I have a lovely pair of slippers which I obviously wear around the house. Problem is, whenever I touch my hifi equipment I get a shock.
I know the slippers are the culprit because if I don't wear them.... We'll, no shock.
Floor is vinyl.
How can I modify my slippers?
I know the slippers are the culprit because if I don't wear them.... We'll, no shock.
Floor is vinyl.
How can I modify my slippers?
I tap the nearby wall sconce just before interacting with my audio system during the dry winter months. It’s a ritualistic habit now. Keep the slippers and comfort.
There is an antistatic liquid treatment for vinyl floor. I can't remember the name, but it is used in industrial buildings, like electronic assembly lines etc.
It may be that the air in your listening room is too dry to dispel the static charge on your vinyl and slippers.
Rather than modify your slippers you could try using a humidifier.
Alternatively you could try wearing real leather soled slippers: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mens-Leath...prefix=leather+soled+slippers,aps,142&sr=8-24
Rather than modify your slippers you could try using a humidifier.
Alternatively you could try wearing real leather soled slippers: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mens-Leath...prefix=leather+soled+slippers,aps,142&sr=8-24
You could always wrap your slippers in aluminum foil (inside and out, to ensure good body contact). Seriously, this is a problem, especially in drier climates. I usually touch the chassis or other grounded object before touching any controls. Now if I can just figure out how to avoid getting zapped by my vehicle every time I slide out of the seat and touch the door handle. Touch the ground first? That would be sure to get some funny looks in the parking lot.
This reminds me of my former colleague Jim Strickland when he was developing the remote control for the Hafler IRIS preamp. The remote had a metal body, and therefore Jim had concerns about static susceptibility. Being in Florida with its high humidity, there were no 'natural' instances of static electricity. To test, Jim would sit on an insulated stool and touch the output of an Acoustat bias power supply (5 kV) to charge up his body with "static". Worked pretty well although we all thought he was nuts doing it.
This reminds me of my former colleague Jim Strickland when he was developing the remote control for the Hafler IRIS preamp. The remote had a metal body, and therefore Jim had concerns about static susceptibility. Being in Florida with its high humidity, there were no 'natural' instances of static electricity. To test, Jim would sit on an insulated stool and touch the output of an Acoustat bias power supply (5 kV) to charge up his body with "static". Worked pretty well although we all thought he was nuts doing it.
Note that the air tends to be drier in the winter. Did you experience such static shocks during the summer?
We are all aware that static charges are developed when two dissimilar insulators rub together.
Dry leather is an insulator, but moist leather is a conductor and will leak away static charge.
We can be sure that leather soled slippers will be conductive due to the moisture exuded by the wearer's sweaty feet!
We are all aware that static charges are developed when two dissimilar insulators rub together.
Dry leather is an insulator, but moist leather is a conductor and will leak away static charge.
We can be sure that leather soled slippers will be conductive due to the moisture exuded by the wearer's sweaty feet!
https://www.export.kaiserkraft.com/...ive/for-esd-matting-and-tabletops/p/M1082137/
https://www.aclstaticide.com/categories/floor-finishes
There might be other products too, the working principle is the same.
https://www.aclstaticide.com/categories/floor-finishes
There might be other products too, the working principle is the same.
Hmm, I don't have any sconces / sconcai (?)
However, I could install a metal plate connected to ground for to touch before interaction with the hifi...
Probably cheaper than a 40 pound pair of slippers.
Nice!
You could put your hifi on an ESD-safe mat. Digikey and Mouser are your friends in need for those.
The mats are electrostatic dissipative, i.e., mildly conductive. Ground the mat with the grounding cord that it comes with. Then touch the mat before you touch your hifi.
A few years ago we went through a cold spell. The outdoor temperature didn't exceed -20ºC for the month of February. Needless to say, there wasn't a lot of humidity in the air around then, so I started to experiment with various discharging options as I was getting really tired of getting zapped. I attached various resistors to a grounded screw and touched the end of the resistor. Even 100 kΩ of series resistance didn't make the zap any less painful. 1 MΩ helped a little bit. With 10 MΩ the spark just jumped from one end of the resistor to the other and I was back to square one. 🙂
Tom
The mats are electrostatic dissipative, i.e., mildly conductive. Ground the mat with the grounding cord that it comes with. Then touch the mat before you touch your hifi.
