WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! (was [Elecraft] ESD recommendation)

[Gary Hvizdak]

At 07:21:12 EST 2007 on Fri Nov 23, David Ferrington, M0XDF wrote ...

You need
:
:
* a ESD wire  - to connect the rig chassis to your bonding point
   (some may say this isn't absolutely necessary)

--

All,

    YOU ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY SHOULD NOT GROUND THE CHASSIS while assembling

your K3 or anything else that has ESD sensitive components!  Doing so would 
defeat the entire purpose of the ESD mat, which is to gently, safely, and 
gradually dissipate a charge so that it doesn't cause damage.  If you 
directly ground the chassis and you or someone else were to "accidentally" 
touch the rig in a vulnerable spot (while not wearing a wrist strap), then 
the resulting surge discharging that person's charge to ground through the
rig's vulnerable circuitry would most certainly fry something!

    While your rig is only contacting your ESD mat via an insulator such as 
its rubber feet or a painted surface, it will build up a charge of its own.

This is perfectly okay provided the eventual discharge paths for such a 
charge are either (gradually) via the mat to ground, or (gradually) through
you via your wrist strap to ground.

    BTW, ESD mats should routinely be cleaned with an appropriate product, 
because otherwise the buildup of contaminants (such as oils from your skin 
and rosin splashes) will defeat the mat's dissipative/conductive properties.

DO NOT USE A "HOME REMEDY" (SUCH AS RUBBING ALCOHOL) TO CLEAN YOUR MAT AS 
THAT WILL ALSO AFFECT YOUR MAT'S PERFORMANCE!

    FYI, I work in an Aerospace manufacturing facility where I routinely 
handle individual circuit cards that cost between $10,000 and $15,000.  The 
above comments are derived from the mandatory training I receive at this 
facility.

    A quick Google of "ESD" yielded 12,800,000 hits, while a search for the 
entire phrase "esd mat cleaner" yielded 230 hits, so there's clearly a 
wealth of info on this subject available online.

73,
Gary  KI4GGX
Melbourne, Florida
K2 #4067 / K3 #000???