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static-grounding of meter movements?

K

Ken Weitzel

Jan 1, 1970
0
how to effectively put an analog-meter's clear plastic cover at dc
ground, to prevent buildup of static charge?

Hi...

Wipe it down with a clean cloth moistened with just a bit of
dilute liquid fabrid softener occasionally :)

Take care.

Ken
 
S

Spehro Pefhany

Jan 1, 1970
0
On 10 Feb 2006 13:01:07 -0800, the renowned
how to effectively put an analog-meter's clear plastic cover at dc
ground, to prevent buildup of static charge?

Ha, that's a good one. Try an anti-static liquid or spray. You can buy
(expensive) stuff for electronics or try a consumer anti-static spray
compatible with the plastic (probably acrylic). Test before spraying
it all over the cover.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
 
F

Frank Bemelman

Jan 1, 1970
0
how to effectively put an analog-meter's clear plastic cover at dc
ground, to prevent buildup of static charge?

Replace the movement with a digital readout.
 
J

jerry wass

Jan 1, 1970
0
how to effectively put an analog-meter's clear plastic cover at dc
ground, to prevent buildup of static charge?
In Lieu of sprays & wet stuff--get one of those fabric-softner paper
rags ya throw in the drier to stop static kling. get a string anywhere
from 24 to 37 inches long, tie one end of it to the paper towel, & the
other end to a place you can reach in the cockpit.

wipe meter occasionally..

Jerry
 
J

Jim Thompson

Jan 1, 1970
0
how to effectively put an analog-meter's clear plastic cover at dc
ground, to prevent buildup of static charge?

Commercially this is done with a very thin metallic film over the
plastic... so thin that it's not visible.

I don't know if there's a DIY way to do it.

...Jim Thompson
 
D

Dasha Grant

Jan 1, 1970
0
ONLY A HOMOSEXUAL WOULD WORRY ABOUT BUILD UP OF STATIC CHARGE
 
R

Richard Lamb

Jan 1, 1970
0
Jim said:
What a scumbag. Bye.

...Jim Thompson

I realize that this kind of behavior is common on most of the net,
but it is NOT welcome at RAH.

Please take your ugly attitude (and language) and go away until
you can display some maturity and a bit of self control.

Richard
 
S

SQLit

Jan 1, 1970
0
how to effectively put an analog-meter's clear plastic cover at dc
ground, to prevent buildup of static charge?


I had this problem with a Simpson 260 years ago. Some uninformed person used
something to wipe the plastic screen/cover with something that imparted
static. Drove the needle crazy.
I ended up replacing the screen/cover and the problem when away.

I do not think that grounding the screen, non conductive to the dc ground is
going to help.
but I have been wrong before.
 
E

ELIPPSE

Jan 1, 1970
0
With a little practice, you can get the needle to point just about
anywhere you want! 'Comes in handy when you are trying to impress
someone with a good reading about some quantity! By the way, not
limited to plastic. Glass faces hold the charge well, too!
 
J

Jerry Avins

Jan 1, 1970
0
SQLit wrote:

...
I do not think that grounding the screen, non conductive to the dc ground is
going to help.
but I have been wrong before.

Use what's at hand. On one occasion, I used fine wire cloth inside the
cover (grounded, of course). In RF transmitters, we used wire cloth not
to prevent static build-up, but to prevent RF leakage from the rack.


Jerry
 
R

Risto Tiilikainen

Jan 1, 1970
0
how to effectively put an analog-meter's clear plastic cover at dc
ground, to prevent buildup of static charge?
Hi !

Visit the nearest university where is an electron microscope.
They have sputter devices to cover EM samples with a thin gold, silver
or carbon layer.

Maybe you can motivate them to sputter your meter front plate with a
thin and practically invisible gold layer .
Ask them to sputter the inside of the plate.
They have also silver paint for SEM samples
You need to paint a narrow conductor outside from this sputtered inner
surface to ground the sputtered area.
Best to paint a conductor to all 4 corners

Once I sputtered a table tennisball with gold.
The idea was to make a very light corona hat for a low band wire
vertical lifted by helium balloon

73, Risto OH2BT
 
K

Keith

Jan 1, 1970
0
Commercially this is done with a very thin metallic film over the
plastic... so thin that it's not visible.

I don't know if there's a DIY way to do it.

Dish washing soap? IIRC, something similar is used in anti-stat baggies.
 
P

Paul E. Schoen

Jan 1, 1970
0
Jim Thompson said:
Commercially this is done with a very thin metallic film over the
plastic... so thin that it's not visible.

I don't know if there's a DIY way to do it.

...Jim Thompson

When I worked at EIL many years ago as a meter technician, we had antistatic
spray that we applied both inside and outside the plastic meter covers. It
was probably very similar to a detergent or fabric softener. I think such
sprays are still available from Tech-Spray or similar suppliers, and also
places that cater to electronics repair, like MCM. I think antistatic sprays
are also used on drive belts in VCRs and tape players.

Some meters I worked on had a metal plate on the lower part of the inside
cover, and it was connected to the frame of the movement with a small leaf
spring.

I have seen some sensitive meters where the pointer could be dragged to half
scale, and would stay there for a while, by rubbing the outside of the
plastic cover. This is certainly a concern for accuracy. The older glass
cover windows did not have such problems with static.
 
Y

Yukio YANO

Jan 1, 1970
0
Risto said:
Hi !

Visit the nearest university where is an electron microscope.
They have sputter devices to cover EM samples with a thin gold, silver
or carbon layer.

Maybe you can motivate them to sputter your meter front plate with a
thin and practically invisible gold layer .
Ask them to sputter the inside of the plate.
They have also silver paint for SEM samples
You need to paint a narrow conductor outside from this sputtered inner
surface to ground the sputtered area.
Best to paint a conductor to all 4 corners

Once I sputtered a table tennisball with gold. The idea was to make a
very light corona hat for a low band wire vertical lifted by helium
balloon

73, Risto OH2BT
Carbon works best for this particular problem but can't be Sputtered
ie. You need to use the High Vaccumn set-up to Evaporate a Carbon Film.
I think the Fabric Softener is the more practical way for most people.
The Carbon film is used to reduce charging problems with the Electron
beam ! And the fabric softener is incompatible with the Ultra High
Vacuumn systems used .

RE Sputter coated Tennis ball, Talk about taking the phrase "Gilding the
Lily" to new heights !! A small sheet of aluminum foil would have done
as well, but would not look as impressive.

Been there done that.

BTW a modification of the Carbon Coating Process is used to produce a
Diamond Coating on high-tech surfaces.



Yukio YANO
VE5YS
 
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