Anti Static Bracelet & Mat

[falco_femoralis]

Do you guys use these things? I'm married to them at work but I've never used them when building pedals. Most of my builds come out okay...

 

[GAStan]

I've had to use them at work too in past jobs. At home I've never used them and do live in a dry desert climate prone to static electricity. Never had a failure i could attribute to static (knock on wood). But I am careful to touch my workpiece prior to introducing a static sensitive component out of habit. Same with anything else that static might affect. I work on a wooden bench that doesn't conduct or harbor static like some plastics can.

 

[darwin999]

I have a grounding bracelet, but only use it on the coldest driest days of winter, and then only when handling FETs. Otherwise, I don't see the need. And like @GAStan I have a wood-topped workbench that doesn't harbor static, and my chair also doesn't generate static.

 

[vigilante398]

I put mats on my benches at home, but I almost never strap in. I'm in a humid enough place and the stuff I work with isn't super sensitive, but the mats are nice to work on and easy to clean, and I like having the option of strapping in if I ever feel like it's necessary.

 

[RetiredUnit1]

I use them when assembling/repairing PC's. I mostly build tube amps. A pedal here and there. SoCal winters when the Santa Anna winds blow can really make tons of static.

 

[Feral Feline]

I went from a super-humid sea-level place to a super-arid high-altitude (relative to sea-level)...

Anyway, here the static-electricity is so severe that sticks to your .

In winter, just reaching out to a door-handle is like watching a Tesla coil start up.

So I'm extra careful with CMOS ICs and MOSFETs and ... yeeeshh.

Yeah, I wore a grounding wrist-strap before and still do, but now wish I had a full Faraday cage.