easy source of static dissipating work mat?
Locked
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What if the static sensitive board has a memory
battery on it?
Foil would not work well then.
Same goes for copper strips on the work
bench.
73
Jim W7RY
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In reply to this post by n0tt1
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Re: easy source of static dissipating work mat?
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Folks,
I do have to agree with Ron. Given what you have invested in a K3 kit, it seems quite foolish to me to risk that investment by 'going cheap' on an antistatic mat and wrist strap. You can find the proper antistatic measures for less than $30, and that is less than 3% of your K3 investment. Certainly, you can use aluminum foil (short hazard), the packing bags (not a good solution) and conductive metal wrist bands (personnel hazard), but the consequences of failure for those methods can be more costly than the price of your K3. So take your pick, you can go 'cheap' at great risk to your personal safety and to your K3 investment, or you can do it right and purchase the correct anti-static materials. The correct stuff will last you a long time. Yes, I have previously used antistatic measures such as a damp newspaper in my younger days, but I always wondered about just how much dampness was correct. So, some time ago, I purchased an antistatic mat designed for computer keyboard use, and have found it adequate for my work. For those who do not have Google search engines, I found economical solutions at http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1472803&CatId=1802 and http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1216697&CatId=1802. Google and other search engines may show you more sources. 73, Don W3FPR Ron D'Eau Claire wrote: > > *From:* [hidden email] > [mailto:[hidden email]] *On Behalf Of *Missouri Guy > *Sent:* Friday, December 12, 2008 4:48 PM > *To:* [hidden email] > *Subject:* Re: [Elecraft] easy source of static dissipating work mat? > > I haven't done this, but here's some info: > > I *think* there was a "Hints and Kinks" article in QST > > quite awhile ago where a guy made a "mat" using > > some Masonite (tempered hardboard, etc) and a > > quantity of India Ink. He said (as I recall) that the > > India Ink has a lot of carbon in it. When applied to > > the hardboard, it drains off any static (provided it's > > grounded of course)…. > > Just to throw more meat into the ring..... > > While building the K3, the instructions never tell > > you to power up any "bare" circuit boards that are just laying on > > any mat or bench. For temporary use what would be > > wrong with, say taking some aluminum foil, and gluing > > it to "whatever" and grounding the aluminum > > via a megohm resistor? > > 73, > > Charlie, N0TT > > Genuine O.T.s (I have to admit I’ve done this) used to make high-value > resistors by drawing a line with india ink on a piece of paper. An > inch or so of such ink, perhaps 1/8” wide, produced a resistor > typically between 10 and 50 megohms – a perfect “grid leak” resistor > for a vacuum tube regenerative detector. > > In my defense, I’ll say that I did **not** do this back in the heyday > of the regenerative detector as the state of the art. I happen to be > interested in vintage circuits and gear ;-) > > But why bother, with the extremely low cost of either mats or wrist > straps – especially compared to what you’ve got in a K3? > > Ron AC7AC > > Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
Re: easy source of static dissipating work mat?
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In reply to this post by AC7AC
Ron AC7AC wrote: > Crafts stores that sell supplies for those making stained glass windows > generally carry narrow rolls of copper strip with adhesive on one side. It > seems to me that would make a nice grounding strip. Solder a 1 meg > resistor > at one end with a wire to ground. ----------------------------------------------------- Another use for that type of copper strip is to make traces on 'prototype' single sided pcbs by cutting it into narrower stips. This removes the need to etch a pcb until the design is complete. I am still using some 'prototype' pcbs built 20+ years ago, and there is no sign yet of any strip lifting off the fibreglass board. Bill W4ZV wrote: > I lay some black > ESD foam (supplied with something I've now forgotten about) on the liner > if > I'm concerned about scratching anything. ----------------------------------------------------- To prevent scratching anything when building a pcb assembly I add 4 legs to the pcb (5 for large pcbs) made from metal spacers, each threaded at one end and tapped at the other end, attached through holes where the pcb's groundplane is visible. The pcb then looks like an oil rig with a sort of four square on top. This removes any need to touch the pcb while building or turning it upside down, and prevents scratches. Whenever possible I populate a pcb with all of its resistors before installing any static sensitive devices. For insurance I ground one of the legs via a resistor. 73, Geoff GM4ESD _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In reply to this post by Bill W4ZV
FWIW I have used the Radio Shack mat and wrist strap to build my K2/100 and KAT100 along with my K3/100 with no problems.
73, Bill NZ0T
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Re: easy source of static dissipating work mat?
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In reply to this post by David Woolley (E.L)
David Woolley wrote:
> > I believe the silvered ones do work like mats. > As people seem to be under the impression that metalised bags are highly conductive, I measured one, and it comes out to be about 4 MOhm/square, which is not very conductive by my standards. In fact, within the measurement tolerances, my anti-static mat has the same surface resistivity! I may be wrong about the pink ones though. They had about 4 times the resistivity, but still on scale. -- David Woolley "The Elecraft list is a forum for the discussion of topics related to Elecraft products and more general topics related ham radio" List Guidelines <http://www.elecraft.com/elecraft_list_guidelines.htm> _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
Re: easy source of static dissipating work mat?
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That sounds about right to me. Remember, the general meaning of pink and
black (at least back when I was actually an engineer) was that black plastic bags, foam, etc indicated "static dissipating" ... the material was actually slightly conductive. Anything pink in color was defined as "non-static" ... meaning that the material would not contribute electrons or ions to the environment that would cause static voltage buildup. Pink material was usually non-conductive but was allowed in static sensitive environments. Don K7FJ ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Woolley (E.L)" <[hidden email]> To: <[hidden email]> Sent: Saturday, December 13, 2008 08:40 Subject: Re: [Elecraft] easy source of static dissipating work mat? > David Woolley wrote: > >> >> I believe the silvered ones do work like mats. >> > As people seem to be under the impression that metalised bags are highly > conductive, I measured one, and it comes out to be about 4 MOhm/square, > which is not very conductive by my standards. In fact, within the > measurement tolerances, my anti-static mat has the same surface > resistivity! > > I may be wrong about the pink ones though. They had about 4 times the > resistivity, but still on scale. > > > -- > David Woolley > "The Elecraft list is a forum for the discussion of topics related to > Elecraft products and more general topics related ham radio" > List Guidelines <http://www.elecraft.com/elecraft_list_guidelines.htm> > _______________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Post to: [hidden email] > You must be a subscriber to post to the list. > Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm > Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com > _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
Re: easy source of static dissipating work mat?
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So many good idears regarding the mat. I've decided to go with &
bought last night, the mat from Radio Shack. I doubt there'd be much likelihood of problem as I've never fried anything in computer assembly since I first assembled a Heathkit H8 (which I used as a bulletin board back in 78) but this is the most expensive kit I've ever assembled & I do my best to avoid mistakes. Thanks for the great suggestions, I'm sure this will be fine for the task. 73, Gary KA1J _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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