[Elecraft] Poor Man's ESD Mat?

[Gary Hvizdak]

Don (W3FPR) wrote ...

If you really want to go inexpensive, roll out some aluminum foil to 
keep everything at the same potential - you can even ground the foil 
with a 1 M resistor to the AC equipment ground that is likely found 
on every receptacle in the house.

--

Henry,

    If you use something like aluminum foil for your ESD work surface, AND
you directly ground it (i.e. without a 1M series resistor), AND you don't
use a wrist strap, AND you take a circuit board out of an ESD bag AND place
it on the foil, then you might rapidly discharge tens of thousands of volts
of static charge that's on your body through the circuit card to ground!

    Even if you routinely wear a wrist strap, a 1M series resistor between
the foil and ground (as Don suggests) would be a very good idea, for the
times when you forget to put it on, or in case someone else comes along who
doesn't know proper ESD procedures.

    BTW, it would be a BAD IDEA to put the bubble wrap on top of the foil
whether or not you have a 1 M resistor in series with it.

    FYI, there's a wealth of information about ESD at online.  Check out ...
http://www.midwestesd.org/aboutesd.html for much more than you are likely to
ever want to know on the subject.

73,
Gary  KI4GGX

P.S.  On a related subject, the IPC expert (where I work) didn't have an
answer to the recent "directly grounded soldering iron tip" question.
However, she did said she would get back to me with an answer.