the poles tends to generate some noise, but at the same time, will drag UHF and VHF signals for hundreds of miles on paths that are not line of sight. It is sometimes a good opportunity to work 6 meters since 6 meters - aka The Magic Band takes advantage of this kind of propagation.

Satellite services are affected because the owners of the satellites do not want any damage to their solar panels and antenna's, so they will sometimes turn their satellites away from the sun until after the event.

This wrecks havoc with air travel which is dependent upon this type of navigation and also GPS, along with radio - since the aurora disrupts the normal paths of communications.

It is experienced more in the northern latitudes such as Alaska and Canada, but sometimes reaches down into the lower 48 states.

 

[Gettingreadymama]

Can that cause EMPS?

 

[Potter County Man]

An Electromagnetic Pulse is caused by the detonation of a thermonuclear device at a high elevation above the earth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermonuclear_weapon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish_Prime

When these bombs were detonated in the south Pacific in 1962 - street lamps burst in Hawaii - 800+ miles away.

This is the reason why I have made comments about the people that thinks that they can protect electronic equipment by just putting it in some type of a box or connecting the shield in the box to a ground rod. Basically the wire going to the box - regardless of how short you make the wire - becomes a antenna. The pulse generated is within the ranges of 2 meters VHF - which means even a piece of wire 14 inches long could be considered an antenna - which would conduct energy towards the box instead of diverting it away.

About the only stuff that will still work reliably will be the old tube type equipment - because tubes are designed to work with hundreds of volts where as microprocessors are designed to work with fractions of one volt. There isn't much of anything inside of a tube that would be affected by a EMP...

 

[Gettingreadymama]

An Electromagnetic Pulse is caused by the detonation of a thermonuclear device at a high elevation above the earth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermonuclear_weapon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish_Prime

When these bombs were detonated in the south Pacific in 1962 - street lamps burst in Hawaii - 800+ miles away.

This is the reason why I have made comments about the people that thinks that they can protect electronic equipment by just putting it in some type of a box or connecting the shield in the box to a ground rod. Basically the wire going to the box - regardless of how short you make the wire - becomes a antenna. The pulse generated is within the ranges of 2 meters VHF - which means even a piece of wire 14 inches long could be considered an antenna - which would conduct energy towards the box instead of diverting it away.

About the only stuff that will still work reliably will be the old tube type equipment - because tubes are designed to work with hundreds of volts where as microprocessors are designed to work with fractions of one volt. There isn't much of anything inside of a tube that would be affected by a EMP...

Wouldn't CB's or two-way Radios work? Will sound waves still work?

 

[Overlord]

Wouldn't CB's or two-way Radios work? Will sound waves still work?

They will work after an EMP if prior to an EMP, they were protected in a Faraday cage.

 

[Gettingreadymama]

They will work after an EMP if prior to an EMP, they were protected in a Faraday cage.

Ok. So, I need to read about them! I am sure there is information on what is a Faraday cage is and where to get them and or how to build one.

 

[jimLE]

just type in Faraday cage up the search bar here..i think theres more then one topic here about them.and of course.there google search as well

 

[Overlord]

Ok. So, I need to read about them! I am sure there is information on what is a Faraday cage is and where to get them and or how to build one.

The Faraday Cages you would find on Google may be fancy ones. Like what JimLE said, try the search here and you will find innovative ways of setting up your own faraday cage on the cheap.

 

[Gettingreadymama]

just type in Faraday cage up the search bar here..i think theres more then one topic here about them.and of course.there google search as well

Thank you and I will!

 

[jimLE]

your welcome..some folks has good ideas on how to build one

 

[Gettingreadymama]

your welcome..some folks has good ideas on how to build one

Building one is more my way! Saves money!

 

[jimLE]

plus building your own,you know have what you need in one.and hopefully.it'll be the right size for whats going into it..

 

[Gettingreadymama]

Got to buy communication items. CB? TWO-AWAY RADIOS? any inputs here?

 

[Potter County Man]

Wouldn't CB's or two-way Radios work? Will sound waves still work?

I don't understand your question..
Radio is radio is radio is radio..
It doesn't matter if it is a .250 watt cell phone or a 10,000 watt transmitter, if it uses microprocessors something has got to give.

A knowledgeable person with a crystal controlled, tube type cb radio can replace the crystals with other crystals, retune it and operate it in other bands - within reason.
If the tuning circuit allows it will operate with little difficulty on 10 or 12 meters - both amateur bands.

With some tweeking and some different components it could operate practically anywhere. BASICALLY the radio is just a transmitter and a receiver.

