Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rice!uw-beaver!milton!max!scott
From: scott@max.u.washington.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm
Subject: Re: Grounding Oneself, the right way...???
Message-ID: <11228@max.u.washington.edu>
Date: 29 Nov 89 06:10:48 GMT
References: <6058@cbnewsh.ATT.COM> <10936@max.u.washington.edu> <5126@tekgen.BV.TEK.COM> <11128@max.u.washington.edu> <1239@uwm.edu>
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle WA
Lines: 35

In article <1239@uwm.edu>, jgreco@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Joe Greco) writes:
>
> Me?  If I'm worried, I touch an outlet and then the ground plane of the
> unit.
 
Just to clarify the above statement.......I believe what he meant when
he said "touch an outlet" was to touch the ground of the outlet which
can be the screws holding the outlet (in three plug outlets it can also
be the center hold), but the screws usually have a coat of paint so
sometimes it is hard to make a good contact. I think you will be way
better off if you just go the bathroom and touch the faucet which
is the same ground as the one at the outlet; besides while you are in the 
bathroom you may want to do other things before starting work on a 
complicated circuit project.  :)
 
> ]And also one does not acquired static charge that easily and that
> ]quickly.
>
> Tell me that when you've just blown a 25 MHz 80386 processor or one of the
> 'x87 coprocessors.  You'd rather not risk the methods you mentioned.
> Static is a sneaky enemy and will kill you when you least expect it..  :-)
 
Couldn't agree more....with such delicate components like a 80386 or a
80486 (I had the pleasure of holding one, a  broken one that is :) )                                      
wearing a grounding wrist-band and working on a grounded metalic bench    
is always a good idea. But for some of us
and in some circumstances that is not possible, and in those cases touching
the faucet (and then the ground-plane of the circuit, if you can find it)    
is the next best thing, and for working on the C64 I believe
this is more than adaquate.                          
 
> jgreco@csd4.csd.uwm.edu               Joe Greco at FidoNet 1:154/200
 
Sincerely,
Scott K. Stephen