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[mg]

hello
i've bought a mackie control universal,  i'm having a few minor problems that their tech guy reckons is due to static electricity bulid up. he suggested touching the base of the unit now and again.  for whatever reason i seem to be the kind of person that electricity likes  to build up in (!) and i was wondering if there was a way i can keep myself permanently 'discharged' if you know what i mean (while i'm mixing...) rather than constantly touching metal things in my studio.

i've got carpet on the floor and i wear trainers all the time. does this mail make sense? i'm reading it back thinking i sound like a nutcase.

cheers
malcolm

[myoshida]

Hi,

Spray the carpetting with static free. Or you can place an anti static mat over the carpet which can be grounded to the controller. Or wear a wrist strap while mixing grounded to the device.

M Yoshida

[mg]

thanks for your help

[sdevino]

try adding a humidifier to the room. Static is mostly generated in very dry environments. A $30 humidifier can cure the static, save lots of your computer gear and make everyone more comfortable in the end.

Steve

[Greg Norman]

A stinky solution take your shoes off.  
I work in Chicago, and in the ultra dry winters, I get in to the habit of touching bits of grounded metal before any gear.  It is just something I do.  If I'm in my socks, I don't have to discharge at all.
As long as your socks are clean you should be good.
I would use a humidifier in moderation.  Sometimes a small control room will get too damp quickly.  I'd be paranoid of the thousands of connections being exposed to excessive moisture.

[Dave Peck]

mg wrote on Fri, 29 April 2005 13:13

hello i've bought a mackie control universal,  i'm having a few minor problems that their tech guy reckons is due to static electricity bulid up. cheers malcolm

Hmmm. This does not sound right. If the Mackie device is a CE compliant product, it should not be this sensitive to static discharge. What kind of problems are you having with the unit?

BTW, if you want to avoid static buildup, you need to keep yourself grounded to the rest of the rig, which would mean wearing an anti-static wrist strap with a 1 meg ohm safety resisitor, connected to the same ground as the gear, or using an anti-static chair that is designed for anti-static production environments, like computer assembly lines, and using a conductive floor mat that is connected to safety ground. But the point is you shouldn't have to do any of that.