3-2 85054B
Use, Maintenance, and Care of the Devices
Electrostatic Discharge
Electrostatic Discharge
Protection against ESD (electrostatic dis charge) is essential while connecting, inspecting,
or cleaning connectors attached to a static-sensitive circuit (such as those found in test
sets).
Static electr icity can build up on your body and c an easily damage sensitive internal
circuit elements when discharged. Static discharges too small to be felt can cause
permanent dama ge. Devices such as calibration components and devices under test
(DUTs), can also carry an electrostatic charge. To prevent damage to the test set,
components, and devices:
•always wear a grounded wrist strap having a 1 MΩ resistor in series with it when
handling components and devic es or when making connections to the test set.
•always use a grounded, conductive table mat while making connections.
•always wear a heel strap when working in an area with a conductive floor. If you are
uncertain a bout the conductivity of your floor, wear a heel strap.
•always ground yourself before you clean, inspect, or make a connection to a
static-sens i ti ve device or test port. You can, f or ex ample, gras p t he grounded outer s hel l
of the test port or cable connector brief ly.
•always ground the center conductor of a test cable before making a connection to the
analyzer test port or other static-sensitive device. This c an be done as follows :
1. Connect a sho rt (f ro m your calib rati on kit) to one end of the cab le to shor t the c enter
conductor to the outer conductor.
2. While wearing a grounded wrist strap, g rasp the outer shell of the cable connector.
3. Connect the other end of the cable to the test por t.
4. Remove the short from the cable.
Refer to Chapter 6 , “Replaceable Parts,” for part n u mbers and in st ru ction s fo r o rde ring
ESD protection devices.
Figure 3-1 ESD Protection Setup