Electro-magnetic shielding

[zoidberg]

Not perhaps the 'first order' of boaty safety equipment, but one hears of nav and radio devices being 'frazzled' by atmospheric electricity and the notion of putting one's handheld devices - GPS, VHFs, quartz watches - into the steel oven as a clumsy Faraday Cage.

Looking for some thing else, I stumbled across this Shielding Faraday Fabric - on Amazon. There are other, similar products via the same pages.

Someone might be interested....

 

[rogerthebodger]

The advantage of having a steel boat is that I automatically have all my electronics inside a Faraday Cage

 

[William_H]

Vellly interesting however.... You will never know how effective your faraday cage is. The fabric if sewn and joined should have perfect conductive connections across the sewn joint. (to make a true cage)
You could make a cage just as good with copper in a box form with a lid that does make connection all around.
The faraday cage works on the principle that it will appear like a coil or turn of a transformer. The rapidly changing magnetic field inducing current in the cage thus dissipating the magnetic field. (eddy current is a term for this dissipation).
Although not quite such a good conductor iron or steel is better in that it also can provide a bypass path for a magnetic field. Especially a static field. Like speaker magnet interference to compass. But still works as a faraday cage. Hence the old oven trick is good.
One of the big problems of lightning damage is the huge rapid increase in magnetic field induces a voltage and current into any wiring. Hence one of the first things to do is disconnect any electronics from it's cables. Both antenna, data and power cables. Putting it in the oven of course involves disconnection.
So don't imagine a permanent wrapping of devices with this fabric will save them from lightning damage if you don't disconnect cables. ol'will

 

[ducked]

Doesn't aluminium foil work?

 

[Boater Sam]

Doesn't aluminium foil work?

Only in triangular hats.

Experience would suggest that in the event of a direct strike, practically nothing will save you or any electrical gear, especially semiconductors.
Same as with a magnetic pulse from an atomic blast which is one reason that the Russians and maybe the Chinese still make thermionic valves.

 

[DJE]

Years ago in Hong Kong one boat was struck by lightning and suffered considerable damage. But half a dozen boats on adjacent moorings lost all their electronics.

 

[Stemar]

Doesn't aluminium foil work?

It would appear not