GROUNDING - assistance on how NOT to shock yourself
I live in Wisconsin. In winter the static buildup comes out when I lift the turntable needle. Even though I know it's coming it remains SHOCKING. I'd hate to damage my cartridge.
Can I attach a wire to the Pre-amp ground and touch it to remove my static?
Do I need to wear rubber sole shoes? or have a rubber mat?
Help on this would be appreciated.
Wearing rubber will probably make it worse. you can touch something grounded to get rid of the static before touching your audio equipment but it will still shock you. assuming you don't mind, that will fix it. I think any ground will do but it might be worth it to run a ground wire back to a wall outlet. Someone with more experience with this will probably make a better suggestion. Jerry |
I’d discourage you from using your gear as a ground path. You may have several pieces of gear that are already grounded, and when you walk across the rug you build up a charge. The problem is that the discharge can induce a pop or surge inside your components. If you want a painless solution I’d suggest adding humidity to your listening room. Otherwise, get yourself a grounding station by using a 3 prong plug and wire only the center ground pin. Of course, before doing even that I'd always suggest using a 3 prong outlet tester to ensure the outlet is wired correctly. :) |
OP: I just thought of something. Maybe a static discharge mat like these would work for you? They offer a high impedance path to ground, so it may take a few seconds to dissipate a static charge you build up. Not honestly sure how well they’d work in your situation, but certainly would prevent the pain. Another alternative is a metal key. The large surface area of the key means you don’t discharge from 1 point, making it less painful. |
@tjjunk I live in WI also and feel your pain (literally) from shocks during the winter. It seems when the temperatures are mild and in the 30's the air can hold more moisture and the risk of static shock is low. When we have extended days with temperatures in the teens and single digits the air is drier and the risk of static shock is a lot higher. That's when I break out the humidifier. It really helps cut down on the static shocks. I also run one in the bedroom at night so my throat doesn't dry out and seems to help prevent colds. I have procrastinated adding a humidifier to the furnace due to the expense but that's another option. I have also thought about a static discharge mat as suggested by @erik_squires but never tried it. |
Well, you can add some humidity in a variety of ways, by putting a pan of water on a hot surface. Not your amps, of course, but if you have radiant heat or something like that. The mats DO work, just not sure what the discharge rate is. They are designed for technicians who are sitting at the mats while they work. Not really meant for quick zap fixes. :D |
I purchased an inexpensive cool mist humidifier a few weeks ago as it’s been getting dry from Noon to Late Afternoon (21% right now). You would probably want a larger one to run all the time (I get a marine layer in most evenings). Works fine with filtered tap water (clean and let it air dry every other day which only take a few minutes). I've used evaporative pans/basins in the past, but they were not doing enough this Winter.
DeKay |
I use an Air Care whole house humidifier during the winter months due to my wife’s health concerns. 3 years ago, it cost $179.95 from Home Depot but may be more now. The humidifier is in the kitchen and the stereo is 2 rooms away. I get absolutely no static discharge anywhere in the house now. You can set the humidifier for a various amount of humidity. I found 55% to be just right. |
I have a strip of tin-coated copper bus-bar screwed to the wall beside my turntable. It is connected to a 50K resistor, connected to ground (in this case, a copper cold-water pipe nearby). The bus-bar doesn't make it more effective, but it's definitely a better look than a chunk of 14 AWG. It doesn't eliminate the shock, but it makes it more bearable. |
another Wisconsinite here and I can attest to the aridity. In my case, I simply touch the metal base of my "equipment lamp" that is next to the turntable before I lift the tonearm, for some reason this doesn't create the same "POP" and I don't feel any kind of static shock (possibly because I'm anticipating it v. getting surprised). While I do have a big area rug in the room, the equipment rack is on a bare wooden floor. |
A lot of gear uses a "floating" ground (better called a neutral). With out knowing how your gear is wired, it is hard to say if using the grounding lug on your preamp is "safe." I would expect any decent phono preamp's TT ground lug to be "lifted" from earth to avoid common mode interference and not be connected directly to earth. Your amps should be fine with discharging the static, but a lot of gear leaves out important fail safes in order to keep the signal pure. That said, class A amps are pretty much immune to this type of abuse.
If you are worried about it, you need the same hand that lifts the cartridge to be grounded. You can buy a grounding cord. It looks like a 3prong extension cord, but it only has the earth wire, and either an alligator clip or ring lug on the other end. Plug it into the same outlet that the TT is plugged into, pick up the lug to ground yourself, and move the TT arm while holding the lug. wintery dry hands also do not conduct as well as healthy moist skin, so a bit of lotion (or just lick your palm). It might have the bonus to bringing less dust onto the record as well. |
Why wouldn't a ground lug be "safe"?
Huh? Something would be amiss if there's no continuity between the phono preamp ground lug and actual earth ground. The only way to ensure protection from common mode interference would be to used a balanced phono preamp with balanced connections to the phono cartridge, while maintaining separation between the earth ground and the cartridge's neutral leads. |
To: tjjunk. I have installed Electrostatic Dissipation (ESD) mats on the floor in front of my equipment racks to mitigate the charge. The units I purchased are not tethered. I find that going barefoot completely eliminates the problem. Wearing cotton socks in cooler weather is 90% effective. My music listening room has quality Berber carpeting on a thick pad placed over 3/4" plywood. The plywood (second) floor is "glue and screw" and sealed, eliminating squeaks and significantly helping seepage of noise from outside and the first floor. The ESD mats are 3'x5', and the price was $100 each. Colors are black, grey, and blue. As an aside, I honestly can say my body generates a significant amount of static electricity. [Perhaps it is attributable to 33 years working on irradiated nosetips on ICBMs and spacecraft. |
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