Xref: utzoo unix-pc.general:7092 comp.sys.att:11387 Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!uunet!shelby!agate!bionet!hayes.ims.alaska.edu!floyd From: floyd@ims.alaska.edu (Floyd Davidson) Newsgroups: unix-pc.general,comp.sys.att Subject: Re: Brownouts, shorts, explosions and the unix pc. Message-ID: <1991Jan6.103604.13477@ims.alaska.edu> Date: 6 Jan 91 10:36:04 GMT References: <1991Jan5.045917.7018@shibaya.lonestar.org> <1991Jan6.050124.6838@csn.org> Organization: University of Alaska, Institute of Marine Science Lines: 40 In article <1991Jan6.050124.6838@csn.org> wouk@alumni.colorado.edu (Arthur Wouk) writes: >on the other hand, my 3b1 (and my vcr) both went crasy during a very >cold period during which i wore a lot of synthetics and generated a >lot of static electricity. i got kernel parity errors just from >brushing the keyboard (and my vcr clock stopped several times just >from touching the case.) > >is this common in dry climates (near 0% humidity.) In one word: yes. The lower the temperature the less water vapor the air is able to hold, hence, lower relative humidity as the temp goes down. Less humidity causes more problems with static electricity. There are several things that can be done to reduce the effects: 1) Increase the humidity (humidifier, boil water on the stove, etc.) 2) Don't where synthetics. 3) Place metal grounding plates, straps, etc. where useful. 4) Spray rugs etc. with an anti-static solution. Be careful with the idea of grounding plates etc. They should NOT be directly grounded. About 5Mohms is right I think (but not positive). My computer desk has a metal (aluminum) piece of trim along the front that my arms rest on everytime I relax at the keyboard. It is grounded through several 1 Meg Ohm resisters in series. There are many suitable anti-static solutions. You can buy one labeled as such and pay for the label. You can use something like 409 cleaner (that is what I use) diluted. Or go to a photo store and buy a small bottle of FotoFlow. Floyd -- Floyd L. Davidson floyd@ims.alaska.edu Salcha, AK 99714 paycheck connection to Alascom, Inc. When I speak for them, one of us will be *out* of business in a hurry.