[mdlug] Conductive Tabletop Mats Vs ESD Mats Recommendations Please?

[Peter Bart]

On Sun, 20 Nov 2011 15:53:00 -0500
Jeff Hanson <jhansonxi at gmail.com> wrote:

> You could make your own caps, maybe with heat shrink tubing.  For ESD
> control you can increase humidity above 50% or just touch any grounded
> metal component before touching the laptop or dock.  I have a metal
> frame desk and I grounded the frame to a grounded duplex power
> receptacle and make it a point to touch it before I use my laptop.

	I'm afraid neither are a good option for me. I have a very
	limited supply of good grounds because our house was wired
	before the electricians considered that good practice. I have a
	ground wire run to the TVSS screw on the back of my UPS that
	connects to the only good ground I have, the waterpipe. But
	even that's not all that good, so I'm considering putting in
	grounding rods outside. 
> 
> Any cheap ESD mat will function but the differences are in the
> quality.  The better ones last longer and are resistant to burns from
> soldering equipment.  A grounded static-conductive (silvery) ESD bag
> would work.  Most motherboards ship with large ones.  You could also
> use aluminum foil or a thin aluminum plate.  You shouldn't need a
> floor mat.

	I would much prefer a good quality one and I'm willing to pay
	for it. I appreciate your solutions, I just want a bombproof
	solution at this point. I'm considering the Dualmat from ACL
	Staticide and the Ultimat from Static Solutions at this point.
-- 
Best Regards,

Peter The Plumber
<petertheplumber at att.net>