Testing an anti-static wrist band

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sbab123

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Mar 21, 2016
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Hi guys,

I have just bought an anti-static wrist band to wear in order to protect my PC components against ESD.

At home, I tested the resistance of the anti-static wrist band and I also checked the continuity of the band with a multimeter. Below are the results:

Resistance = 330,000Ohm
Continuity = not continuous

According to online information I googled, I got the link below:

http://

which gives information about how to proceed to test an anti-static wrist band with a multimeter. It clearly says, in step 3, to discard the anti-static wrist band if the resistance is outside the range 900,000Ohm and 1,100,000Ohm

Also, based on step 4, the resistance is 560,000Ohm which is outside the expected range of 900,000Ohm and 10,000,000Ohm.

What do you guys think? Should I return this anti-static wrist band to the retailer and buy another one?

Let me know your thoughts.

Kindest Regards
 
Solution
t53186
The use of a 1Mohm resistor is to limit current so that if you do discharge while touching a component the chance of damage or destruction in minimized. It allows the voltage potential to bleed off slowly, even though it's less than a second.

There is a lot of discussion on Tom's about static, most of it supporting touching the case and grounding, etc. expressing the opinion that there is little chance of damage even without a strap. That's fine until you do damage (degraded performance or life) or destroy a dimm. Personally, having worked with electronic equipment and computers for almost 40 years I wear one and test it monthly.

So it's up to you
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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Not sure how you tested, but since the current flows through a 1MOhm resistor it's very unlikely to deviate that much. A resistor like this is extremely unlikely to be defective as well.

1MOhm is also extremely cautious anyway and aimed at a worst-case scenario for static-sensitive components which is something you won't encounter in a PC today.

Thus, your wrist strap is fine.

But whatever...

It's almost impossible to wreck a modern PC due to static.

I personally just make sure I ground myself to an exposed part of the case before removing a video card for example.

The power supply should be plugged in, but turned off. This will ground the PSU, and the motherboard should be grounded to it as well as anything plugged in.

So if you ground yourself to the case (exposed metal) everything should be at the same potential.
 
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sbab123

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Mar 21, 2016
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Thanks for your replies guys.

Just one thought: If I can measure the resistance as 330,000Ohm, does this not mean that current can actually flow in the anti-static wrist band and therefore there is actually a continuity in the band....despite the fact that the multimeter could not detect continuity?

What do you think?

 
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t53186

t53186

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Aug 6, 2006
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The use of a 1Mohm resistor is to limit current so that if you do discharge while touching a component the chance of damage or destruction in minimized. It allows the voltage potential to bleed off slowly, even though it's less than a second.

There is a lot of discussion on Tom's about static, most of it supporting touching the case and grounding, etc. expressing the opinion that there is little chance of damage even without a strap. That's fine until you do damage (degraded performance or life) or destroy a dimm. Personally, having worked with electronic equipment and computers for almost 40 years I wear one and test it monthly.

So it's up to you
 
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