[BARC-List] Hypothetical scenario

[Mark J. Dulcey]

Scott Ehrlich wrote:
> I am a big fan of the Fox tv series "24".   Last night's episode got me
> thinking... We as radio operators rely on the airwaves to monitor radio
> traffic.  But, what if an EMP (electro magnetic pulse?) generator
> disrupted the airwaves, electric grids, etc?   What are the realistic
> affects of an EMP generator?   How long would the effects last?   What
> areas of the spectrum would be affected?   Could an EMP generator provide
> long-lasting disruption, or only only short-term?
> 
> I thought this might make for some interesting discussion.

Once upon a time, there was talk of using a REALLY strong EMP to cause 
widespread destruction of electronics. A strong enough blast can destroy 
the front-end transistors in most radio receivers, and if it gets 
carried on the power lines, can take out a lot of other stuff as well. 
We're talking about a high-energy but short-duration pulse here, not a 
continuous signal, so the disruption of the airwaves lasts for just a 
moment, assuming you have any working equipment left afterward. But it 
would cover the entire radio spectrum while it lasted.

There are many ways to make a receiver less vulnerable to EMP damage. 
Alas, most of them are incompatible with low-power design, so all our 
portable RF gear (HTs, cell phones, Walkman radios, etc.) will be the 
first to go.

The Pentagon did a lot of work on EMP-resistant equipment as a response 
to this threat. The Soviets were less vulnerable in the first place, 
because they were still using vacuum tubes, which are less susceptible 
to EMP. Your vintage rigs might be the only stuff that still works after 
the bomb drops.

One catch was that the way being proposed to create it was an atomic 
explosion. The destruction caused by the EMP was the least of your 
worries. People tried to design bombs that would minimize the blast and 
maximize the EMP burst (a variant on the neutron bomb concept, where the 
idea was to maximize radiation to kill the people, but minimize the 
blast to reduce property damage), but I don't think any such weapons 
actually got produced. If they did, the government isn't talking.