Are you slack with antistatic?

Forums › Desktop computing › Are you slack with antistatic?

MadEngineer

4238 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#318772 19-Feb-2025 20:17

Curious, how many of you wear antistatic straps whenever you're operating on a PC, keep everything in antistatic bags and make use of a grounded antistatic mat, vs how many of you will happily pull apart a PC, lay all the bits out on the carpet or your mattress for resale photos?

I'm very much in the first camp, having gone through training on this. Whenever I see the latter on trademe or facebook I'll instantly pass.

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

1 | 2

10413 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3344615 19-Feb-2025 20:25

I've yet to see anything "modern" get killed by static. That doesn't mean I go rubbing it against carpet, but I also don't go over the top (I didn't even know mats were a thing).

Edit: Re: a recurring comment below, yes, I do touch the case and keep the cable plugged in so that it's actually earthed :)

GoodSync

GoodSync. Easily back up and sync your files with GoodSync. Simple and secure file backup and synchronisation software will ensure that your files are never lost (affiliate link).

RunningMan

8908 posts

Uber Geek

#3344619 19-Feb-2025 20:43

Do it properly. I cringe when I see components for sale laid out on the carpet to photograph.

cddt

1495 posts

Uber Geek

#3344627 19-Feb-2025 20:56

I don't put things on carpet or other fabric, and I don't finger the traces or the connections. But I also don't use an antistatic strap or antistatic bags. I just recently found a hard drive which has been in a regular plastic zip lock bag for 20 years and it still works.

My referral links: BigPipe | Mercury

mdav056

606 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

#3344638 19-Feb-2025 21:25

cddt:

I don't put things on carpet or other fabric, and I don't finger the traces or the connections. But I also don't use an antistatic strap or antistatic bags. I just recently found a hard drive which has been in a regular plastic zip lock bag for 20 years and it still works.

Me too. Never knowingly had a problem.

gml

gehenna

8456 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3344639 19-Feb-2025 21:34

Not one time in 30 years of PC building

networkn

Networkn
32239 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3344651 19-Feb-2025 22:09

gehenna:

Not one time in 30 years of PC building

I could count the times I used one on one hand in a similar timeframe of PC building, server builds etc etc etc.

Usually, for appearance only. We had anti static mats on the work bench at my office, but mostly to protect the benches :)

SepticSceptic

2170 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#3344713 19-Feb-2025 23:03

I Think NZs humid climate helps here a bit. high humidity will help dissipate static charge.

richms

28038 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3344716 19-Feb-2025 23:11

No strap but I will hold the case as I pull things out of the static bag, and hold the case before I put the motherboard into it etc to make sure there is no difference between the things so that they are not the ones taking the shock.

Never even feel or hear static at home, even with the aircon blasting in summer dropping the humidity inside to sensible levels. Did at a former workplace where it was running so hard that it was making it unpleasantly dry inside to the point where people felt the need to use moistureiser.

Richard rich.ms

fe31nz

1207 posts

Uber Geek

#3344720 20-Feb-2025 00:15

I do the works, as I have also been trained properly. My first job at the end of 1979 was with an electronics design and manufacturing company, and our factory was getting over 15% failure rates at the end of the production line before they brought in proper antistatic handling and training. Afterwards, the failure rate dropped to around 2%.

The thing that people who do it wrong miss is that static damage these days is not likely to kill a device on the spot (although it is still possible for that to happen). The damage tends to accumulate and lessen the life of a device. So if you have a hard disk or motherboard that dies at 5 years old, it may well have been accumulated static damage that did it. I generally have very long lifetimes for my components, but I also tend to buy quality products, so it is not possible to say that it happens as a result of careful static handling.

If you do not have a static mat, you can still handle things properly by clipping your wrist strap to an earth on the PC case before getting things in or out of the antistatic bags. And you can put things down outside a bag as long as you put them on an unpainted bit of the PC metal (which is generally well earthed). When doing this, you really want to have the PC's power supply fitted so that it earths the case, and plugged into the mains, to get the mains earth.

And if you have a stainless steel sink bench, that is required by law to be fully earthed, so it works OK as an antistatic mat - but just be aware that you must not have anything with mains power running opened up on a sink bench, as it is a hard earth so any contact with the mains will kill you. With mains on an antistatic mat, the mat to earth path has gigohms in it, so not much current will flow if you do something silly with the mains.

Bung

6391 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#3344722 20-Feb-2025 02:09

I am also cautious. I was a bystander over 40 years ago when solid state pabxs were introduced. I think you only had to look sideways at a Mitel?? to kill it. I think the design of chipsets has included more ESD protection since then.

Not an electrician but AFAIK earth bonding a steel bench top is not required when the pipework connected to it is nonconductive.

CYaBro

4560 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#3344779 20-Feb-2025 07:23

Never bothered with a strap but when I had my AASP it was requirement by Apple so we had to use them.
Plus anti static mats that had to be earthed and tested regularly.

I do always leave the pc power supply plugged into power but turned off, so that it’s earthed, and make sure I touch the case often.
Everything goes into an anti static bag when not being used.
I do have anti static mats on my bench but don’t test them anymore.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

networkn

Networkn
32239 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3344838 20-Feb-2025 10:09

fe31nz:

And if you have a stainless steel sink bench, that is required by law to be fully earthed, so it works OK as an antistatic mat - but just be aware that you must not have anything with mains power running opened up on a sink bench, as it is a hard earth so any contact with the mains will kill you. With mains on an antistatic mat, the mat to earth path has gigohms in it, so not much current will flow if you do something silly with the mains.

Dumb question, we have a couple of these, one in the laundry as part of a tub and one in the sink in the kitchen, how do I ensure they are earthed?

Bung

6391 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#3344849 20-Feb-2025 10:45

See my previous answer. If you have PVC waste and Polybutylene water pipes the sink probably won't be earthed.

hsvhel

1224 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#3344851 20-Feb-2025 10:48

I use the factory bags for parts storage in the vehicle....but not a strap

Referral Link Quic

Free Setup use R502152EQH6OK on check out

Ge0rge

2039 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3344855 20-Feb-2025 11:04

I'm fastidious about it. When you're working on equipment that's worth 6 figures, you take every precaution. That flows on to any other work that I do - if you have the training and the equipment, why take the risk?

1 | 2