Electrostatic DischargeElectrostatic discharge (ESD) can damage or destroy electronic components. All work on electronic assemblies should be performed at a static-safe work station. Figure l-5 shows an example of a static-safe work station using two types of ESD protection:
•Conductive table-mat and wrist-strap combination.
•Conductive floor-mat and heel-strap combination
Both types, when used together, provide a significant level of ESD protection. Of the two, only the table-mat and wrist-strap combination provides adequate ESD protection when used alone.
To ensure user safety, the static-safe accessories must provide at least 1 Mdl of isolation from ground. Refer to Table l-5 for information on ordering static-safe accessories.
Reducing Damage Caused by ESD
The following suggestions may help reduce ESD damage that occurs during testing and servicing operations.
•Before connecting any coaxial cable to an cable TV analyzer connector for the first time each day, momentarily ground the center and outer conductors of the cable.
•Personnel should be grounded with a resistor-isolated wrist strap before touching the center pin of any connector and before removing any assembly from the unit.
•Be sure that all instruments are properly earth-grounded to prevent a buildup of static charge.
Table l-5 lists static-safe accessories that can be obtained from Hewlett-Packard by using the HP part numbers shown.