ESD And Heatsink...... Help!

is there anyway to ground myself without buying one of those bracelets? like using a wire or something hooked to my desk??
Im tired of fring diodes!! also is there a ghetto way to heatsink while your soldering the diode??!!!!
Thanks LPF!!!!! [smiley=beer.gif],
Tone1132

To ground yourself you can just use a piece of stranded wire wrapped around your arm that's connected to the back of your pc.
As for the diode, you can just press it in the aixiz module before soldering it, that'll be enough heatsinking, just make sure you solder quick.

To ground yourself you can just use a piece of stranded wire wrapped around your arm that's connected to the back of your pc.

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This is something stronly adviced against, really. Those bracelets contain a large resistor, so they will conduct enough to remove static buildup, but not to get you electrocuted should you touch a live wire while using it.

If you must DIY, at least insert a 1 MOhm resistor that is rated for your local mains voltage in series.

Also, make very sure your PC is well grounded if you plan to use it as a ground. If it's not in a grounded socket, most put about half mains voltage on their casings due to the mains power filter. This is usually enough to give you a decent zap if you touch anything grounded, though normally not very dangerous.

I think you're supposed to put socks on and rub your feet around on the carpet while rubbing a balloon on your head. ;D

hmm this brings up a good point. I am about to harvest an open can diode out of a driver, what precautions do I need to take to prevent the diode getting killed by ESD????