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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 05/29/2013 11:41 AM, Ron Frazier
(ALE) wrote:<br>
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<blockquote cite="mid:51A621A2.4000701@techstarship.com" type="cite">
Regarding what you said in above, I've used anti static bands
while I
was in school at DeVry as well as some of the time when I was at
Delta. Sometimes we had an anti static mat. At home, I usually
use
the technique you mentioned of just grounding myself before
touching
anything. With the computer sitting beside me on a chair, as it
is
now, sometimes it's hard to know what is, in fact, grounded. The
pc is
connected to the wall outlet through a three wire circuit so,
presumably, the chassis is grounded, even if the pc is off,
through the
mounting screws for the power supply. I've also been known to
touch
the screw that holds on the faceplate of a light switch before
doing
work on electronics. I know touching such screws sometimes
creates a
static spark to my finger in the winter, so I assume it's
grounded,
else, why would it want to spark. The junction box is plastic,
but it
has a ground wire inside. I have to be especially careful in the
winter (when it's dry as you said). Another alternative is a
metal
water faucet.</blockquote>
<br>
Mostly correct.<br>
<br>
The power supply should have the Earth ground attached to its case.
That case of course comes in contact with the computer case, which
we hope is metal. Then, by extension, the whole case is grounded
after the power supply is mounted.<br>
<br>
That ground is the same ground that your water pipes are attached to
(that is, the Earth outside your home), at least if the wiring in
your home is correct. (Important to check that when you buy a
house! We bought ours and the inspector missed the fact that ground
was, well, not grounded.) Never assume you have a good Earth ground
in the electrical wiring. If in doubt, use metal water pipes as
close to the water utility as you can get (or better yet, verify
your ground!). While it is true that water is a conductor, I
wouldn't trust anything past PVC to be properly grounded without a
ground wire run between the metal "islands". Besides, metal
provides a much easier path to ground than water does.<br>
<br>
If you ever need to create a ground, you have to buy a long metal
stake and put it in the ground and attach a thick enough wire to
it. No idea how long the stake has to be, or how thick the wire has
to be, though.<br>
<br>
— Mike<br>
<br>
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