anti-static tools

[arm and hand]

hi, who sells a decent anti-static wrist band in north america that actually works (i understand that many only look like they should work, but when you test them, they don't). thanks forum members.

 

[erocker]

Wear a metal wrist-watch. If you are concerned with static, just touch the side of the case to discharge it. I've built many systems on the carpet, never fried a thing.

 

[MoonPig]

Yea, my College teacher raves about Static. My PC's in my desk, everytime i change sommot, i HAVE to be rubbish carpet. Never fried a thing.

Like erocker said, just touch the side of the case.

 

[CDdude55]

You really don't need one. I dont use one and have never killed anything.

But if you really want one and you are shopping online, go to Newegg.

Heres a good one:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16899888207

 

[Dippyskoodlez]

Wear a metal wrist-watch. If you are concerned with static, just touch the side of the case to discharge it. I've built many systems on the carpet, never fried a thing.

^^

I've not yet seen a single piece of hardware fried from ESD.

Infact, I've even tried.

not saying you should try, or avoid precautions, its just not as bad as its hyped up to be.

 

[BumbleBee]

you don't need a ESD band, just touch the power supply housing and by the way you know how people set their motherboard on top of the ESD bag that it comes with? well the motherboard actually has to be in the ESD bag for it to work which makes it just about useless. I have built about 25 systems over the years and I have never shorted anything the probability is so miniscule motherboards now in days are built to handle small to medium discharges depending on the motherboard component. most stories of people shorting their motherboard are false reminds me of old british pilots that used to blame gremlins in their plane when a problem couldn't be explained.

 

[arm and hand]

Thanks for all of your feedback. I wasn't sure how much of a problem static was. Thanks againl.

 

[TheScavenger]

There are also anti-static mats and lotion (LOL).

 

[W1zzard]

I've not yet seen a single piece of hardware fried from ESD.

Infact, I've even tried.

not saying you should try, or avoid precautions, its just not as bad as its hyped up to be.

same here. and i do say you shouldnt waste your time on precautions. better take the time gained to think about what you are planning to do and dont rush things. if you really care, touch the case/psu metal. when the plug is inside the psu (and the wall lol) ground is connected to the psu case which is connected to the case metal and most other metal surfaces in the case

 

[fire2havoc]

Anti-static wristbands are not really required. As was mentioned, just touch a metal part of the case or PSU while they are on and you will be static free!

 

[Dan2312]

Bottom line to all answers is, better safe than sorry mate, i used a Anti static Wristband when building my £1200 machine, the last thing i wanted was to be running back n forth to the supplier making up excuses for not taking precautions.

 

[Mussels]

i've never used anti static equipment, and NEVER had hardware die from it. i had a Q6600 that was rubbed on carpet (thinking it was dead at the time) and it still works to this day.

"static killed it" is merely an excuse for "i dont know why, but its broken".

you're far, far more likely to break things by dropping them, or chipping a resistor off, breaking a solder connection etc.

 

[gerrynicol]

You will probably find that an esd shock will not kill your hardware striaght away, it can take some time for "DOK" (death of kit lol) to happen, we were all to well made aware doing our debug at sun micro what would happen to 4k+ worth of ram if our customers recieved a faulty product

 

[arm and hand]

OK, I think I am following everyone as far as taking anti-static precautions, but I am still fuzzy. Is everyone saying just touch the case every so often while assembling the guts? I take it that everyone has the power disconnected when building a system? Will any metal surface work for this? Thanks for any clarity on this point that you can add.

 

[A Cheese Danish]

I just replaced a motherboard in a computer today, without any anti-static protection what so ever. And I was doing it on carpet.
As long as you are careful, and touch the case before you start or after you move across carpet you should be fine.
Yes, you should ALWAYS unplug the computer from the outlet before doing repairs. Just safety reasons is all.
I wouldn't recommend working on a metal surface.

 

[Nick89]

I've never worn an anti static wrist band any time I've ever built a computer. But theres also never any static electricity in my house anywhere. I've built 11 comps in my house, never wore any anti static crap and never had a problem with one.

 

[TheScavenger]

Make sure you wear feetie pajamas when you're working on it.

 

[mlee49]

Make sure you wear feetie pajamas when you're working on it.

Not feeties, Anti-Static Slippers

 

[lemonadesoda]

DO BE CAREFUL with static.

In Europe, most houses are very well earthed and people walk in their houses without shoes and on tile or wood. In this instance you are not likely to get static build up. You can forget about it.

However, I remember working in an office in the US once where the cheap carpet and poor earthing meant that after walking down the corridor, if you touched the lift button or a door handle you would get a shock (actually, a discharge).

So, if you have synthetic carpets and you wear sneakers, there is a chance that static may be a problem. Make sure you, your desk, and your equipment are at the "same potential"... and you will be OK.

But if you live on wooden floors and you work on a metal or wooden desk, you really dont have anything to worry about.

 

[Polaris573]

Wear a metal wrist-watch.

I wear a metal wrist watch all the time and still get large static discharges in dry weather.

 

[BumbleBee]

I read somewhere weather has no effect on ESD think it was talking about winter because some people claim the temperature in winter doesn't create ESD.

 

[MKmods]

One other tidbit... Make sure your homes outlet has the ground (3rd prong for those in the US). Than you will know your comp is grounded correctly.

If your home just has a 2 prong socket than there is no proper ground. (silly 2 prong to 3 prong adapters dont do anything)

I have built thousands of comps without any grounding precautions, like others on the floor, in electrical storms and all over the place and never had a single issue..

Last week I sat down and touched my comp (lol, properly grounded in a metal case with grounded outlet) and I felt a spark and it died.
Lucky it turned back on and has been working fine since.

So go figure

 

[Dippyskoodlez]

I read somewhere weather has no effect on ESD think it was talking about winter because some people claim the temperature in winter doesn't create ESD.

No.

Weather impacts -why- static is made.

In a dry climate, static is common. (Desert+Carpet)

Now, say a wet, soggy rainy day.... You'll prolly not be able to build a charge very well if you tried (Rainforest!)

Temperature shouldnt really change static much, but its related to how humid it will be. frozen air is different from 120 degree air, in that it carrys different amounts of water/etc.

 

[Mussels]

you dont need to worry about ground wires and such. the static discharge occurs if there is a difference between you and the item you are touching - if you touch the metal PC case, it evens the two out so there is no difference, and therefore no short can occur between the PC and you through whatever component it is you are installing.

its easy enough, if you zap yourself with static all the time - take precaution. if you DONT get zapped, you dont have to worry.

 

[t77snapshot]

The only issue I have ever had with static electricity was a weird incident where my cat jumped up on my computer and a static spark from her foot went through a usb port and shut down my system. Luckily nothing was damaged.