[Elecraft] (OT) Grounding Mat

[Edward Cole]

I wear cotton clothes in the winter (when static is highest & air driest).

For the assembly of the K3, I merely tied the anti-static mat to a 
metal ground in the radio and wore a wrist strap attached to the 
mat.  If I had to leave the bench, I always put on the strap before 
touching the radio or any components being installed.  If there were 
anything to be soldered I would ground my solder station to the mat 
with a simple clip lead.  Yes, to be totally safe from discharge a 
clip lead to the house safety ground would be best.

For some test equipment, isolation transformers should be used 
because they ground circuits that you may not want grounded.  If you 
have not encountered this, then ignore this comment.  (I had my 
scope, signal gen, multi-voltage PS and Sinader all isolated.  Then 
the scope probe would not accidently ground out a circuit.

I have been handling static sensitive components at work for years 
and only used a 3-M anti static mat, anti-static solder station, and 
anti-static hand tools except the forceps were ordinary.  Only had a 
couple devices DOA (which could have happened before I got them).



73, Ed - KL7UW, WD2XSH/45
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