[ILUG] Dead BP6 and grounding straps

[Niall O Broin]

Jeremy Smyth said

>  *feeling like I'm stating the obvious*
>  
>  I've always just flicked the power switch to the socket on the outlet,
> leaving it earthed with no power.....

Fine and dandy iff you have a switched socket :-) or as someone else mentioned
turn off the hard power switch on the back of the PSU. Goodness but Kate must
be so happy at all the "after horse bolted" type advice he's getting :-)

On a slightly more serious note, but on the same topic, a lot of people have
mentioned anti static straps as if they are somehow a substitute for a grounded
cable to the box. An antistatic strap works by grounding you (via a big resistor
to protect both you and the components) and it can't ground you unless the end
which is not attached to you is attached to a ground e.g. the box of a PC which
IS plugged in.


Kindest regards,


Niall  O Broin		

UNIX Network Administrator 		 	nobroin at esoc.esa.de
Ground Systems Engineering Department		Ph./Fax  +49 6151 90 3619/2179
European Space Operations Centre, Darmstadt, Germany