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#1
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ESD vs. just blind luck
Several years ago, against my better judgement, I upgraded the memory
on my computer. I knew about the problem of ESD but was just careful upon what I touched. Within a couple of days, I plan to add a video card to a computer. What is the best way, short of a wrist strap, to minimize the possibility of ESD? In my way of thinking, if I never touch anything except plastic, I'll be fine. It just seems strange to me that all of you "experts" go running to a strap in that type of upgrade. It's like watching an electrician, which I've had ample opportunity, work on house current without turning off a breaker. |
#2
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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1 rile wrote: Several years ago, against my better judgement, I upgraded the memory on my computer. I knew about the problem of ESD but was just careful upon what I touched. Within a couple of days, I plan to add a video card to a computer. What is the best way, short of a wrist strap, to minimize the possibility of ESD? In my way of thinking, if I never touch anything except plastic, I'll be fine. It just seems strange to me that all of you "experts" go running to a strap in that type of upgrade. It's like watching an electrician, which I've had ample opportunity, work on house current without turning off a breaker. Each of us reading and / or posting to this newsgroup likely has his or her own preferred device-handling method(s). There are many ways to accomplish the same procedure; some, over time, have been found more useful and reliable than others. Some who post and read here are, without doubt, expert in one or more fields. Personally, I claim no expertise but I will claim competence in some areas. Any method I use - whether it's my preferred method or one chosen to work within the existing conditions - may not always conform to what is taught or what follows 'the common wisdom'. I do try to follow 'common sense'. During thirty-odd years of experience in handling and installing electrical, solid-state, and static-sensitive devices, I've found, used, and developed procedures which - *for me* - work extremely well. I've also managed to destroy my share of things like 120 nanosecond 16-k RAM chips because I didn't follow normal or common-sense procedures. Unless you can work with one hand I'd suggest purchasing a wrist strap. The most important part of this is to make yourself electrically neutral by placing yourself at ground potential. A wrist strap helps with this by providing a medium to high resistance path from you to ground. Note: you *do not* want a direct, low-resistance path from you to ground. Power off the computer, disconnect all peripherals, and move it to a location at which you can comfortably work. Open the case. If the computer's power supply has its own main power switch then switch it 'Off' or to '0'. This will disconnect the 'hot' and 'neutral' lines from the AC mains. The ground line is always connected. Connect a power cord to the computer and plug it into a receptacle with a *known* good ground connection. Fit the wrist strap comfortably around your wrist. It just needs to be snug; you don't want it so tight that it interferes with circulation. Clip the alligator clip to an exposed, bare metal section of the computer case -- NOT to any part of the mainboard or directly to the case of the power supply. Now you can install or replace the card(s) or other devices. Of course, there are other methods: If you can't locate the computer near a grounded receptacle, place it on a wood surface or some surface that is not likely to create a static charge. Use a wrist strap to connect yourself to the computer case. This will help equalize the charge(s) built-up by your body, clothing, and environment with the computer case. In a real pinch (I've done this often and successfully) you may have to work on a machine in a room with a carpeted floor. Put the computer (powered off) on the carpet, remove at least one shoe and one sock, and keep that foot in contact with the carpet while you're working on the machine. Though a wrist strap obviously isn't required it does help eliminate or reduce the possibility of ESD ruining that $600.00 nVidia graphics card - -- Ron n1zhi -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.2 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFBDOJGa9fyRcf4bIYRAle4AJ9Qf8QWe+1iRu6X89nR3m mZpyPcdACfQRhK 3C1M5m1BZuDI016Iy6h1lwo= =AFu9 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- |
#3
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Ron Cook wrote in message ...
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 rile wrote: Several years ago, against my better judgement, I upgraded the memory on my computer. I knew about the problem of ESD but was just careful upon what I touched. Within a couple of days, I plan to add a video card to a computer. What is the best way, short of a wrist strap, to minimize the possibility of ESD? In my way of thinking, if I never touch anything except plastic, I'll be fine. It just seems strange to me that all of you "experts" go running to a strap in that type of upgrade. It's like watching an electrician, which I've had ample opportunity, work on house current without turning off a breaker. Each of us reading and / or posting to this newsgroup likely has his or her own preferred device-handling method(s). There are many ways to accomplish the same procedure; some, over time, have been found more useful and reliable than others. Some who post and read here are, without doubt, expert in one or more fields. Personally, I claim no expertise but I will claim competence in some areas. Any method I use - whether it's my preferred method or one chosen to work within the existing conditions - may not always conform to what is taught or what follows 'the common wisdom'. I do try to follow 'common sense'. During thirty-odd years of experience in handling and installing electrical, solid-state, and static-sensitive devices, I've found, used, and developed procedures which - *for me* - work extremely well. I've also managed to destroy my share of things like 120 nanosecond 16-k RAM chips because I didn't follow normal or common-sense procedures. Unless you can work with one hand I'd suggest purchasing a wrist strap. The most important part of this is to make yourself electrically neutral by placing yourself at ground potential. A wrist strap helps with this by providing a medium to high resistance path from you to ground. Note: you *do not* want a direct, low-resistance path from you to ground. Power off the computer, disconnect all peripherals, and move it to a location at which you can comfortably work. Open the case. If the computer's power supply