[Elecraft] Anti-static Pads

[Terry Schieler]

Don wrote,

<The minimum should be a wrist strap connected to the green-wire ground in your house.  You can use a banana plug in the round pin of an electrical receptacle, but before you trust it, get one of the receptacle testers and make sure that green wire ground is intact - some are not.>

I built a new home in 1996.  After living there a few years I noticed an intermittent issue with an outlet on the first floor.  Upon opening up the outlet box I discovered the green "safety ground" coiled up, disconnected in the back of the box.  I fixed that.  Then I used a receptacle tester to confirm the other outlets.  All the outlets but three on the first floor had the disconnected green wire stuffed into the back of the box.  I spent a weekend making them safe again.  All outlets in the rest of the house were fine.  
Hearing my experience, most people say "man I hope you gave your builder a piece of your mind".  I was unable to do that as he was in federal prison at the time... for fraud.  Every dog has his day.

Check your receptacles.  

Terry, WØFM



-----Original Message-----
From: Don Wilhelm [mailto:donwilh at embarqmail.com] 
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2016 3:59 PM
To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Anti-static Pads

Hi all,

While I can state that Ron's comment about the K2 is typically true, the static tolerance of thru-hole ICs and transistors is lower than it was back in 1998 or even 2006 (OK, I picked those years as a guess).  Many DIP mounted devices are really SMD devices with DIP leads and can be as static sensitive as the devices in the K3 and KX3.
Despite the "touch grounded metal" instruction in the K2 manual, I do see some repairs come in with failed firmware ICs, and rarely, but not zero, some 'normal' ICs on a new build.
My best guess is that those parts were damaged due to a static charge.
Whether the builder did not follow the "touch a metal ground" or not I cannot tell, all I know is that it failed.

When possible, use an anti-static mat and wrist strap when handling ICs and transistors, especially during periods of low humidity.  Do not work on carpet without them and do not wear nylon clothing - and don't shuffle your feet on the floor while working.
The minimum should be a wrist strap connected to the green-wire ground in your house.  You can use a banana plug in the round pin of an electrical receptacle, but before you trust it, get one of the receptacle testers and make sure that green wire ground is intact - some are not.