I'd Be Interested In hearing Your Thoughts On Anti Static Precautions

Semple said:
I remember back in my early days at work i was actually trying to destroy some RAM chips with static electric, we even had a van de graaff generator and even that couldn't build up enough static energy to destroy the chips.
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I've tried killing old ram too out of curiosity, I wasn't able to damage it with static
 
I always get a bit paranoid with it. Build my first real PC in 10 years couple weeks ago. Ended up using anti static wrinstband, cuddle the radiator before and put on trainers with a thick rubber base to stay "safe". But I think if I tinker in the future I might just try and discharge myself with the radiator.
 
Baldbloke said:
After you let go or remove your connection with ground/earth , how long does it take for a static charge of several kilovolts build up?
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Depends entirely on weather, environment and clothing.

If it's some high humidity environment with summer temperatures and natural fibre (not wool) clothing and materials around you, you would have hard time in generating much any static charges.

If it's real winter with less water in air than in places called deserts, you're wearing some artificial fibre/wool clothing and have electrically insulating material surfaces everywhere, just sit down on chair/rise from it and you're ready to damage/kill electronics.
(and those ESD zaps actually hurting finger)
 
I used to worry about a lot about static when i was first building my rigs.


Now i just tap the side of the metal case and ensure that I build on my tiled floor.
 
I haven't bothered with anti-static straps in years, just make sure you ground yourself when starting and avoid rolling over the carpet whilst wearing a polyester suit :D
 
I can't say my experience is any different from the rest of us. I am unable to pinpoint any component or pcb that I can claim to have damaged by ignoring anti static precautions. Which doesn't mean that I haven't. I probably have. It's just very difficult to be sure.

EsaT is right. Voltages can potentially ('scuse the pun) build up in an instant depending on circumstances,

Do the simple maths p=vi. The theory says we should all have buggered up more stuff than we seem to believe.
An unknown but possibly huge (kilo)voltage multiplied by a possibly very small but significant current (given the impedance of the conductor) and the power dissipation would likely exceed the components limits even for the miniscule time it takes to zap it.

Just how we seem to get away with it baffles me.

Me? I'm gonna wear wrists straps on a more regular basis from now on:)


.
 
Having been around static sensitive materials since I was a green electronics apprentice in the 1980s, I’ve always had at least one ESD wristband and strap with a crocodile clip at the end somewhere in the house.

Clip it to the radiator nearest to my workbench and build with zero risk.
 
moogle said:
Yep it depends on materials. I know as soon as you lift your foot off a surface, that's charge built up. If you rub along something that's also another. Humidity also affects how fast it discharges too I believe.
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I've got a Secret labs chair and it is awful for building up static. I now have it on a plastic matt which seems to make a big difference. I only get a small shock when standing up from it now. :cry:
 
Meatysy said:
I've got a Secret labs chair and it is awful for building up static. I now have it on a plastic matt which seems to make a big difference. I only get a small shock when standing up from it now. :cry:
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Ooh god I hate that crap! My chair has a metal lever across the front for depth adjustment and in the winter when I come to sit back down it always gives me a nice little unexpected zap in the back of the legs :D
 
I usually take the half hearted approach, touch something earthed, keep the PSU cable plugged into the case, don't build on unsuitable surface or wearing static prone clothing, etc.

After watching the Linus video with Electroboom a few months ago (someone linked it here) I pretty much couldn't care less about static at this point. It did used to worry me a bit, but if they spent half a day trying to kill off a PC using a high voltage arc without success then it seems like you need to be monumentally unlucky to kill something.
 
I’m aware of it and have at times made attempts to ground myself but not obsessed with it.

I do avoid touching every little chip and holding things correctly. I also store things in anti static if they have some value to me but that’s also because I just have a good few old anti stack bags from the many products bought.

At a previous job it was required to wear the wrist bands.
 
I've never really bothered trying to be static safe and not seen a failure yet in well over a decade

I do normally build straight into a case though and touch the case regularly so I would assume large amounts of static would become smaller amounts and generally if changing something in a system that's built I leave it plugged in anyway so as soon as I touch the case I'm fine
 
I've only taken precautions when working with other people's hardware really. Haven't had anything die yet in nearly 30 years which hasn't had either a good innings so around the expected lifespan or failed prematurely due to a known weakness or identifiable cause of failure which wouldn't have been due to static.

I have had one instance of a static discharge into a component though (was kind of a stupid moment on my part as I took off a woolly jumper shortly before).
 
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