Posted: 8/16/2004 2:46:44 PM EDT
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I have a digital lock and after the numerous threads here on AR15, I see people seem to prefer it over the dial. The one 'bad' thing people always say about digital locks is they might not work after an EMP. So, I just fired off an email to Sargent & Greenleaf, Inc. to ask them that same question. Here is their answer. The best way I can answer this concern is to say that Sargent & Greenleaf does not perform lab testing for EMP. The testing guidelines that S&G must follow are specified directly by Underwriters Laboratories. Currently, there is no specification, per UL, to test electronic locks for EMP. With this in mind, it is not possible to determine how one of our electronic locks would handle an EMP attack. Sargent & Greenleaf, Inc. Technical Support So, still no answer. 
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Well then let's conduct an experiment. I'll get the nuke and someone can get a safe ... wait a minute that's not gonna work ... Just wrap them in tin foil. An EMP blast would mean pretty much the end of society for a few months at least. Since radio, television, the internet, and your car will not be working you'll have plenty of time to find a cold chisel and a hammer (about $9 a Home Depot for the pair but bring cash as your ATM is likely broken too). Seriously a safe is rated for how long it can protect the contects under three conditions - stealth attack (think lock picking), limited force (think hammer and a chisel), and unlimited forse (think TNT). The walk-in safe at work for Secret material is rated like 6/2/.2 meaning 6 hours to pick the lock, 2 hours to crack the wall, and 12 minutes to blow the door off (must allow for a good long fuse). Give me two hours and I'll get into a Fort Knox safe - give me power tools and that will be less, give me an air hammer and it will be less, give me an Oxy/Acy torch and it's going to be much less. |
Actually, a high-altitude nuke going off wouldn't even harm ya. They have to be 50+ miles up to generate the long-distance pulse. I recall seeing an article in which they figured that 4 decent sized nukes in low earth orbit in a diamond pattern("Weather sattelite" w/nuke on board) would pretty much hose nearly all the electronics in the US. I mean, nearly everything. Power generation, communications, computers, phones, and even semi-hardened electronics. We'd be screwed bigtime. It'd take years to get even basic power and lights working again, and that was if we weren't further attacked/invaded in the meantime. And if there were other countries willing to sell us what we needed to rebuild. The safe would have to be completely covered in some metal foil (not touching the safe), and grounded, for the lock to have any chance at all. I think it's a valid question, personally. |
| One way I have of protecting my safe from someone with a cutting torch is to store blackpowder(the real stuff) in it. I would rather have my safe with my guns and the person cutting the safe go up than them getting my guns. The only down side to that is if the house catches on fire. How about a lighting strike? |
I've seen contrary accounts that indicated only relatively sensitive, exposed electronics would be damaged (such as radio equipment, telephones, computer modems and some appliances - essentially, items connected to relatively large pieces of metal/antennas/power lines/phone lines, etc.). Personally, I'd expect a quality digital safe lock to survive a considerable EMP whollop, since: 1. Most of the electronics is inside a metal enclosure, 2. All connected wiring is very short (and thus incapable of intercepting much of the EMP pulse), 3. The electronics receive their power from a self-contained battery (thereby eliminating high voltages induced on AC power lines), and 4. The only exposed circuitry (the keypad) is probably shielded against static electricity (and thus partially shielded against EMP). However, whether or not your electronic keypad would survive even minor fire exposure is another matter entirely... |