Anybody watch "Revolution"?

[Yogimus]

Cars and computers being immune to EMP is irrelevant when the powergrid is not, and the gasoline supply will run out in a day or two. (as will water)

[HTRN]

The premise of the book was that the EMP was indeed powerful enough to disable civilian vehicles.

The premise according to testing done by(IIRC) the DOD is wrong. 37 automobiles were tested.. WHILE RUNNING. Most continued running, some stopped, but started up again. 1 experienced damage to dash electronics but still ran. I think it's page 137.

The case of my computer could hardly be called a Faraday Cage;

For a EMP burst generated by a nuclear weapon it might as well be - Nuclear generated EMP is largely very low frequency, I think it's around 200 meters. This is why most electronics in our homes are safe(well except for the rf spike coming in through the wall outlet), but all the shit attached to the grid? It becomes a giant antenna. Oh, and those diodes you mentioned? Did you mean Avalanche Diodes? A good source for them is Polyphaser..

For the purposes of the story, no direct retaliation was possible because the perpetrators had covered their tracks too well. Tehran and North Korea got hit anyway.

A nuclear attack on the US and only a city and a rogue state gets hit? I find that very hard to believe. If muslims were suspected, they'd light up the entire middle east.

To be honest, anybody crazy enough to attempt this, is going to have to have a ICBM, and that means either Russia or China, and that means a general nuclear exchange. Frankly, if they wanted something scary, a coronal mass ejection could wreak all sorts of havok on the electrical grid. but that would ruin the whole survivalist world view of evil brown people out to get us.

[evan price]

Cars and computers being immune to EMP is irrelevant when the powergrid is not, and the gasoline supply will run out in a day or two. (as will water)

Really? I live a stone's throw from a very large recreational lake which is also a drinking water reservoir, have a good well, and a rain barrel and a large supply of powdered bleach.

I mean, joe schmoe in the city might run out of water, but who the hell lives in cities that also has a serious view towards surviving rough times?

[Jericho941]

Cars and computers being immune to EMP is irrelevant when the powergrid is not, and the gasoline supply will run out in a day or two. (as will water)

Really? I live a stone's throw from a very large recreational lake which is also a drinking water reservoir, have a good well, and a rain barrel and a large supply of powdered bleach.

I mean, joe schmoe in the city might run out of water, but who the hell lives in cities that also has a serious view towards surviving rough times?

Are you prepared to engage in firefights over resources?

Or does everyone think that Gunkid was the only one who ever thought of shooting people better-prepared for TEOTWAKI? Did everyone assume that public resources would remain public?

Sheesh.

[HTRN]

I mean, joe schmoe in the city might run out of water, but who the hell lives in cities that also has a serious view towards surviving rough times?

Up until fairly recently(in historical terms), Cities were considered safer - for one thing, large groups of people meant food, water, and security, something dwelling in the wilderness did not.

And oh, New York has huge man made reservoirs north of the city. They do have some pumping though. But then, alot of rural water supplies depend on wells..

[HTRN]

Hunh, I didn't know that - right now, there's some areas of the city that need booster stations to get decent water pressure, not to mention the needs of sky scrapers.

[Yogimus]

How much of NY water infrastructure is computer controlled/electrically operated?

[randy]

Either "great minds think alike" or someone's a lurker here:

http://www.dorktower.com/2012/09/26/rev ... -26-09-12/

[HTRN]

How much of NY water infrastructure is computer controlled/electrically operated?

Not much, like I said, there's some high spots that need booster pumps, plus whatever the sky scrapers have to do, but an amazing amount of it is simple gravity feed.

[staylor]

Frankly, if they wanted something scary, a coronal mass ejection could wreak all sorts of havok on the electrical grid. but that would ruin the whole survivalist world view of evil brown people out to get us.

Yup, man made EMP would have nothing on a large scale solar flare like the Carrington Event back in the 1800's. It utterly destroyed America's nacent electical grid which at the time was telegraph cables, a robust technology by today's standards. There are reports of telegraph cables bursting into flame. In such conditions it is hard to see what electronic devices would survive.