Anti static wrist band replacement

[reprovo]

Hi.I was wondering if you need to replace an anti static wrist band if you are not going to be connected to the mains while you work.I know the wrist band loses its resistance and that can be dangerous if there is a chance of electrocution but can it ever lose its ability to keep a zero voltage difference between you and the pc.
If i am disconnected from mains when i use it then isn't the loss of resistance irrelevant

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

You should always have the pc unplugged whenever working on the innards of it. And typically you want to use a wrist strap that grounds to the unpainted part of the case. At work, I use one that plugs into a power cord, then you plug the cord into the wall, but the only tooth you actually have from the strap to the cord is the ground, so no worries there.

Also, I've worked on almost all of my own stuff with no grounding strap, just keep grounding yourself by touching an unpainted part of the case before you grab a part, handle everything by the edges and not by chips or connectors and you should be fine.

 

[505090]

Circuits should always be off when you are working on them. the strap is to discharge static electricity which can be done just as well by touching bare metal on the case. Haven't used those things since school and haven't fried anything yet.

 

[Guest]

Never used one in 20 years and never had a problem.

 

[Helloworld_98]

^ What flooring have you got?

wooden flooring and you're pretty much fine.

 

[croc]

So much mis-information in one short thread...

Static straps have no resistance, that would defeat their purpose. They do have pico fuses to protect the wearer. Can be tested by ohm meter from strap to end of gnding wire. Should be 0 ohms resistance, or close to it.

Keep your PSU plugged into your mains, with the power switch turned off. Any static buildup on the frame should then be routed to earth gnd.

Wooden flooring does no good, as most people will be standing on rubber soles anyway. In other words, isolated from whatever type of flooring. Most static will be generated by one's clothing. Leather soles on wool are killer...

Not using a strap and just touching the frame is OK, but I find it hard to manipulate MB's, GPU's etc. only using one hand. And static damage may only show up as shortened component life, not immediate failure.

Hey, a static strap is cheap. Hpw much was that MB? CPU? GPU?

 

[reprovo]

Thanks for the info guys!