has its own main power switch then switch it 'Off' or to '0'. This will disconnect the 'hot' and 'neutral' lines from the AC mains. The ground line is always connected. Connect a power cord to the computer and plug it into a receptacle with a *known* good ground connection. Fit the wrist strap comfortably around your wrist. It just needs to be snug; you don't want it so tight that it interferes with circulation. Clip the alligator clip to an exposed, bare metal section of the computer case -- NOT to any part of the mainboard or directly to the case of the power supply. Now you can install or replace the card(s) or other devices. Of course, there are other methods: If you can't locate the computer near a grounded receptacle, place it on a wood surface or some surface that is not likely to create a static charge. Use a wrist strap to connect yourself to the computer case. This will help equalize the charge(s) built-up by your body, clothing, and environment with the computer case. In a real pinch (I've done this often and successfully) you may have to work on a machine in a room with a carpeted floor. Put the computer (powered off) on the carpet, remove at least one shoe and one sock, and keep that foot in contact with the carpet while you're working on the machine. Though a wrist strap obviously isn't required it does help eliminate or reduce the possibility of ESD ruining that $600.00 nVidia graphics card - -- Ron n1zhi -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.2 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFBDOJGa9fyRcf4bIYRAle4AJ9Qf8QWe+1iRu6X89nR3m mZpyPcdACfQRhK 3C1M5m1BZuDI016Iy6h1lwo= =AFu9 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- The bottom line is this: You don't want any charge differential to build between you, the add-in card, and the computer, so keep an electrical connection between each. A wrist strap is the best way to achieve this, but keeping a body part in contact with the case works too. Just remember that a static discharge that is smaller than you will notice can destroy an electronic component. Note: if your computer does *not* have a power switch on the power supply itself, then *do not* keep your computer plugged in while installing the add-in card, because even with the power "off" with this type of supply there still is power being delivered to the mother board. |
#4
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"Zorknob" wrote in message om... Ron Cook wrote in message ... -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 rile wrote: Several years ago, against my better judgement, I upgraded the memory on my computer. I knew about the problem of ESD but was just careful upon what I touched. Within a couple of days, I plan to add a video card to a computer. What is the best way, short of a wrist strap, to minimize the possibility of ESD? In my way of thinking, if I never touch anything except plastic, I'll be fine. It just seems strange to me that all of you "experts" go running to a strap in that type of upgrade. It's like watching an electrician, which I've had ample opportunity, work on house current without turning off a breaker. Each of us reading and / or posting to this newsgroup likely has his or her own preferred device-handling method(s). There are many ways to accomplish the same procedure; some, over time, have been found more useful and reliable than others. Some who post and read here are, without doubt, expert in one or more fields. Personally, I claim no expertise but I will claim competence in some areas. Any method I use - whether it's my preferred method or one chosen to work within the existing conditions - may not always conform to what is taught or what follows 'the common wisdom'. I do try to follow 'common sense'. During thirty-odd years of experience in handling and installing electrical, solid-state, and static-sensitive devices, I've found, used, and developed procedures which - *for me* - work extremely well. I've also managed to destroy my share of things like 120 nanosecond 16-k RAM chips because I didn't follow normal or common-sense procedures. Unless you can work with one hand I'd suggest purchasing a wrist strap. The most important part of this is to make yourself electrically neutral by placing yourself at ground potential. A wrist strap helps with this by providing a medium to high resistance path from you to ground. Note: you *do not* want a direct, low-resistance path from you to ground. Power off the computer, disconnect all peripherals, and move it to a location at which you can comfortably work. Open the case. If the computer's power supply has its own main power switch then switch it 'Off' or to '0'. This will disconnect the 'hot' and 'neutral' lines from the AC mains. The ground line is always connected. Connect a power cord to the computer and plug it into a receptacle with a *known* good ground connection. Fit the wrist strap comfortably around your wrist. It just needs to be snug; you don't want it so tight that it interferes with circulation. Clip the alligator clip to an exposed, bare metal section of the computer case -- NOT to any part of the mainboard or directly to the case of the power supply. Now you can install or replace the card(s) or other devices. Of course, there are other methods: If you can't locate the computer near a grounded receptacle, place it on a wood surface or some surface that is not likely to create a static charge. Use a wrist strap to connect yourself to the computer case. This will help equalize the charge(s) built-up by your body, clothing, and environment with the computer case. In a real pinch (I've done this often and successfully) you may have to work on a machine in a room with a carpeted floor. Put the computer (powered off) on the carpet, remove at least one shoe and one sock, and keep that foot in contact with the carpet while you're working on the machine. Though a wrist strap obviously isn't required it does help eliminate or reduce the possibility of ESD ruining that $600.00 nVidia graphics card - -- Ron n1zhi -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.2 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFBDOJGa9fyRcf4bIYRAle4AJ9Qf8QWe+1iRu6X89nR3m mZpyPcdACfQRhK 3C1M5m1BZuDI016Iy6h1lwo= =AFu9 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- The bottom line is this: You don't want any charge differential to build between you, the add-in card, and the computer, so keep an electrical connection between each. A wrist strap is the best way to achieve this, but keeping a body part in contact with the case works too. Just remember that a static discharge that is smaller than you will notice can destroy an electronic component. snip Perhaps worse yet, it can degrade a component and cause intermittent errors. -- Bob Day http://bobday.vze.com |
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