Alternatives to anti-static wristbands

[skypup03]

Hello all!

A question of curiosity hit me one day while I was watching TV: Why is it that so many people talk about grounding themselves, using anti-ESD wristbands, and using anti-ESD mats when there are perfectly good voltage gloves out there as well. To the best of my knowledge, some folks advocates using anti-ESD gloves, which are not the same thing. I realize already that many people do not subscribe to the need for the wristbands and such as long as the right precautions are taken. That said, as purely a question of curiosity, why not using either low and high voltage gloves? I mean, you also get the cool effect of being Dr. No for a bit as well! Who knows? They might actually be more versatile for other household purposes too.

Thanks in advance for your input.

AB

 

[abbadon_34]

Some people get overly cautious or replace common sense with talking points. A lot of a computer related vocational "schools" that know less than the desk in from of them

My list of alternatives

pixie dust
rain dance
shrunken skull
unicorn horn
satan's codpiece

 

[PanicMaster85]

just use the metal on the case, if you touch it every other minute or 30seconds and have your socks off and are not on carpet you should be fine

 

[A10K]

I soldered together my own out of two alligator clips, some 22-gauge wire, and a resistor. It clips onto my watch. I never use it for cheap ICs/small electronics (and I haven't shocked one yet), but when dealing with computers I think of it as insurance against a $200 mistake. That being said, based on all of my time assembling other small projects, your chances of frying something from a static zap are vanishingly small either way, especially if you follow PM8's advice above.

 

[Lroy]

I think gloves would get in the way tile floor no socks for the win.

 

[NV88]

I clearly remember wearing socks one day building my system on a carpet. There is no risk. Just fondle a metal part of the case frequently to discharge anything.

 

[frombehind]

Static electricity is only an issue if you have a problem with it in your room where you work on the guts of the PC, or if you like to routinely touch bare circuits and connectors (very bad habit anyway... get rid of it 😀 )
Its usually good enough to physically touch your power supply before removing the power cord from it to work on your PC (NEVER work inside your PC while its still plugged into the wall - you are risking your life here!)

Any static that you may be carrying will be sent into the metal of the power supply and will find its way into the wall on the ground wire.

 

[Guest]

Static electricity is only an issue if you have a problem with it in your room where you work on the guts of the PC, or if you like to routinely touch bare circuits and connectors (very bad habit anyway... get rid of it 😀 )
Its usually good enough to physically touch your power supply before removing the power cord from it to work on your PC (NEVER work inside your PC while its still plugged into the wall - you are risking your life here!)

Any static that you may be carrying will be sent into the metal of the power supply and will find its way into the wall on the ground wire.

i second this, just touch a peice of bear metal and discharge yourself. most people are too cautious about ESD. if you build or fix computers for a living then you might want an anti static mat, otherwise dont worry about, most people arent even aware of ESD when they add components to there computers

 

[PanicMaster85]

yep like i was saying :lol: it worked out great for me and i live in a area vetern to the horrors of static :lol:

 

[skypup03]

Thanks everyone.... It's been a curiosity of mine for a while. I have cats and carpet, so I'm a little on the alert about ESD. I guess maybe I just really want to be Dr. No once in a while. 😉

 

[PanicMaster85]

:lol: well if we helped you dont forget to pick a best answer 😀