Ian: You make good points. That's why I was careful to say that static was not a serious issue as long as you do NOT touch anything inside the K3. If so, such as applying cleaner to the pins, anti-static protection is needed.
My comments are based on over 50 years of working on sensitive solid state gear, in the field and in the lab. And they agree with Wayne's recommendations, which we have reproduced in the various Elecraft assembly manuals. The most common source of a static charge while working is the person; clothing rubbing, feet shuffling on the floor, etc. That's why being grounded is very important. The ideal is to wear a conductive wrist or ankle strap connected to ground through a high-value resistor (1 meg is common) to prevent shock. Touching a ground accomplishes the same benefit. When not wearing a strap I touch a ground every time before touching a component or circuit. 73, Ron AC7AC -----Original Message----- From: Elecraft [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ian White Sent: Monday, September 19, 2016 12:31 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Erratic VFO behaviour, Switching bands and freq's Sorry, I would strongly disagree. Removing the front panel is when you need an anti-static mat and wrist strap the MOST. * You are separating two quite large assemblies, each of which is capable of holding a significant charge (and each of which cost several hundred dollars). * You're just about to expose a large number of unprotected internal connector pins. * And in all probability, you're just about to *touch* every one of those pins when applying antioxidant. This really is NOT a good moment to skip the static protection. Also, "touching a ground" is fundamentally NOT what static protection is about! It's about safely CONNECTING EVERYTHING TOGETHER (including the operator) to discharge any potential differences. This includes keeping them connected together, even while subassemblies like the front panel are being unplugged. In this context, the word "safely" includes the use of high-resistance materials and connecting leads, to avoid damaging discharge currents and minimize the risk of electric shock to the operator. That is why the operator is connected through a *high* resistance to ground - and also why "touching ground" can actually do damage. Note to Pete, G0PNM: in the UK, Contralube 770 (from Maplin) has proved to be an excellent alternative to Deoxit. 73 from Ian GM3SEK ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [email protected] ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [email protected]
