smh@mhuxl.UUCP (henning) (11/01/85)
**** **** From the keys of Steve Henning, AT&T Bell Labs, Reading, PA mhuxl!smh > I personally think this static business gets blown out of proportion. > I've handled A LOT of 256k DRAMs without blowing ONE, and I don't take > any elaborate precautions - I just don't do anything blatantly stupid > (like work in a polyester shirt under a wool sweater). > > I don't know who YOU work for, but MY employer DOES get empty boards and > populate them, and therefore save bo-ku bucks that can be better used to, > say, give me a raise (:-). LOTS of business types are wising up to the > big memory scam. The risk of esd (electrostatic discharge) is determined by a number of factors including humidity. In our Denver, Colorado plant, we saved "bo-ku bucks" by instituting a rather extensive esd prevention program. One thing to remember in a home made setup is to use a 1 meg resistor in series with the ground strap. The control of static in air conditioned clean rooms which manufacture these memory chips has increased yields and decreased cost also. If you work in fog, don't worry about esd. *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***