[Elecraft] Anti-static Pads

[Fred Moore]

The person who needs a piece of you mind is the Electrical Inspector who
didn't do his job.... Fred


On 9/20/16 10:37 AM, Terry Schieler wrote:
> 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.
>
>
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-- 
Fred Moore
email: fred at fmeco.com
       fred at safes.com
phone:  321-217-8699