If a EMP was dropped, and if it had multiple warheads, it could quite possibly knock out all reliable communications other then what the government and the phone company has for back up. There isn't enough spare equipment laying around to replace what would be damaged on the cell towers and the televisions and radios for many years after the event.

If this was followed by some group that decided to JCB the backbone to the internet, the whole country would be in the dark in a matter of hours.
Things such as the banking industry - would run out of money.
Gas pumps would be pumped dry - because there would be no scheduled delivery.
Grocery stores would run out of food - because there would be no cash register receipt of sales - hence there would be no more food delivered and there would be no food sold - because no one would know how much it cost without a computer to tell them.

The whole country would fold up like a cheap card table.
How many times have to shopped in a grocery store or fast food restaurant and the sales clerk did not know how to count and or did not know how to make change.

 

[Gettingreadymama]

I don't understand your question..
Radio is radio is radio is radio..
It doesn't matter if it is a .250 watt cell phone or a 10,000 watt transmitter, if it uses microprocessors something has got to give.

A knowledgeable person with a crystal controlled, tube type cb radio can replace the crystals with other crystals, retune it and operate it in other bands - within reason.
If the tuning circuit allows it will operate with little difficulty on 10 or 12 meters - both amateur bands.

With some tweeking and some different components it could operate practically anywhere. BASICALLY the radio is just a transmitter and a receiver.

If a EMP was dropped, and if it had multiple warheads, it could quite possibly knock out all reliable communications other then what the government and the phone company has for back up. There isn't enough spare equipment laying around to replace what would be damaged on the cell towers and the televisions and radios for many years after the event.

If this was followed by some group that decided to JCB the backbone to the internet, the whole country would be in the dark in a matter of hours.
Things such as the banking industry - would run out of money.
Gas pumps would be pumped dry - because there would be no scheduled delivery.
Grocery stores would run out of food - because there would be no cash register receipt of sales - hence there would be no more food delivered and there would be no food sold - because no one would know how much it cost without a computer to tell them.

The whole country would fold up like a cheap card table.
How many times have to shopped in a grocery store or fast food restaurant and the sales clerk did not know how to count and or did not know how to make change.

Thank you for the information.

Although, The part about the stores running out of food, banks running out of money and gas stations running dry boggles me.
If an EMP hits, no matter how it happens and there is no more power, who in there right minds would go to work? Let alone how would they get there? Cars and trucks wouldn't work! (unless its a 1977 or earlier model) How would you get the gas out of the ground? And the bank would be the last place I would go! I don't think that I will be needing much change!

 

[Potter County Man]

Got to buy communication items. CB? TWO-AWAY RADIOS? any inputs here?

Neither of these things will do you much good if you do not understand how they work or know how to operate them.
CB radio works in a portion of the spectrum of 11 meters - 27 Mhz, it is rather simple to operate. You buy a resonant antenna, you use low loss coax, you put the antenna higher then everything else in the neighborhood, you tune the antenna to the transceiver, you supply it with 13.7 VDC , AND if you used a vertical antenna, you would need to use ground radials to keep a portion of the signal from going straight down into the ground.
Because a legal CB radio only produces a couple of watts - even if a person does something wrong, it isn't usually fatal to the user or the equipment - even though damage can occur if the equipment is not connected properly to the antenna or the power supply.

On the other hand, amateur radio produces more power, is more lethal, can kill you.
If you do not connect the radio properly to the antenna or the power supply, it will cause it to have sometimes hundreds of dollars of damage or even be rendered useless.

As I tell anyone thinking of getting into radio to join a amateur radio club.
Participate in the club functions.
Find yourself a knowledgeable person - what we call an Elmer.
Learn as much as you can possibly learn and never stop learning.
The Technician Class License is a joke, not even a real test of knowledge - keep going to at least the General Class Level and beyond.

Surround yourself with successful people and you yourself will be successful.

 

[jimLE]

Got to buy communication items. CB? TWO-AWAY RADIOS? any inputs here?

yeah cb's and walkie talkies.and maybe portable hand held cb's.this way yall can keep in communication with each other untill both of you are where yall gonna be at.be it home,bug out location or some place else.and if you get a every day cb for the home.you dont have to worry about tuneing it..i had a cb base unit once.and all i had for it,was a coaxle cable running from cb to a 36 inch whip antina with built in ground that i stuck up into a tree..there was days i was able to reach out 15 miles with it..i also has a cb in the car i had at the time.cb mounted up front..and the antena attached to the trunk..it did great as well..and yes a amuture can install them correctly,and easly enough..

