typically a 1MEG 1/4W through-hole part that arcs over when hit with many kV. So the mat is dissipative only until the resistor breaks down.
thanks for mentioning this floobydust, this is really important point. and often overlooked. guess it means we should all regularly schedule testing of the 1 meg resistor. every few months. so see that it still works.
thing is, it might fail anytime between testing. then there is probably going to be a period of several weeks. when the esd mat has stopped being grounded anymore.
wonder if there is any opportunity to improve on that. given the high voltages involved
you see not all off topic comments are entirely useless here. just the many repetition of the same exact point and giving no new angles to the discussion. 'just use a mouse mat" pfft. what a waste of time. like i hadnt already been doing that.
mouse mats are:
* way too small to let you just plonk down the mouse anywhere you like
* as a person with rsi. i frequently need to switch hands, this then means repositioning the mouse mat too
well ok where is the mouse mat? its under a layer of delicate wires that are connected to things, like the circuit i am monitoring
so... already upgraded to a desk mat. which then brings its own new set of problems.
currently half my desk is the desk mat. the other half is esd mat. great right? well no...
not great. because can no longer just plonk things down wherever i feel like it. half the desk is wasted for specific computer duty and i can no longer change hands. and then mouse if further away when working on electronics. too far to just reach over quickly. it does not improve productivity, just changes the set of obstacles to the most frequent repeated tasks.
and the cloth mat is much harder to keep clean. usually requiring removal and washing with soapy water. and hanging up, for drying. which is time when it cannot be used. compared to the esd mat side. which can just be quickly sprayed down easily and regularly with ipa spray botle. a real necessity when soldering with sticky flux etc.
so all these energy wasted with such arguments - its pointless. i already knew all that. how can anybody here really think i never considered those obvious solutions?
they dont hold a candle to just using 1 massive esd mat for everything. and having that replace the mouse mat. use a different mouse then? well maybe. but the whole point of this thread was to improve the design of ESD mats themselves. so that they can work well with all mice no exceptions. and that is a worthwhile feature to add to ESD mats.
now you can argue that *you* dont need those features until you are blue in the face. but it doesnt improve the wider scheme of things or improve the quality and variety of the pool of professional products that we all have shared access to in the marketplace.
single ESD mat for everything just makes work more productive. which is key to... being more productive! it just makes total sense.
none of the solutions i previously rejected here, other than actually changing my specific mouse for another specific mouse, that works. would have actually achieved that desired outcome. but mice are problematic, because they need to be of a specific shape for ergonomic reasons. to match the specific user. so 'no' i cannot just switch to 'mouse Y' simple because that model worked for *you*. i can only choose from a smaller pool of mouse H,I,J & K. that are closer in shape to my current mouse. and guess what? they are all gaming mice. mostly with 1 of 3 gaming mouse sensor. all made by the same company as my current mouse sensor. so whilst i can certainly buy some specific new mouse from that shortlist. theres no guarantee it will work here.
if you still dont understand or have an issue with me then just go back and read my previous posts. because its all in there. i left nothing out.