News IKEA Computer Chair Static Might Be Blanking Your Display

[Admin]

IKEA Markus computer chairs may build up enough static to cause electronic issues and should be grounded if problems are observed.

IKEA Computer Chair Static Might Be Blanking Your Display : Read more

 

[Nigel Spike]

While there are no warnings about ESDs on the product pages, you find the following comment there:

In Swedish
Komplettera gärna med golvskyddet KOLON.
"Preferably complete with KOLON floor protector."

In German:
Als Ergänzung empfehlen wir KOLON Fußbodenschutz.
"As a complement we recommend KOLON floor protector"

In English (US):
May be used with KOLON floor protector.

In English (UK):
May be completed with KOLON floor protector.

I personally would have been interested in knowing the materials in his clothes and shoes and in the flooring. ESD dosn't usually come from only one type of material, in this case polyester.

Also, the chair has been a best seller since 2007. If this was a common problem, there would have been more reports about it, and for a long time.

 

[chaz_music]

It isn't if the chair is compatible: It is why the monitor has such a high sensitivity to local static discharge.

Office chair ESD discharge has been known for decades and is one reason why the USB ports have such a high ESD capability (upward to 15KV and higher). There were even some guys from MIT who wanted this "chair discharge" outlined as a standard ESD source/test but it was rejected for some reason. When you sit down or back up, there are a series of micro discharge events that creates a ton of EMI in the local environment (both E fields and H fields). Foam based chairs are bad, but nylon chair as astounding in their ESD buildup. You can buy ESD discharge spray which is actually a mildly conductive salt that you are putting on the surface of the chair fabric.

All good electronic industry testing standards require doing EMI and RF immunity testing, which includes ESD discharge testing. If this monitor has a discharge sensitivity from a half meter away (few feet), it is definitely not going to handle having a direct discharge that these tests will subject it. Some of the best tests are the IEC static discharge tests, but the EMI part would typically also catch this issue. And are there any other monitors that have this issue?

So, in essence, the monitor design was not tested well or possibly not at all. This is the difference between a good high quality monitor and an inexpensive monitor/TV/gadget that you find on the Internet.

When you sit down in an office chair, you should learn to touch the desk surface first to spread out the chair charge generated into the the desk capacitance. I do this with my keyboard drawer. Haven't zapped a USB drive or port in years since doing that step.

 

[smaiderman88]

I've had this chair for more than 10 years, and only in the last 3 years I noticed this. I think it is because of the wooden floor

 

[DookieDraws]

I was having an issue with my Alienware 38 inch monitor's screen briefly blacking out, and still don't know for sure what was causing that, but I haven't seen it do this again in a couple months or so. Maybe it was my desk chair causing that. Wonder if ESD can damage the monitor?

My thread on Dell's site.

After doing a little research, I've found where others have experienced the same issue as I have. Some with the same monitor.

For the record, my monitor has been working great as of late.

 

[DookieDraws]

It isn't if the chair is compatible: It is why the monitor has such a high sensitivity to local static discharge.

Office chair ESD discharge has been known for decades and is one reason why the USB ports have such a high ESD capability (upward to 15KV and higher). There were even some guys from MIT who wanted this "chair discharge" outlined as a standard ESD source/test but it was rejected for some reason. When you sit down or back up, there are a series of micro discharge events that creates a ton of EMI in the local environment (both E fields and H fields). Foam based chairs are bad, but nylon chair as astounding in their ESD buildup. You can buy ESD discharge spray which is actually a mildly conductive salt that you are putting on the surface of the chair fabric.

All good electronic industry testing standards require doing EMI and RF immunity testing, which includes ESD discharge testing. If this monitor has a discharge sensitivity from a half meter away (few feet), it is definitely not going to handle having a direct discharge that these tests will subject it. Some of the best tests are the IEC static discharge tests, but the EMI part would typically also catch this issue. And are there any other monitors that have this issue?

So, in essence, the monitor design was not tested well or possibly not at all. This is the difference between a good high quality monitor and an inexpensive monitor/TV/gadget that you find on the Internet.

When you sit down in an office chair, you should learn to touch the desk surface first to spread out the chair charge generated into the the desk capacitance. I do this with my keyboard drawer. Haven't zapped a USB drive or port in years since doing that step.

GO DAWGS! 😛

 

[RichardtST]

Office chairs are notorious for static. I go through the whole office and give everything a nice bath in anti-static spray every fall. Chair seats and backs, as well as the surrounding floor, are all prime targets. It's a yearly ritual...

 

[TaKeNeK]

Woot!
I got exacly this same issue with my chair - Razer Iskur exacly this model: RZ38-02770100-R3G1 and got tiles on the floor.
I got 2 monitors Dell S2721DGF both connected via DP to ROG-STRIX-RTX3090-O24G-GAMING and both monitors blanking as I get up from my chair.

Best Regards
TaKeN