[Elecraft] Being ESD Safe

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Almost any hardware store will provide you, for a very small price, a
reliable outlet tester that checks for a valid mains safety ground AND to
see if the wires to the spade terminals are connected correctly. 

Your test equipment that plugs in, especially the ESD-safe soldering iron,
is connected to the mains "safety ground". Many such tools have a ground
stud on them for attaching a wrist strap or anti-static pad.  

At least one company sells a special plug that goes into a mains outlet and
provides a connection stud for a wrist strap or mat that attaches it to the
ground wire. 

There's nothing you can do at the test bench to compensate for a badly wired
mains circuit. If the tester shows something amiss -- no ground, reversed
mains leads to the outlet, etc. -- it should be corrected. A licensed
electrician is best equipped to do that right. That's something I do on
every outlet in every place I live, and fix any outlets that aren't wired
correctly. 

According to the electricians I've spoken with, the worst thing a person can
do is to arrange a ground wire to the bench separate from the mains ground.
There have been cases where the mains ground has failed - been broken
accidentally, subject to corrosion because the wires were connected
improperly, etc. It's rare, but it has happened. When that happens, it is
possible for a dangerous, even a lethal, voltage to exist between the
"safety ground" at the round hole in the mains outlet (in the USA) and true
earth ground. If your bench is grounded to its own rod driven into the
earth, that could present a serious safety hazard should you touch both a
piece of equipment whose case is attached to the mains ground and something
connected to your separate ground.  

The safest ground is the mains ground. That's why it's there. 

Ron AC7AC



-----Original Message-----

",,,,,,,,,, Connect to the House Mains" (connection
thru one's 110VAC outlet)

Problem, or potential problems with this "ground (thru
a resistor) connection" - it assumes some electrician
didn't mess up and not connect that plug's ground.
It is common home electical "code" - that one should
not count on having a continuous or present ground
connection, at every plug in a home.  Some may be
mis-wired, some may be open, some may have been
wired wrong, some may have opened over time.
...

Question really is:  HOW DOES ONE ENSURE HIS HOME, and
SHACK PLUGS - actually are connected to ZERO
VOLT REAL GROUND, AS CODE SAYS THEY SHOULD BE?

Fred, N3CSY, NY