Working in bare feet seems is risky from an OH & S perspective and certainly would not look good to clients.
I buy Florsheim leather sole shoes every four or so years for under $200 per pair. Get them as seconds to save $$$. The leather sole with some natural moisture ingress provides a static dissipative path to ESD protective floors and also prevents build up of static as you would get with rubber sole runners on carpet. They look professional, feel quite comfortable, protect your toes and you can get them re-soled by a cobbler if need be.
And being a "cost incurred in earning your income" for electronic engineers, they are
TAX DEDUCTIBLE in Australia at least

.
I have worn Florsheims for the last 30 years, avoiding (and refusing) to use those bloody annoying and often useless ESD foot straps and those horrible purpose built ESD conductive shoes. I always tested a PASS on the ESD tester at IBM.
OK nay-sayers...
The cordless strap as shown WILL WORK... underwater.
Or in best case near-100% humidity.
So there. It's just weasel words. The item does exactly as described, just not the way you expected.
Who are we to set your level of expectation!?
As apple would say - "You're holding it wrong"
Can anyone point me where to buy the little yellow "antistatic" panel under's Dave bench?
Can´t find it. I am located in Germany.
Or should I simply build one?
Thanks!
Can anyone point me where to buy the little yellow "antistatic" panel under's Dave bench?
Can´t find it. I am located in Germany.
Or should I simply build one?
Search for "esd block" on ebay or something like that.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=esd+block
Thanks Fungus, I got a cheap chinese crap. Now in one month it will be here.
What does this tell us
http://www.amazon.co.uk/A-szcxtop-TM-Wireless-Static-Discharge/dp/B00M8TJGT2 ?
a) a lot of people have a very subtle sense of humor

b) all reviews were created by the guy, who sells this stuff
c) it's time to start work on the "nuclear power blocker", a novel device that simply plugs in between any electrical socket and an electrical appliance and that will only allow electrons from renewable energy sources to pass, while blocking electrons generated by nuclear means - at $100 it will be rated at 16A.
The reviews for that one seem to be mixed with those for
this product, which appears to be a regular corded type.
The reviews for that one seem to be mixed with those for this product, which appears to be a regular corded type.
I could only see 1 review in all 17 pages that wasn't for the mercury anti static wriststrap. How can I get in on this game? I could make some bullshit free energy product and get all the reviews for another legit product tied to it.
I see us converging to a fourth option:
d) attach ourselves with a bogus product to a legitimate product and ride the tidal wave of positive reviews
We just need to ensure that the promise is less concrete and the price is way higher.
This guy, for example, missed the concept of attaching himself to a legitimate product, but he understood the concept of the price
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Magnet-Titanium-Lunavit%C2%AE-Magnetic-Beverage-Energizer-Titanium-Neodymium/dp/B00M56C1QS That's what I like about the EEVblog - good ideas get picked up and turned into great ones. Thanks!
What is the rackmount 1u piece of gear on the bench?
an wireless antistatic wrist strap could theoretically work...
On airplanes you frequently find several small antennas at the edge of the wings. These antennas are made from carbon fibres which are tattered at the ends, creating tiny sharp spikes that tremble in the airflow. (like a brush)
The purpose of these"static wicks" is to dissipate static electricity that accumulates on the airplane during flight. This charges can influence radio and navigation transmitters.
That means IT IS POSSIBLE to dissipate electric charges without a wire. But possibly you will need an airflow of 500 MPH to make it work.
Maybe the device is capable of preventing infection by inhibiting the growth of infectious agents? Like a Cordless Anti-Septic Wristband?
It reminds me of this guy who got prosecuted for selling fake bomb detectors: they were basically golf ball finders and were apparently used in Iraq. And the user had to stamp their feet to make it work.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22380368
Nope, read the ad.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Anti-Static-Wrist-Band-Strap-Discharge-Cord-Cordless-ESD-Ground-Grounding-/151363238201
Some NSFW items in that sellers negative feedback, who the hell sells cheap and nasty "personal" items ?
A fake item that does nothing is just the tip of the iceberg for at least some of these sellers.
HA! Awesome. You found a comedy gold mine!
Some of best negative feedback ever!
"I got my vibrators and they didn't even work. Seller does not reply. Very mad ! "
"Too strong vibrations, not nice to use."
"BROKE IMMEDIATELY- NOT AS PICTURED- NOT WORTH $10AUD - DO NOT BUY FROM HERE!!!!! Item = Funny Anal Anus Butt Plug Bolt Massage Toy Fake Dog/Fox Tail DA (#151303411254)"
Sounds like you could tell him where to stick his scammy anti-static wrist straps, but there might not be room!
"BROKE IMMEDIATELY- NOT AS PICTURED- NOT WORTH $10AUD - DO NOT BUY FROM HERE!!!!! Item = Funny Anal Anus Butt Plug Bolt Massage Toy Fake Dog/Fox Tail DA (#151303411254)"
But it probably discharges static build up better than the wristband!

Bryce.
Reports keep flooding in of factories using these wristbands

Including one who manufactured a recent teardown item!
I guess that's why our ISO9001 guy said in addition to anti-static bands to be compliant you also have to have a static tester that you need to use every day to confirm it's working. It kind of looked like a "test your strength" hand gripper thing.
I've just come across this note from Maplin "Technical Support" on their website in response to a comment on their mains earth-bonding plug:
"Russell · Technical Support · 4 months ago
Our Technical Support Team have tested this item and found that the Earth pin does contain metal although very trace amounts and connects to the Earth socket in a standard 3 pin mains plug, upon testing this is not actually needed as a 1 Million Ohm resistor would dissipate any static passed through it so it should never actually need to get to the Earth pin."
Presumably they would be quite happy with the cordless version!!
Hey! It finally arrived. I thought you might get a laugh when you opened the box to find this $1 piece of junk. Glad it got to you though.
Hey!...snip...
It was a hoot, thanks!
No worries.

Great informative video, by the way. Hopefully it saves some electronics beginner from making a bad mistake.
I wonder, it you make the screw touching ground all the time, does it still count as a wireless wristband?