It's an interesting lecture from the 80s about electrostatic discharge and the history behind anti-static bags for electronics.
Now, bear with me ... aside from being an interesting topic that's still relevant for anyone who builds or repairs their own computers or other electronics, it has a ton of humor that would make today's SJWs head explode. Those were the days when you could make an 80 minute lecture and make it entertaining enough for people to watch it all the way to the end. Today this would get him canceled.
For example, while talking about electric charges and attraction he drops this line: "Likes repel. Unlikes attract. It's like boy-boy, girl-girl ... except in Hollywood."
The more things change the more they stay the same.
You've reminded me of the time an HP field tech who repaired an old work laptop dutifully laid out his tools on the table, put on his ESD wrist strap, and...didn't actually plug the other end into anything. Just dangled off the end of the table the whole time.
I worked in a return processing center years ago. We took in, tested, and processed returned PC parts. They gave me these ESD footstrap things you put on your shoes, because I wasn't actually processing returns but was the roving tech responsible for fixing the test stations, so I walked around a lot. I still don't know how/why those things would supposedly work for ESD as they didn't even make contact with skin. Sometimes I wonder with generic PC parts if the whole ESD thing is really all that necessary or not. Bigger/pricier stuff on the other hand...some of those high dollar router and switch cards can make PC stuff look like kids toys.
Sometimes I wonder with generic PC parts if the whole ESD thing is really all that necessary or not.
I have had old PC parts, Raspberry Pi's, and even microcontroller that have been lying around under desks gathering dust for years. I've never taken any antistatic precautions with any of them, and I'm never had anything fail after me touching it.
Maybe my house just just isn't dry enough, but the risk of killing electronics with static seems to be really, really low.
Of course, nobody wants to be the guy that feels a zap and then finds that the $1000 card/chip doesn't work.
the risk of killing electronics with static seems to be really, really low.
For high-volume electronics like consumer PC parts or things like microcontroller dev boards that are designed to be abused yes. Most of the issues I've seen are with :
Bottom of the barrel Chinese shit where they just take a reference design and populate it with the cheapest components they can find
Extremely expensive, niche, low volume components built by small companies.
nobody wants to be the guy that feels a zap and then finds that the $1000 card/chip doesn't work
It is kinda satisfying when you know you aren't going to lose your job over it. POP! "Well there goes $1000" into the trash it goes
They gave me these ESD footstrap things you put on your shoes, because I wasn't actually processing returns but was the roving tech responsible for fixing the test stations, so I walked around a lot. I still don't know how/why those things would supposedly work for ESD as they didn't even make contact with skin.
It's an interesting lecture from the 80s about electrostatic discharge and the history behind anti-static bags for electronics.
Now, bear with me ... aside from being an interesting topic that's still relevant for anyone who builds or repairs their own computers or other electronics, it has a ton of humor that would make today's SJWs head explode. Those were the days when you could make an 80 minute lecture and make it entertaining enough for people to watch it all the way to the end. Today this would get him canceled.
For example, while talking about electric charges and attraction he drops this line: "Likes repel. Unlikes attract. It's like boy-boy, girl-girl ... except in Hollywood."
The more things change the more they stay the same.
You've reminded me of the time an HP field tech who repaired an old work laptop dutifully laid out his tools on the table, put on his ESD wrist strap, and...didn't actually plug the other end into anything. Just dangled off the end of the table the whole time.
Still get a chuckle out of that one.
I worked in a return processing center years ago. We took in, tested, and processed returned PC parts. They gave me these ESD footstrap things you put on your shoes, because I wasn't actually processing returns but was the roving tech responsible for fixing the test stations, so I walked around a lot. I still don't know how/why those things would supposedly work for ESD as they didn't even make contact with skin. Sometimes I wonder with generic PC parts if the whole ESD thing is really all that necessary or not. Bigger/pricier stuff on the other hand...some of those high dollar router and switch cards can make PC stuff look like kids toys.
I have had old PC parts, Raspberry Pi's, and even microcontroller that have been lying around under desks gathering dust for years. I've never taken any antistatic precautions with any of them, and I'm never had anything fail after me touching it.
Maybe my house just just isn't dry enough, but the risk of killing electronics with static seems to be really, really low.
Of course, nobody wants to be the guy that feels a zap and then finds that the $1000 card/chip doesn't work.
For high-volume electronics like consumer PC parts or things like microcontroller dev boards that are designed to be abused yes. Most of the issues I've seen are with :
It is kinda satisfying when you know you aren't going to lose your job over it. POP! "Well there goes $1000" into the trash it goes
https://scs-static-control-solutions.blog/2018/01/12/an-introduction-to-foot-grounders/
As I understand it: the strap makes an electrical connectiong to your body via sweat through your sock and discharges it through the grounded floor.
Somehow reminds me of those wireless ESD straps.
Dude was ahead of the curve.