Would like to know how a major solar flare hitting Earth would affect the internals of a modern ham radio.
Would it be fried like other electronic communications?
I own a Yaesu VX-6R hand held.
First, this is based on reading and home study. If a real scientist or engineer contradicts me, believe them.
A "solar flare" does not "hit the earth". The electromagnetic radiation from a solar flare (mostly X rays and Ultraviolet light) reaches the Earth in about eight minutes and if it is ionizing radiation it may change the state of the ionization of the layers of the ionosphere to cause fairly short lived radio "blackouts" on the sunlit side of the Earth. These effects last at most a few hours.
The energy from the flare may cause parts of the Sun's outer atmosphere (the Corona) to detach and be flung into space. This are known as Coronal Mass Ejections (CME). They take from a few hours to a few days to reach the orbit of the Earth and, if the Earth happens to be where they arrive they cause many effects. It's not the flare that hits the Earth it's the CME.
A CME is an ejected chunk of the Sun's corona, and as such it consists of both electrons and atomic nuclei which have become disassociated and form a state of matter called a "plasma". A chunk of plasma is both electrically and magnetically charged. The Earth has a magnetic field of it's own. When the magnetic fields of the plasma reach the magnetic field of the Earth what happens depends upon how the fields are aligned. As we know, unlike magnetic poles attract and like ones repel.
If the poles of the CME are lined up so that it's magnetic fields are of the same polarity as the bit of Earth's magnetic fields it meets, then the fields will repel and it will largely be diverted around the Earth and have little effect.
If opposite poles are aligned then the two fields will merge and many nuclei will rain down on the near vicinity of the Earth, causing a "radiation storm". If the magnetic fields of the CME are strong enough and the CME is moving fast enough this will cause the Earth's own magnetic field to be distorted and even to "ring" like a bell. Long wires near the Earth's surface may then have electric currents induced in them by the moving magnetic field and electrical components connected to wires may be at risk from excess current.
The CME events that will cause real problems on Earth are, fortunately rare. The main risk from a big impact will be to the electrical power structure since many of the transformers in use today are not able to carry the kind of current that might be induced by a really big event. Many power companies are, however, gradually replacing the old transformers with more robust ones.
If your radio is turned off during the storm chances are good that it will not be harmed, although if you know a big one is coming it might be a good idea to disconnect the antennas. Electrical equipment that is turned off and kept inside a metal box that forms an effective Faraday cage will be unharmed.
None of the flares observed in the last week or so are anything like strong enough to have such effects. Even though sunspot region 2182 is the largest observed in a quarter century and has produced may medium flares and at least six strong ones, none of them were associated with a CME and so the main effects are limited to fairly short radio blackouts caused by disruptions in the Ionosphere.
