[Elecraft] ESD precautions?

[Kurt Cramer]

Someone said:

"In the domestic environment the main culprit for static is often
carpets made out of man made fibres that can generate phenomenal levels
of static electricity. Floor coverings of this type are to be avoided at
all costs where static sensitive devices are being handled."

AND chairs, and jackets. I worked for many years at Kitt Peak National
Observatory. 7000 feet elevation in Arizona. It gets cold up there, so
heated observing rooms were built in the telescopes buildings with
carpet and nice furbishing. The observer would show up wearing a jacket
with a man made fabric and sit down at the computer terminal and blow
out the RS232 driver/receiver chip, or something else. We'd show up and
fix or replace the broken hardware and leave a note that from now on the
observer would be required to sit Naked in a metal chair on a uncarpeted
floor. 

We tried a lot of things to fix the problem. The softening product that
the xyl adds to the washing machine when sprayed on those man made
fibers will help. But it's not as good as building your Kxx .... Naked!

73, Kurt