how to ground your body?

[jeff262]

i am going to be making a landtastic, the first one didn't come out right so i though i would make sure the second one didn't have anything to do with static electricity. do you ground yourself?
thanks jeff

[TMetalMan]

Usually when I am working with electronics I use a little wristband thingy with an alligator clip. I picked it up at the local electronics store. I stuck a bolt into the grounding spot on an outlet(lower one) as far as it would go and attached the alligator clip to it. When you work with capacitors and resistors it isn't necessary to ground yourself. Whenever I work with anything else I ground myself just to make sure I don't burn anything out.

[Andy W]

I've messed with a lot of static-sensitive equipment, and never had one die on me. I do, however, make a habit of not walking around when I'm working. Once seated, or standing, at my workbench, I touch a piece of grounded equipment. That takes care of any static.

Not very scientific, but I can only share my experience..
..a

[ToyBoy]

When I used to build/modify computers a lot, I would sit on the floor and do it. I'd touch something grounded every so often too, because I was never sure if just touching the floor with my hands and feet was enough.

I just built a couple of MicroScreams which was my first foray into DIY electronics in years. It has a static-sensitive MOSFET, so I was a bit worried. I don't have a grounding strap, so I just made sure I had bare feet and tried not to touch the pins of the transistors. I know there is some static in either myself or my (plastic) work table, because I can feel the hairs on my arms sticking to the table. So I did all my work on a notepad instead of the table surface. No problems so far.

I know I should get one of those grounding straps, and I will, but does anyone know if having my bare foot touch the carpet actually helps or not?

[RogWarTheOAP]

I know I should get one of those grounding straps, and I will, but does anyone know if having my bare foot touch the carpet actually helps or not?

Not if you have a nylon carpet - It could be worse.
Perceived wisdom is to earth via at least 220k, more usually >1Mohm. It's sufficient conductivity to remove the static if you give it a minute or two but not enough to kill you in the event of a short circuit somewhere. - A fault on equipment putting mains onto earth should blow a fuse or breaker but the ground can go high enough to give you a belt before the fuse blows (at least in the UK)

Personally I work on a relatively non conducting surface (wood, It will conductvery slightly but not enough to stop the circuit from working) and touch the radiator (which is earthed of course) before I start. Never had a problem at home. Work was a different matter but 'proper' antistatic precautions were used. Modern components seem to be less sensitive to static than they used to be.

The OAP