On Sat, 19 Mar 2005 02:08:07 +0100 (CET), Carlos E. R.
The Friday 2005-03-18 at 16:41 -0600, Stan Glasoe wrote:
On Friday 18 March 2005 5:03 am, Kevanf1 wrote:
I will admit that I used to take PC's apart all the time without a static band. But they weren't mine, they belonged to the Uni I worked at. Now, I always put one on when I'm working on my own or friends PC's. I also leave the PC plugged in. Switched off of course :-) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Kevan Farmer
NEVER leave the system plugged in to power. Too many newer systems have Wake-On-LAN or Wake-On-Ring functions with current flowing through the system mainboard and add-in cards. You stand a real chance of damaging the system from AC power this way. AC ground is not the same as grounding yourself to dissipate static electricity. Don't confuse the two, please.
I suppose he is referring to leaving the AC cable connected, and the power switch off. I assume that switch is the real, AC, switch, in the power supply box, not the nice button on the front of the PC, that leaves some parts powered.
This way the AC is off, but the ground wire remains connected. Of course, having a separate ground with a 1 Meg resistor would be much better. Safer.
Unplug it from the power source and ground yourself and parts to the machine. Its equalizing the static potential that is key. Dissipating static through proper static mats/stations would be even better but that is still equalizing the static charge to all surfaces and components, static bags, etc.
A proper grounding bracelet has a resistor of around 1 meg to limit shock in case of inadvertently touching a live cable. If you are instead well grounded the shock can be lethal.
Also, compressed air or vacuum cleaners can generate tremendous amounts of static electricity depending on the materials they are made of. Standard plastic vacuum parts are VERY bad for electronic components whether blowing or sucking dust and debris out of a system because they tend to generate static electricity and it IS going to dissipate somewhere. With my luck I don't even THINK about doing this...
True. But a component connected to its PCB, if it is well designed, should be safe. The idea is that high impedance inputs are connected to low impedance outputs somewhere else, so static can not build up. In theory, that is.
-- Cheers, Carlos Robinson
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Sorry, I should have added that yes, the power must be switched off at the wall outlet. NOT just at the front switch. I always set my BIOS to not wake from LAN etc as it is a redundant option for me any way. Though I can see that it may not be for others. Another thought that occurred was different country's power supply options. Here in the UK we have a permanent earth system. We can, if we so wish, pull a power plug partially out of a wall socket disconnecting the live and neutral pins but still leaving the earth pin in place. It's not recommended as it's a bit haphazard but it illustrates a point. Now if I remember rightly, Australia don't have an earth pin? They use two pin round plugs. Or they did 4 years ago when I was working over there. Obviously in this case you couldn't do as I suggested. Here in the UK most places - I have them fitted at home - are now geared up with micro residual current circuit breakers too which trip out at the slightest hint of a short. It probably wouldn't save equipment but it would save your life from an electric shock. -- Take care. Kevan Farmer 34 Hill Street Cheslyn Hay Staffordshire WS6 7HR