The Shocking Truth About ESD - Comments Page 2

Some IBM Techs use the anti static wrist band on the nozzle of their vacuum cleaner to drain away static.

I prefer a mat to the confinement of a wrist strap. My computers are in a study, where the entrance panels to the house are located. I have an alligator clip in the entrance panel permanently attached to the equipment ground bar in the panel. On the other end is a snap which will snap into the mat or a wrist strap. I might add, the house being older, the common and equipment grounds were the same until a tree fell across our power line. Now, the equipment grounds go all the way back to the utility company, at a total cost of around 9K (most paid by insurance). It's a PITA when I have to use my backfeed generator during extended outages, because I have to completely break the common and the equipment grounds to avoid electrocuting some poor utility worker...

I have blown out a stereo speaker and my car's amp just by using them. I also feel a strong shock sometimes from blankets, doorknobs, etc. In the dark, I can see quite the reactions. If you know, are some people generating more static electricity than others? I think I experience this much more often than others.

I assume I can allay this somewhat by touching a non-electronic metal surface first, but I don't often think of this, especially when getting in bed. :)

At my last job, someone wiped out a $60,000.00 machine by vacuuming its insides with a vacuum cleaner that didn't have a grounded plug.

Thank you for the shocking article :)