 

[jimLE]

Neither of these things will do you much good if you do not understand how they work or know how to operate them.
CB radio works in a portion of the spectrum of 11 meters - 27 Mhz, it is rather simple to operate. You buy a resonant antenna, you use low loss coax, you put the antenna higher then everything else in the neighborhood, you tune the antenna to the transceiver, you supply it with 13.7 VDC , AND if you used a vertical antenna, you would need to use ground radials to keep a portion of the signal from going straight down into the ground.
Because a legal CB radio only produces a couple of watts - even if a person does something wrong, it isn't usually fatal to the user or the equipment - even though damage can occur if the equipment is not connected properly to the antenna or the power supply.

On the other hand, amateur radio produces more power, is more lethal, can kill you.
If you do not connect the radio properly to the antenna or the power supply, it will cause it to have sometimes hundreds of dollars of damage or even be rendered useless.

As I tell anyone thinking of getting into radio to join a amateur radio club.
Participate in the club functions.
Find yourself a knowledgeable person - what we call an Elmer.
Learn as much as you can possibly learn and never stop learning.
The Technician Class License is a joke, not even a real test of knowledge - keep going to at least the General Class Level and beyond.

Surround yourself with successful people and you yourself will be successful.

you talking about cb's or ham radios here? i've never known anyone haveing to fine tune a cb before.it's just a matter of a person getting what works best for them,when it comes to cb's and antenna's.i've had um before.i never had any problems with a cb.and thats from buying it and every thing else.to installing it..

 

[Gettingreadymama]

yeah cb's and walkie talkies.and maybe portable hand held cb's.this way yall can keep in communication with each other untill both of you are where yall gonna be at.be it home,bug out location or some place else.and if you get a every day cb for the home.you dont have to worry about tuneing it..i had a cb base unit once.and all i had for it,was a coaxle cable running from cb to a 36 inch whip antina with built in ground that i stuck up into a tree..there was days i was able to reach out 15 miles with it..i also has a cb in the car i had at the time.cb mounted up front..and the antena attached to the trunk..it did great as well..and yes a amuture can install them correctly,and easly enough..

Thank you jimLE!! I knew that it could not be to hard to get up and going for what I need it to do! You just helped me out so very much!

 

[Potter County Man]

Back in the early days of the Citizen Band radio,, when all the radios used crystals and tubes, if a man did not have things right, he turned his new found hobby into a worthless piece of junk.
Sometime after 1972 when solid state technology caught up to the radio world and CB radios were operated with just 3 crystals - they incorporated a circuit into the radio which folded back the power when the nominal impedance was not 50 ohm.
A 3' antenna would be a fraction of a wavelength, maybe you are confusing this with a base loaded whip antenna, maybe with a mag mount.

Regardless of which radio you own, if the antenna is not resonant, it isn't going to talk very far and it isn't going to last very long.

In the early days of CB - the hams often times helped the CB'rs to get started and many of them opened CB radio repair shops that included installations.
The people that paid to have their radio set up installed - usually had good signals.
Where as the people that put up their own antenna and did not know what they were doing - caused the CB radio repair shop grief and made many people rich!

There was more money to be made repairing CB's then there was in selling them!
When the price dropped from $100 - $500 down to $35.00 - the number of CB radio repair shops diminished and today are almost non existent.

My radio talks half way around the world with just 100 watts - which I do on a almost daily basis, so if your 4 watt radio talks 15 miles, that isn't anything to brag about!

Transmission and reception is dependent upon Location Location Location...
You don't put up a 3' whip on a pipe stuck in the ground, a couple of feet off the ground and expect it to talk anywhere.

 

[Silent Earth]

Ok. So, I need to read about them! I am sure there is information on what is a Faraday cage is and where to get them and or how to build one.

A bubble wrap lined metal cookie tin with a tight fitting metal lid does the job, as does an old unwanted microwave oven, foil lined mylar bags can also be used I'm told.

 

[Maverick]

where to get them and or how to build one.

Heavy gauge metal garbage can, tinfoil and cardboard total cost $26

My faraday cage...

 

[Silent Earth]

The contents being protected by the faraday cage must not be in contact with the metal walls or floor or lid, cardboard or bubble wrap with separate the contents from the tin and it will work fine.

 

[Silent Earth]

I thought that was your coffee cup?

Heavy gauge metal garbage can, tinfoil and cardboard total cost $26

My faraday cage...
View attachment 4474

 

[Clyde]

Heavy gauge metal garbage can, tinfoil and cardboard total cost $26

My faraday cage...
View attachment 4474

This is the direction I am taking for a faraday cage in addition to the metal trash can you showed!

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[Clyde]

Faraday Trash Can Build

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