[Elecraft] K3 ESD

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

I agree that, in  theory, just tying everything together is adequate for ESD
protection, and Wayne and I agree that it is good workbench practice to
recommend tying everything to the mains safety ground because it's likely
there are things on the bench connected to the mains safety ground, such as
a power supply or soldering iron.

All Kjeld wanted to know is whether he *must* have a wrist strap and/or ESD
pad to safely assembly and install a KRX3 in his K3. I'll repeat my original
answer to him below that exploded into this thread if you're interested. I
still stand by it. 

My goal is to help Elecraft customers get the job at hand done, in this case
with a simple time-proven protocol. 

I enjoy these discussions as much as anyone, but I am conscious that they
can easily convince a new builder who asked a simple question that he cannot
be successful without lots of resources and experience. 

Ron AC7AC



My original response:

"As the KRX3 manual says (pg 5), avoid voltage differences between yourself
and the components. If you don't have an anti-static mat or wrist strap:

DO NOT use carpet on your work bench (a common practice before solid state).
Wood, Formica, etc., is fine. Metal is also okay for this, but not a good
practice for any bench on which you'll power up a rig. 

DO NOT use Styrofoam or other plastics to hold parts other than the pink
bags some parts are shipped in.

DO touch an unpainted metal ground often while working. (When without a pad
I touch a ground every time before picking up an electronic part or pcb - it
only takes a fraction of a second to do so.)

DO touch an unpainted metal part of the K3 itself after picking up a part
and before touching the part to the K3. (That equalizes any possible voltage
difference between you - and the part you're holding - and the K3 so the
charge won't flow through the part.) If you ground the metal case of the K3,
you can touch it before picking up each part to accomplish both objectives
at the same time. 

The Mains supply safety ground is a perfectly good ground to use to
discharge yourself. 

There's more background on page 5 of the KRX3 manual, but the above steps
will keep you and the parts safe without a dedicated ESD workstation."


-----Original Message-----
From: Don Wilhelm [mailto:w3fpr at embarqmail.com] 
Sent: Saturday, December 18, 2010 8:21 PM
To: Ron D'Eau Claire
Cc: 'Don Cunningham'; n1al at cds1.net; elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 ESD

  Ron,

While we all agree that screws in an anti-static package is overkill, I 
hope that all will consider the essential content of this thread.

It does not matter whether everything is a "ground" or whether it is at 
1000 volts above ground.  What is important is that everything in your 
working environment is at the same potential.  Connecting your wrist 
strap and the anti-static mat (on your work area) to the same "ground" 
point will assure that condition.

Open the ESD prevention packages on the anti-static mat and let your 
hands linger on the antistatic mat a bit before picking up any component 
and all will be well.

As for "touching a grounded metal surface", my prior comments will 
suffice - it is better than nothing, but there is a "better way".

73,
Don W3FPR

On 12/18/2010 10:58 PM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:
> I've gotten spare screws from Elecraft in ESD packages too, Hi!
>
> But, if a newbie isn't sure, it's not a bad "rule of thumb".
>
> Gad, I'm glad that thread is over!
>
> Ron AC7AC
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Don Cunningham [mailto:wb5hak at martineer.net]
> Sent: Saturday, December 18, 2010 6:06 PM
> To: n1al at cds1.net; Ron D'Eau Claire
> Cc: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 ESD
>
> Mouser does it all the time.  My Amphenol PL-259's were even in ESD
> packaging.  Good thing is they arrived with no static damage :>)
> 73,
> Don
>
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