[Elecraft] ground static elec

[Rick Hampton]

To reinforce Don's comments, I've lived in several houses, none of which 
I wired, and found broken ground wires, broken neutral wires, broken hot 
wires, outlets with the hot and neutral wires reversed, and outlets with 
the ground and neutral wires reversed.  I strongly suspect that if 
reverse wiring the hot and ground weren't a self-limiting entry for the 
Darwin Award, I'd have seen this one too.

Rick's Rule of Electrical Work:  Double-check EVERYTHING.  NOTHING is 
safe until proved safe.

Rick Hampton, WD8KEL

Don Wilhelm wrote:
> Jesse,
>
> If your 'table mat' is really an anti-static mat, it should have a 1 megohm
> resistor built into the attachment cord - check it with your ohmmeter.
>
> It is OK to attach it to a utility grounding point - I remove the plate
> mounting screw on a standard receptacle and attach the wire there (but make
> certain it is actually grounded first by checking continuity to the ground
> pin on a 3 prong socket - in the US, the center rounded pin should be
> ground, but if you are not certain about it, check with an electrician or
> someone who does know 'which pin is what' on the receptacles - there is
> dangerous AC voltage on the pins - BE SAFE!  There are testers that simply
> plug into a receptacle and show if the ground is connected and if the
> receptacle is wired properly, I suggest that you obtain one and check before
> sticking any probe into the rectangular holes in the receptacle.  If your
> household wiring conforms to code, any metal parts associated with the
> wiring should be grounded, but never trust it until you verify (by testing).
> I wired my house myself and have a lot of confidence in the wiring, but I
> still check to be certain - stuff can happen over time and ground
> connections can loosen on occasion.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>