piclist@ian.org wrote: > I have a fairly large collection of IC's and other electronic parts > (although most are several states away from me at the moment) and was > wondering how most of you store your stuff? > > IC's stuck into anti-static foam is good and I try to do that as much as > possible, but often the foam is stored in a plastic container which is NOT > conductive and so builds up static which can still be dangerous. > > Are there any clear anti-static sprays one could use to coat storage > containers to help with this? anti-static foam doesn't help much with > lots of loose items either which makes storing them a pain as well. > > I have a lot of plastic hobby-type boxes with subdivisions inside that > work great for passive parts, and it would be nice to use them for > sensitive ones as well. > > What I would love is more containers like this Microchip sample box I > picked up at a Hamfest: > > http://www.ian.org/Remote/MicrochipStorage1.jpg > http://www.ian.org/Remote/MicrochipStorage2.jpg > > I have tried things like this.. but I find it annoying to work with. > > http://www.ian.org/Remote/BugBox.jpg > > Also... is there a way with a multimeter to test anti-static properties? > Conductive foam is easy, and the black boxes above have very low > resistance too. But anti-static bags don't test as conductive at all. > I have a 5Kv leak tester (again, not HERE) but I am not clear if that > would test if a charge is building up or not. > > A test I just tried was the old plastic bar rubbed on rabits fur trick. > Rubbing the black boxes (whout chips inside!) then testing them showed > they collected no charge. Same with a silver EST bag. Pink anti-static > bags hold a small charge, and the Bug Boxes become highly charged, making > me wonder if I should use them at all. They are supposted to be made with > anti-static properties. > > So.. just what am I to make of all this? I defer to actual electrical > engineers here. :-) > > -- > ian SMith > www.ian.org > There is a spray compound called "cling free" that women use to reduce static electricity when they wear nylon stockings and hose. It works wonders on carpet, desktops, and plastic trays and boxes. But when it dries, the effect is mostly lost. There is also a carpet spray that does the same thing, and it takes a while for the chemical to dry out. One thing that works for us is to use empty anti-static bags inside the drawers. Just place the parts on top of the anti-static bags. But the best solution to ESD problems is a properly-grounded work station, with an antistatic wrist clip. --Bob A -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist