Hi Peter,
You have a very good point. Somewhere in the middle of working on the Model 100 I did acquire a proper ESD mat ,etc. as it bothered me to not be using proper procedures with the CMOS circuitry. This is not something I previously had in my home shop. When I was filming I mentioned something about not having a static mat/wrist strap, but that footage might not have made it into the video (sometimes when you are mentioning something like that off-hand whilst performing a task and filming the footage of the primary task is not suitable so I don’t use it.) There are other less obvious ESD practices too that one should consider, like… Choice of clothing: I have a couple of light jackets I like to wear as my basement workshop is often cool. They are made of a fabric that generates a static charge quite readily. They are now relegated to wearing only for mechanical tasks. When working on a PCB when I sit down at my bench I reach up and touch the grounded case of my soldering station to discharge any static build up on my person. I also do this on occasion while working on the board. But, as I mentioned I do have a proper mat/wrist strap now so as to not teach others bad habits. One of the impetuses of the videos is to try and convey troubleshooting techniques rather than random chip swapping as is so often done. Thanks for your feedback, Jeff From: M100 <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Peter Noeth Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2018 10:57 PM To: Model 100 Discussion <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [M100] M100 Digest, Vol 89, Issue 16 For some one who seems to know electronics repair, I am surprised you aren't working with a grounded ESD mat on your bench and an ESD strap on your wrist !! The M100/102/200 use all MOS/CMOS I.C's. You are static damaging/weakening the main board as you keep handling it. Granted that the devices were more static resistant in the 80's due to the larger die geometries used in the I.C's then, but proper ESD protection should always be used.