A few years ago we went through a cold spell. The outdoor temperature didn't exceed -20ºC for the month of February. Needless to say, there wasn't a lot of humidity in the air around then, so I started to experiment with various discharging options as I was getting really tired of getting zapped. I attached various resistors to a grounded screw and touched the end of the resistor. Even 100 kΩ of series resistance didn't make the zap any less painful. 1 MΩ helped a little bit. With 10 MΩ the spark just jumped from one end of the resistor to the other and I was back to square one. 🙂
Tom
We (my partner and I) had a similar issue with our couch: we had it impregnated with something to make it easier to clean (stupid decision for several reasons, in retrospect), and since then, we often got quite unpleasant shocks when we got up from the couch and touched anything made from metal.
I solved it with an earthed mains plug and a high-voltage resistor of about 30 Mohm. We now touch a very short wire at the end of the resistor after getting up from the couch before touching anything else. The other side of the resistor is connected to protective earth. The discharge time constant with the self-capacitance of a human body is about 3 ms, so touching it for a moment is enough.
By the way, a metal plate could lead to a shock again due to the self-capacitance of the plate. It really has to be a small contact point.
Edit: it was a resistor from an old television set, probably rated for at least 30 kV. I later made another discharging point with two brand-new 15 Mohm, 7.5 kV resistors in series. That also works well.
I solved it with an earthed mains plug and a high-voltage resistor of about 30 Mohm. We now touch a very short wire at the end of the resistor after getting up from the couch before touching anything else. The other side of the resistor is connected to protective earth. The discharge time constant with the self-capacitance of a human body is about 3 ms, so touching it for a moment is enough.
By the way, a metal plate could lead to a shock again due to the self-capacitance of the plate. It really has to be a small contact point.
Edit: it was a resistor from an old television set, probably rated for at least 30 kV. I later made another discharging point with two brand-new 15 Mohm, 7.5 kV resistors in series. That also works well.
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We actually tried that first, but the anti-dirt impregnation also proved very effective against antistatic spray.
You can get anti static heel straps for shoes like this:
https://www.antistat.co.uk/product/esd-heel-strap-with-clip-fastener/
Or anti static wrist straps are made from conductive Velcro, so maybe a piece of that from inside of your slipper to underneath
Brian
https://www.antistat.co.uk/product/esd-heel-strap-with-clip-fastener/
Or anti static wrist straps are made from conductive Velcro, so maybe a piece of that from inside of your slipper to underneath
Brian
Get a metal object, using a 100k to 1m resistor, connect it to the Safety Ground/Protective Earth.
Touch it before touching your hi-fi equipment.
Touch it before touching your hi-fi equipment.
DOH!!
I don't think 1 MΩ (not mΩ) is enough. At least not at the humidity levels I find myself in. I'd want something in the 10-100 MΩ range. It would not surprise me if I can charge myself to several tens of kV on a dry day.
But here's an idea: Get a piece of antistatic foam, maybe 50x50 mm. Connect a grounded wire to it. That could be done simply by using solid core wire and stabbing it into the foam. A more permanent solution could be to adhere it with conductive epoxy or something. Then just touch the foam to discharge yourself. The foam is mildly conductive (= electrostatic dissipative).
You probably have a piece of such foam somewhere from a parts order, so it's practically zero cost to try. If it works you can always make it pretty by embedding the foam in a wooden plinth or something.
Tom
Are the slippers amenable to application of dilute fabric softener? That can help if conditions aren't extreme.
Can these zaps be damaging. ? To equipment that is?
I was going to ask about this yesterday and then I saw this thread. Me and my wife are getting some good belts of late and wondered if something was amiss with any wiring.
I've just installed some GRS planars atop my speakers and they got a few sparks yesterday. And sometimes my led flat screen gets one too and I'm pretty sure I see the 'pixels' local to the zap do something they probably shouldn't !
I was going to ask about this yesterday and then I saw this thread. Me and my wife are getting some good belts of late and wondered if something was amiss with any wiring.
I've just installed some GRS planars atop my speakers and they got a few sparks yesterday. And sometimes my led flat screen gets one too and I'm pretty sure I see the 'pixels' local to the zap do something they probably shouldn't !
Yes, although equipment should be pretty well protected against electrostatic discharges. The ESD requirements for equipment are usually much stricter than those for electronic parts.