[sdiy] CMOS IC heat damage

[Czech Martin]

A good iron should not be connected to protective ground.
It should be transformer isolated, runnning
from low voltage and then connetced to the 
ESD table mat and finally to protective ground via 1 Meg or so.

Anything else should not be used for semiconductor electronic.

For some reasons floating irons like to charge up very much
(perhaps Teflon, perhaps dry, hot air), the discharge 
is so hard that only few ESD protection devices (if any)
will take it. Could also happen with a gas fired iron.

I have slayed several transistors and ICs this way, until
I was fed up and bought appropriate equipment.


m.c.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
> [mailto:owner-synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl]On Behalf Of Paul Schreiber
> Sent: Mittwoch, 16. Juni 2004 04:14
> To: Charles Brodeur; synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
> Subject: Re: [sdiy] CMOS IC heat damage
> 
> 
> The tips of soldering irons are connected to *ground*. I 
> found out the hard way
> in 1979, when I *blew up* a $8,000 Tek scope soldering on a 
> switching power
> supply.
> 
> Paul S.
> 
>