The Tuesday 2005-03-15 at 17:08 -0000, Kevanf1 wrote:
Don't be tempted to use a brush of any sort to clean the heatsinks. They are like static magnets and will readily discharge against the heatsink.... and of course fry whatever component it is attached to. Either use compressed air or just blow the dust away.
Are you sure of that? Normally the heatsink is isolated, or connected to one of the power rails, or some other pin different from a high impedance input. This is intentional, and makes handling safer. Otherwise, the very same wind generated by the plastic fan blades could build up dangerous static on the heatsink. However, few hobbyist wear a static discharge hand band while working, nor have a controlled humidity. -- Cheers, Carlos Robinson