[Elecraft] Wrist strap ground...

[Don Wilhelm]

Steve,

The key element in ESD protection is to have everything at the same 
potential - that does not necessarily mean Mother Earth Ground, but it 
means that everything should connect to a common point in the vicinity 
of the work bench.  The 3 wire cords are supposed to accomplish that for 
'grounded' AC devices, including your grounded soldering iron.

You say you have an extension cord running to your work area.  Hopefully 
that is a 3 wire cord with the safety ground having been tested for 
continuity.  If so, connect everything to the safety ground conductor of 
that cord (at the work area end).  If that is not so, then by all means 
make it that way.  A good 3 wire  extension cord and one of the 6 
position AC power strips is an acceptable setup.  If your power strip 
has a metal case and uses screws to hold the receptacles in place, those 
screws *should* be a good place to connect to - but do drag out your DMM 
and do a continuity test from that screw back to the ground pin that 
plugs into the wall socket.  Also use one of the inexpensive 'outlet 
testers' to determine if the receptacle feeding all that stuff is really 
connected properly.

As I started with, the 'magic' is to have everything (including your 
body) at the same potential - that creates a local grounding system and 
is sufficient even though it may not be at Mother Earth Ground potential.

As a side note - with a grounded soldering iron tip, do not even think 
about soldering on a live circuit, that is what irons with an isolated 
tip are used for (yes, those can be ESD safe too with a resistance to 
ground).

73,
Don W3FPR

Steve Kallal wrote:
> I have been building the KPA100 100 watt option for the K2. I'm half through
> page 16 right now. Very soon I'll be installing some of the solid state
> devices. I have a ground strap but am hard pressed in deciding where to
> ground it. I have an new Weller WTCPT soldering station, which is highly
> recommended by Scott at Elecraft. It is supposed to have a grounded tip.
>  
> My work table is set up away from any outlets. Even the soldering station is
> power through an oranged extension cable from the next room. My shack
> outlets are all committed. I don't see a place on the soldering station to
> connect the strap to. I could make up a long braid from my station ground,
> which runs to a ground rod just outside the shack wall.
>  
> I didn't bother with a ground strap for the diodes, although a re-reading of
> the manual recommends it.
>  
> Any anti-static grounding ideas out there?
>  
>  
> 73,
>  
> Steve N6VL
>  
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