IC's and Static

[Guitar Dude]

Hey,
I just got finished making the MXR Phase 45 from Tonepad. I'm already aware of possible reasons why it's not working but I'm wondering if I could've destroyed the TL072's in it.

I keep reading about taking anti-static precautions when handling IC's. Does this rule apply with all of them or just certain types? What kind of 'Anti-Static Procedures' should I be taking? According to my Altronics catalogue I need anti-static floor mats and clips and ground connections and table mats...presumably I don't need to spend hundreds of dollars just so I can bend those damn legs so they'll fit in their sockets!!!

Tim

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

The TL072 is very difficult to destroy by static electricity, in my opinion.

[Jay Doyle]

You need to read the FAQ, it contains info that would have told you that the RC4558 is a dual opamp, and it would tell you that all duals have the same pin out so any dual can be tried in that spot. It would also tell you how to debug a non-working effect. FWIW, I highly doubt that you blew the TL072 from static, MOSFET devices are the only ones you really need to worry about and then a lot of us have never blown those either. If you hooked up the power wrong THEN you may have fried the chip, but in general, if your circuit doesn't work, look to other factors such as wiring mistake, passive component being a wrong value, solder bridges WAY before you think you fried a part. Most of the parts we use (other than MOSFETs and Germanium devices) are incredibly robust and are built to be manhandled.

Not to lay it all on you, but we could save a lot of bandwidth and time if people searched for the answer themselves before posting a question here.

Aron, R.G., Jack, JD, FP at tonepad, and many others have done a tremendous amount of quality work, that, if read, would eliminate many of the problems people faced in a shorter time it takes than posting and waiting for a response.

Again, not to bust on you, a lot of people need to read more.

Respectfully,

Jay Doyle

[Guitar Dude]

Hey man,
I can respect that you hate assholes wasting your bandwidth, and believe me, I read those FAQs religiously...they just get a little technical sometimes and yeah, I search before I ask anything but my searches invariably lead to the FAQ's that I've already gone over...I'm sorry man, now I feel guilty for asking all the other dumb questions I've asked tonight, I just figured that people would be willing to help me so that I can pass the info on.

Tim

[smoguzbenjamin]

A beginners life: reading, reading reading, and also reading. There's so much to learn and so litle time to learn it!

[Jay Doyle]

Hey man, I don't think you are an asshole at all. I understand your dilemma, and I didn't mean to pick on you either, in fact I am sure that I chose the wrong time and place to jump up and down about this and I apologize.

As this hobby has grown in adherents, I have seen more and more people come here looking for the "quick fix" that the internet can provide and have gotten frustrated in the number of repeat posts of fairly simple questions that have been answered numerous times before, here as previous posts, in FAQs and in articles at the various excellent sites. I just wish that more people would utilize the FAQs and the search function (for example I did a search for "4558 substitute" and came up with over 500 matches on this site alone) to try and find the answer themselves before posting. I feel that a lot of people are coming over here from sites like musictoyz and Harmony Central who have done some fairly simple mods and try to jump in with both feet and consider this site the lifesaver instead of putting some work in themselves. A lot of work has been done to provide good, solid and helpful information on almost everything a beginner can face, it just takes a little work of your own to find it, and it frustrates me that it appears people are more willing to ask others to do the work for them instead of doing it themselves.

Again, this is a built up frustration, not one that should have been directed at you. And Again, I apologize.

Regards,

Jay Doyle

[keninverse]

simplest way to test an op-amp like this is to wire it up as a voltage follower...

[R.G.]

1. Work in your bathroom with the shower spraying hot water. The steam makes the air humid, and static can't build up when the air's humid
2. Work on a bare concrete floor in your bare feet. Human skin is slightly conductive, so is bare concrete. No static buildup.

Otherwise, it's antistatic mats, wrist bands, ionizers, static safe work stations, etc.

[Peter Snowberg]

Hi Tim,

First off, bandwidth and questions are two things that are never a problem here. Please don't ever worry about either, in fact, this place exists for the asking of questions so ask away.

I think you're in safe territory. I had the pleasure of flying into Auckland and driving down to Rotorua a few years back. I got to ski at Whakapapa  too. The only place where it seemed like static would be an issue would be in the highland area around the volcanoes. Everywhere else just seemed too lush for static to be much of an issue.

In general, if you don't notice static shocks from shuffling across the carpet on a dry day, your region should be fairly safe. To make your work area safe enough for much more sensitive gear than most pedals, connect up a 1 meg resistor to a good ground and to a piece of metal you can easily touch while working. Now just clip a wire to that piece of metal and to a metal watch band. If your working with most things and you want to be static safe, just touch the metal before you touch components or boards. If you're working with more sensitive stuff, add the clip and watchband. As RG mentioned, bare feet are a good thing too and negative ion generators create a nice neutralized area.


Jay,

I understand where you're coming from but it's not worth getting frustrated about. The best way IMHO to deal with that frustration is to do the search as you did, and see if there's something in the FAQ, and if so just post a quick link to that message with a smiley and something like "Try searching for 4558 substitutes and you'll get over 500 matches. "  

Most new folks haven't seen the massive amount of information in the archives here. Remember, when it comes to effects guts, this site is the top of the heap. You must show compassion for the folks who have not had the benefit of searching here . Think about it.... how useful is the search at some of those "other" effects sites . If I want noise I have pedals for that. The search here is more like a digital delay than a fuzzface.

Take care,
-Peter

[Jay Doyle]

Peter,

Got it, I'll keep it to myself from now on.

Jay

[sfr]

You know, the only solder-burn I've ever gotten was on my feet.  That sucker hurt for a heck of a while.

Uh - sorry. . .

[smoguzbenjamin]

I had a soldering-iron burn on my wrist a while back. That'll probably be a scar left over from that