Faraday Cage - Studio Control Room - EMP Fallout Shelter

My most recent project that I am working on is my studio control room.

My long term plan is to use this small room as both the sound-isolated audio recording control room, and my base of operations for my HAM radio equipment.

The room is about 5' x 40" x 6' 3" tall. The amps and computers will be located in the utility room in the basement, isolated both from the control room and the studio. (So as to avoid fan noise and unwanted heat.) The lines will be run into the control room for the speakers, monitor, and USB for the keyboard, mouse, and other devices.

One of the things I'd like to do with this room is to make it a Faraday cage. I'd like to completely shield it electronically. I am looking for inexpensive metal for the cage, but for now it seems that the materials are too expensive for me to buy at the moment.

I'd love copper sheets on the walls, ceiling, and floor, but I think I'll have to settle for aluminum.

If you know of anywhere I can get inexpensive aluminum rolls... Please tell me. :)

My wall stud structure is built, and I am about to put the wooden outer walls up in the near future. I'll try to post updates as I go.

Manual Battery Bank Selector with Bank to Bank Trickle Charge

The following circuit is pretty simple. I just finished building it, and it seems to work great.
There is basically a DPDT toggle switch that selects the power source from Main to Reserve battery. Center position is off. The secondary toggle switch enables bank to bank trickle charging.
The max current is 6A for charging, and due to the diodes, the secondary bank should never reach the full charge level of the source bank. (Example... source bank = 13.3V, destination bank = 12.4V)
Assuming the source bank is large, and stays at 13.3 despite the outgoing current... The destination will likely stop charging when the voltage reaches 12.95 Volts. (I believe my diodes to have a .35v drop. I need to actually verify the "lab" voltage in the real world.)

The max voltage difference between 2 "good" battery banks that I can see would be 12.0v vs 14.1v. (I've never had my battery above 13.3Volts...)
This is 2.1V, but the voltage difference would decrease very quickly as current begins to flow. The current is limited by the battery internal resistance, and the resistance of the power lines as well. Obviously this leads to power loss during the transfer, but it is small in the grand scheme of things.

Important note - Make sure both battery sources are fused near the battery! Shorts can cause fires or explosions. These lead to acid burns, loss of property, and suffering.

What would you use this for?

I am using it to put a small 12v battery bank in my office to run laptops, AA battery chargers, cell phone chargers, radio equipment... ETC.

This allows me to use the power line coming from my solar power setup, or to use the local bank.
The local bank will be connected to a trickle charger, and can be maintained at full. If the solar bank gets low, I can boost it from my local bank. Likewise, in the Summer... If my solar bank is full, I can leave the float charger off, and charge the local bank via the solar power bank.

See the schematic above. Note that SWA is 2 sides to the same switch.

Automatic 12VDC Power Source Switcher Box for Solar Power Backup

Design - 12V DC Backup Power auto switcher for Solar Powered backup system

Use - I am using this to keep continuous power to important devices in case of power outage.

Example Devices: Smoke Detectors, Security System, Network Router, Network Server / Switches, and home automation control center
(Note: all of these run on 12V, or run on a voltage that I am going to adapt from 12V such as 9V)

I have settled on my final design for this device. I chose the design for it's simplicity, affordability, safety, and functionality. I ordered the parts which cost me less than $30 before tax and shipping costs. I will include a parts list and schematic.

Specifications:
Input #1: 12V DC from Solar powered battery backup system
Input #2: 12V DC from a 110VAC to 12VDC Power Adapter (Suggest 5A Current Rating)
Output: 12V DC (5A Max) - Supplied from AC when available, automatically switched to solar powered backup battery source without interruption in case of power outage.

Indicators:
A Green LED will light to indicate the unit is powered by the 12VDC from the AC Adapter.
A RED LED will light to indicate the unit has switched to and is being powered by the 12V DC Backup System

Parts List:
Relay: Relay1 = Z988-ND - 12V Relay 8A SPDT NC








Power Diode: D1, D1 = 6A2-TPMSCT-ND - 6A 200V Rectifier Diode (To provide isolation)







LED Indicator: D3 (Red) = 67-1067-ND - Red 12V LED 3MM






LED Indicator: D4 (Green) = 67-1061-ND - Green 12V LED 3MM







Capacitor: C1 = P5142-ND - 16V 1000uF Radial









Power Connectors: (Optional) CP-011B-ND - 5.5/2.5mm O/ID DC Power Jack Panel Mount









Power Cable Ends: (Optional) CP-2184-ND - 5.5/2.5mm O/ID DC Power Cable End









Parts available from: www.Digikey.com

12V Power Source Auto Switcher

I am looking to build a box that automatically switches over the power source from an AC Supplied 12VDC power supply... To my 12V Solar backup battery. The Box would act like a UPS, in that it would normally be supplying voltage from a 12V wall plug, and automatically switch to my Backup Power Source in the event of a power outage.

I am thinking Diodes, (for power isolation) Capacitor, (For Buffering the power during the source switch) Relay to switch... Etc. Any suggestions would be welcomed.
I have a schematic in my head, and I'll post my thoughts as I brainstorm more.

I want a low current Relay that will swap over to the other source when the power goes out.
12V powered, and capable of handling 5A or so max.

Electronics Projects

This blog is to journal My Electronics projects / ideas. Please contact me if you wish to submit info or a project plan.