After a Soviet pilot in a MiG-25 defected some analysts scoffed at the "antiquated" vacuum-tube avionics but later realized this made it naturally more immune to EMP and extreme temperature effects, and also enabled it to carry more advanced (for that time) search radar capable of generating mega-power pulses, making it quite formidable in the role of interceptor.
The defunct country that brought you the (Duga) Woodpecker....and Chernobyl to power it. Don't ever underestimate Russian abilities in electromagnetics.
Faraday Cage is defined as a grounded metal screen surrounding a piece of equipment to exclude electrostatic and electromagnetic influences. My rig's case is a solid screen and it is connected to a ground. Does that qualify as a Faraday Cage? Or will the pulse back up through the chassis grounds etc.?
Excellent question. Faraday cages need to be electrically large to sufficiently thwart the EMP wideband pulse, and this seldom is realistic. Slits and indents act as slot antennas; screws and connectors act as inefficient but very real antennas, monopoles for example. Nasty, nasty stuff. The very least that can be done is to run a shorting cap on the antenna connector. Short everything.
Myth or Fact? Turning Off Electronics Will Better Protect Them Yes, it seems that equipment is more vulnerable if it is operating. And this also includes cars. Cars that will be running when an EMP hits have a higher chance of getting broken. But this of course doesn’t mean that all systems that are turned off will be unaffected.