That's also why the anti-static ground has (must have!) a 1-megohm resistor in series with it. That way a dangerous amount of current isn't going to flow in any case while the resistance is still low enough to continuously dissipate any static charges that are developed. It doesn't matter whether you accidentally come in contact with the "hot" side of a mains lead or the positive side of some other power source, the resistor should keep the current down to safe levels.
So, if you have nothing else, any connection to the earth will work either as a terminal for the anti static pad/strap with their internal 1 meg resistors or as a point you can touch briefly (while not touching anything else) to dissipate any charge on your body just before you handle a static sensitive part. Don makes a good point about running a ground wire through the house, at least to the critical outlets near the ham shack. I'd include, as a minimum, kitchen and bath outlets as well so they can be equipped with ground-fault interrupters. I 'grew up' in the age of exposed AC/DC equipment that had one side of the metal case connected to the mains, and I recall many instances of touching a panel and noting the slight tingle that warned me that I was touching the hot side of the mains line because the plug was in backwards. That was a warning because the next metal panel a few inches away might be grounded and touching both of them at once would put me across the mains power! Millions of people survived such wiring without problem, but many did die. Don't be one of them. Ron AC7AC _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
