[Elecraft] ESD question

[Vin Cortina]

Hi Kirk,

While the latter may offer more protection than nothing at all, I have been 
trained to use the former method.  Grounding the ESD mat and wrist strap to 
a true earth ground will properly "siphon" off any residual static charge. 
The wrist strap should measure approximately 1 Megaohm to ground as there is 
an integral resistance in the cord which will prevent you from becoming a 
human fuse in the event of  a dangerous/lethal voltage coming into contact 
with the mat.

I expect there will be others who will weigh in on this, but I can tell you 
my training came from well over 25 years in field service, 16 of which were 
with Hewlett-Packard.  At H.P. I had to be recertified every year in ESD 
prevention techniques, not to mention a slew of other things (like 
electrical safety).  H.P. didn't mess around.

Best of luck.

Vin  KR2F

K1-4 s/n:1977
KX1  s/n:1476  (under construction)


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kirk Brown" <kbpayh at gmail.com>
To: <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Saturday, July 22, 2006 10:14 AM
Subject: [Elecraft] ESD question


> Hi all,
>
> How do you correctly use an ESD wrist strap when building a K2? Can I
> directly plug it into the ground terminal of a regular socket (it
> appears to be made to fit) or can I connect it to the chassis to
> ensure no potential exists? The only time I've used a strap was a case
> where I had a specific grounding bus to connect it to.
>
> Thanks!
> -- 
> "Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the
> rest." ~Mark Twain
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