Static Anti

Would it hurt me if I plug an anti-static wrist strap into an ac ground outlet?

Assuming it had a banana plug thing and I plugged an anti-static wrist strap into a ground plug in the wall outlet, would it make me anti-static? Are you suppose to plug an anti-static wrist strap in the outlet? If not, where are you suppose to plug it/clip it with an alligator clip?

To answer your question: No it will not hurt you if you plug your anti-static wrist strap into the ground plug on an AC outlet. Just make sure that the grounding plug is wired correctly and is in fact "true" ground. This can be done with an outlet tester (about 10 bucks at Home Depot).

Now that that is out of the way, here is what I usually wire an anti-static wrist strap to the outlet:

1. Take a screw driver and unscrew the center screw out of the nearest outlet that you will use. (This is the screw that actually attaches the outlet cover)

2. Take an terminal lug (looks like a washer with a handle on it), of appropriate size and put the cover screw through it and screw the faceplate back on. Now you will have the cover back on the outlet with a small lug sticking out of the side of the center faceplate screw.

3. Attach the aligator clip to the lug when you want to use the anti-static wrist strap.

In this way, you will not tie up a socket in the outlet to attach your anti-static wrist strap. Just attach your aligator clip to the lug when you need to use the anti-static wrist strap and unattach the aligator clip when you don't need it.

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