Nobody likes getting zapped from an electrostatic discharge, no matter whether you’re a fragile ASIC or a bag-of-mostly-salty-water humanoid. To prevent this, ESD wrist straps and similar are essential tools, as they prevent the build-up of a charge on your humanoid’s skin, essentially like a very large electrolyte-filled capacitor. Yet you can buy wireless ESD straps everywhere that are supposed to somehow dissipate this charge into the ether, even though this would seem to undermine the laws of physics that make capacitors work.
In a practical experimentation and assorted hijinks video collaboration by [Linus] from Linus Tech Tips and [Mehdi Sadaghdar] from ElectroBOOM put these wireless ESD straps to the test, featuring [Mehdi]’s DIY Van de Graaff generator to charge [Linus] up. What is excellently demonstrated in this video is how effective a real ESD strap is, and how the ‘wireless’ version is just a scam that does absolutely nothing to dissipate the charge, being just a waste of a 1 MOhm resistor and what could have been a real ESD strap.
Also covered in the video are what the reason for the resistor in an ESD strap is, and why metal bracelet type ESD straps are not appropriate, for very good reasons.
(Thanks to [hackbyte] for the tip)
Very amusing, but he could have avoided the zap by holding a metal bar and using that to touch things. Just sayin’.
But you ‘must’ have some drama for a video :rolleyes: :) . Who would watch it if no ‘zaps’? All about getting ‘views’. Just sayin’ .
Maybe that was the intended usage of the less scammy one (the one with a resistor inside), not a real wireless esd wrist strap as advertised, but some sort of gizmo that lets you discharge yourself without being zapped by touching a ground with the external metal plate of the wrist strap to get discharged trough the resistor and be ready to work with electronics.
I didn’t even know wireless ESD straps was a thing that people were selling. I would think that anyone searching for an ESD strap would need to know a bit about how electricity works before coming to the conclusion that they need an ESD strap.
Maybe this is something that is marketed to kids who are building their first PCs. But you don’t need one to build a PC, and Linus himself often handles components on camera without any protection. Granted, he is based in humid Vancouver, but for most PC builds you can just touch or grab a plugged-in PSU to discharge before handling components.
Is it because ESD straps have fallen out of vogue with home PC builders that we’re collectively starting to forget how they work or why you would need one?
Linus has pointed out many times that he wears one on his ankle when he builds on camera.
Wireless ESD protection:
3M Model 909 Nuclear Ionizing Air Blower
https://youtu.be/ufkQJjq0O1w
Whouw! That’s a good find! ;)
Reminds me of the Staticmaster brush.
I’d be concerned that that glitter might be the same thorium that’s been found in all kinds of “negative ion” bracelets, etc.
Next you’ll tell me that the anti-radiation sticker on my phone doesn’t work either. :(
Of course it works! You haven’t died of radiation (or tiger attack) while using it!
If you can see the tiger, it isn’t hunting you..
I have some complaints about border incursions by spiders in violation of The Treaty.
Wireless ESD wrist strap worked just fine for the Verge PC Build guy!
https://youtu.be/0vmQOO4WLI4?t=138
That Dave guy on the EEVblog (or whatever) made a video years ago debunking those straps.
I still wonder if this product is lost in translation and it’s just an ESD strap without wire, i.e. the wearer is expected to attach to a wire that’s affixed to the work station.
That is certainly a very “charitable” interpretation of what comes across as pure scam, otherwise.
It’s not simply a translation error. Many of the advertisements straight up tell you that a ground wire is not needed. Along with that, if you look at a picture of the wireless ones, they are missing the snap for the ground wire. These aren’t ESD bracelets that you have to order a separe ground wire for. The manufacturer sells them expressly as not needing a ground wire and not having a place to connect a ground wire.
Pure BS.
It might also be possible that in the beginning it was an honest translation error.
Then it blew up and a pracmatic chinese guy thought “If they want it …”
If there is demand for a Meme product, someone will sell a Meme product.
In that case i think it is not even a scam. ^^ Same as figet spinners.
Michael Scott anyone?
I’m sick and tired of getting suggested fucking linus videos by YT, and now here too? Bloody hell
+1
I’m sorry … but i thought it was a really good one. ;)
Install in Firefox the “unhook” extension and get all the YouTube suggested videos just removed from your screen. It is really good.
Thanks for your suggestion but I like some random suggestions with my youtubes to discover new things, just not that linus guy and not so damn much of that linus guy.
What I need is a more sophisticated add-on that figures out specific persons in the suggestions and then removes those.
Doesn’t YouTube have a “don’t recommend this channel” option via the … button next to each video on the home screen? Seems like you’d just not be seeing Linus if you actually didn’t want to see him.
The “fitness band” one they tried gave me the “oh no its another thorium product that shouldn’t be on amazon” vibes.
I find my biggest need for static discharge is when I’m petting my cat. So far, the best solution is to hold the cat with one hand while petting with the other, but that method cannot always be employed.