ESD damage does not always show up immediately. ESD can "stunt" the life of components. Instead of lasting 5 or 10 years, you may only get a few years out of them. I have had a lot of training in the military on ESD, and they spend big bucks on equipment And training. The avionics building I worked in in Germany had ESD tile on the floors, as well as grounded benches, mats And straps, etc.
Mike AI4NS -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Wyn Hughes Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2006 7:20 AM To: Mike Harris; [email protected] Subject: Re: [Elecraft] ESD Risk vs Relative Humidity Mike and Don, Thanks for your input. I suspect that ESD damage occurs more often than one realises. Don's report confirms. I read reports that quite a few of the NATO IC-781s went down in the last gulf conflict for no apparent reason, other than microprocessor failure suspected due to the extreme low humidity. I have experienced some strange and otherwise wholly inexplicable PC failures due to early working without a wrist strap in the past. For safety sake I will stick with the new mat amd its combined wrist strap. Then at least I will eliminate one possibility from my shopping list of problem causes. Best 73 Wyn, VR2AX ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Harris" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Wyn Hughes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2006 5:42 AM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] ESD Risk vs Relative Humidity > G'day, > > <snip> > Today in Hong Kong we have relative humidity (RH) of 55% (temp a > 'freezing' 16 C), compared to our norm of 90 - 100% RH and temp 30 C+ > <snip> > > I assume the 16C was outside not inside. > > <snip > These past two days my daughter and xyl have mentioned several 'static > shocks' when they play with our cats, all 6 of them. > > I remember my school kid days of cats tail static generators, but there's > a serious question behind this. Under what conditions of RH do most > builders of Elecraft rigs operate? > <snip> > > RH in the house is of the order 40-60% temp 20-22C most of the time. No > cats, no ESD countermeasures besides touching an earthed object before > picking up sensitive devices. Not killed one yet. > > Regards, > > Mike VP8NO > > _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [email protected] 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: [email protected] 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
