[ale] Linux technophile emergency tool kit

[Jeff Hubbs]

I guess that over the years I just adopted a subconsciously ESD-aware 
working style.  Like, if I'm about to put a card in a machine, I'm 
holding the card by the backplate and I touch the case with the other 
hand first so that me, the machine's ground, and the card's ground go to 
the same potential.  Now, that is NOT a good practicewhen you are 
dealing with higher voltages with higher currents available (e.g., tube 
amps), which is why wrist straps etc. have a ~1M resistor in series - 
perfectly adequate for discharging static but will tend to not put a few 
mA across your ticker.

On 5/29/13 9:44 AM, Michael B. Trausch wrote:
> On 05/28/2013 02:13 PM, Dennis Ruzeski wrote:
>> I keep a small toolkit (Don't forget the static wristband), an 
>> external hard drive, and my preferred distro for this kind of work is 
>> Backtrack. If you haven't checked it out you should.
>
> In 30 years, I've always simply followed the rules for grounding 
> myself frequently during repair.  I've never need to use mats or 
> wristbands, and I have yet (knock on wood) to /accidentally/ destroy a 
> component due to ESD.  I've shorted things together and done a fair 
> number of other relatively stupid things early-on in my practice.  I 
> remember the first 14.4 modem I got, I was so excited that I forgot to 
> screw down the card... it touched the 9600 bps modem I had and when I 
> turned on the computer, I had a fantastic light show.  :)
>
> But ESD?  I've only succeeded in using it to destroy things when I 
> intended to (e.g., as part of experimentation).  As long as you ground 
> first, and ground frequently, it's really not possible to screw things 
> up.  Unless, of course, you shift/shuffle/slide your feet around, or 
> are working in an extremely dry environment, but then why wouldn't you 
> simply have a workbench that is itself grounded, so that you're always 
> touching a grounded surface?
>
>     --- Mike
>
> -- 
> Naunet Corporation Logo 	Michael B. Trausch
>
> President, *Naunet Corporation*
> ? (678) 287-0693 x130 or (888) 494-5810 x130
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