My anti-static strap has a springy coil ending in an alligator clip.  It's always so much fun when you're working on something, turn and the clip comes off only to whack you in the head...

I seem to recall the cheap ones having a lead with a sticky part that you'd stick to the grounding point. Been so long since I've seen one though I can't remember. That was before I actually made any building attempts.

Beepster

Remember when pretty much all computer parts came with an anti static bracelet? I did not get a single one with any of the parts for my DAW. Now they just tell you to touch an outlet every so often while you're building. Very annoying.

I don't ever remember getting anti-static straps with components. I do have one that I bought on my own though.

The wife came home from the barn where she boards her horse one night during the winter. She smelled like the barn and went in the bedroom to change her clothes. She took off her sweater and it lit up like a mini lightning storm all around it as she was taking it off. It was cool frickin' cool.

urgh... intercom issues and hanging curtains. Static light shows are always cool... but not near gear.

Why no more avatars, bub? Are you still out of love with us? :-(

Wow. I understand the issue with static in the winter - it's the heating that does it. Grew up outside Chicago with its stinking cold winters.

Anyway, since moving to New Mexico, it's an all-year-long problem. There are some days in the summer where the humidity goes to single digits.

Oh... I didn't mean the intercom and curtains were getting screwed up because of static if that's what you meant. I was just moaning about other annoyances. 

But yes... it is extremely dry in here. I think I might snag the infrared heater and see if using that instead of the baseboard heat helps. I worry about that thing though. It supposedly permeates everything in the room and heats it up. Doesn't sound good for gear but it didn't asplode anything in my old room. 

Beepster

urgh... intercom issues and hanging curtains. Static light shows are always cool... but not near gear.

Why no more avatars, bub? Are you still out of love with us? :-(

Well, did you see the thread where I was talking about the fancy new wireless router I have that I can stream all my files over that are my HDD that's hooked to it? Well ... my ISP went down last weekend and I was unplugging stuff in my router room on the other end of the house to see if it was on my end. I forgot to plug in my network HDD ... and I went to change my avy's the other day, and clicked the link icon and realized I forgot to plug it back in but I keep forgetting to walk to the other end of the house and hook it back up.

The other thing is ... we don't use that side of the house, but one of our dogs does. :( So on my way back out of the router room I blocked the hallway back up with a bunch of moving boxes so she can't get back there to her favorite spot in the hallway and it's just a pain in the ass to get back there.

As miserable an S.O.B. as I am, I couldn't imagine not coming here and talking to you and the others. It's really the only thing that keeps me sane(ish). So yes, I'm still in love with you all. :-)

Beepster



I got one zap yesterday that went through my jeans and long johns into my knee that felt like I got tap by a doctors medical hammer. Crazy.

That's pretty intense for static. Reminds me of our room in Spain. I'm sure the wiring was totally messed up in that place - it was living inside a giant electro-magnetic-whatsoever. 


How's your guitar doing? My usually relatively quiet humbucker was buzzing non-sense in that room. I remember one time I heard this weird noise just before both of the lamps on each side of the bed went poof!

Keeping my hand a few millimeters over the laptop (one of those those aluminum MacBook Pro), I could actually feel the static. I'd get shocks from kissing my wife whenever she had the laptop on her.

Keep a couple pots of water sitting on the stove and it will evaporate into the air. The electric heat acts much like one of those fruit dehydrators. Lots of static charges (at 20,000+ volts) and ultra low humidity. If you have guitars it will torment you. Poly finishes will actually produce crackling through an amp as you move you hand on the neck or across the pick guard.

If you can afford a humidifier you should get one. Keep the bathroom door open when you take a shower and it will help.

Beepster

Why no more avatars, bub? Are you still out of love with us? :-(

Fixed.