Just wondering - does anyone here routinely wear a wriststrap ? I'd bet it's a small minority.
.and has anyone ever actually killed anything with static? I certanly haven't. PLenty of other ways, but not static.
Definitely not routinely, but occasionally when handling ICs or small FETs. It's primarily habit from previous indoctrination in the computer world. I built computers at a plant nearby that was owned by Inacom, Compaq, and later HP, and they had the multimillion dollar anti-static floor, footstraps with mandatory testing, and all the goodies. It's much more important with moving conveyors and pneumatic switching everywhere, but I'll be they lost more money in the one pallet of computer monitors I saw drop from twenty feet up (forklift accident) than they ever did in ESD losses. Without those precautions, who knows?
I've personally killed two things with static that I'm almost sure was my fault, both were 30pin SIMMs (remember those?). I was helping a friend work through a backlog at the small repair business he owned, and I was still in high school at the time. I was testing SIMMs with a standalone memory tester both times, and though I never saw a spark I did feel myself build a charge while taking the two steps to the machine they were going into. Pulled from the system, tested good on the tester, right back into the machine, bad memory post alert that wasn't there before, back on the tester, tested bad. It's entirely possible that it could have been a fluke with the machine, the tester, or both.
Those two incidents aside I haven't ruined anything in a mysterious manner since, and it's been about fifteen years! I've let plenty of smoke out, but any suspected ESD deaths were ruled out. I tend to take the possibility seriously when I'm working with something I don't have a spare of, but other than that I play it fast and loose.
Just weighing in.
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Edit: Alm's post reminded me to mention that all I use for ESD nowadays is a $7 wristband. I got one from 3M that had a cord with a banana plug and alligator clip adapter. I don't have a mat, but if I was working with more expensive parts I'd consider it. I agree with the cost/benefit approach of adopting cheap insurance when I can.