yes, sounds like a bad idea to me
I lay my things on ceramic tiles or the wood floor for a reason 😉

perhaps laying out soem tinfoil might do the trick

How's the humidity there? It's really only when the air is dry that you have to worry much about static.

Still though, you should be able to find something to lay down on the carpet... carboard, newspaper, whatever.

I had a look online at the weather forecast, and the time of the day + humidity readings for tomorrow are:

03:00 87%
06:00 79%
09:00 75%
12:00 57%
15:00 55%
18:00 64%
21:00 80%

Is that humid or dry, or possibly neither one or the other? I think with the volume of junk I have accumulated, some newspapers would be the most economical way of doing this. Thanks a lot people.

Old Thrashbarg wrote:

How's the humidity there? It's really only when the air is dry that you have to worry much about static.

Still though, you should be able to find something to lay down on the carpet... carboard, newspaper, whatever.

I'd rather not recommend putting hardware on carpet, or on something very thin that itself is in very close proximity to carpet.
Also it would mean you yourself are walking around on the carpet also.

Imo, carpet is the last thing you want right below your feet when handling hardware.

Also, dry air (especially if it's cold!) is a risk factor. I've noticed it also depends to a lesser extend to what type of clothes you're wearing and if you yourself have dry skin or not. (mine unfortunately is VERY dry. When I go to bed and take of my clothes, I often hear and on occasion SEE the discharges!)

I agree that it is best to work with any electronics away from the carpet (though sometimes it is unavoidable). When working with computer parts, I always keep in contact with the case or anything nearby that will keep me grounded... well I didn't always, but after seeing a $200 motherboard get fried (yes it literally died in my arms) from a rogue spark, I learned to try harder to keep static away from electronics.

RG100 appears to have mainly a white plastic exterior.

It's easy to pick out the people who live in dry climates... and you guys are right, if static buildup is a problem in your area, you do have to be extra careful when working with electronics.

But that doesn't mean those precautions are necessary everywhere, for everyone. Here in Florida, I hardly ever have to worry about static, except for a couple days here and there during the winter. For the rest of the year, you can set parts on the carpet without worrying about it. Hell, you can even rub 'em around if you want to, still won't hurt anything. While I wouldn't recommend RG100 take quite such a cavalier approach as that, given his local climate he should be perfectly safe with only the minimum of precautions.

Old Thrashbarg wrote:

It's easy to pick out the people who live in dry climates... and you guys are right, if static buildup is a problem in your area, you do have to be extra careful when working with electronics.

But that doesn't mean those precautions are necessary everywhere, for everyone. Here in Florida, I hardly ever have to worry about static, except for a couple days here and there during the winter. For the rest of the year, you can set parts on the carpet without worrying about it. Hell, you can even rub 'em around if you want to, still won't hurt anything. While I wouldn't recommend RG100 take quite such a cavalier approach as that, given his local climate he should be perfectly safe with only the minimum of precautions.

I knew there must me some advantage to the British weather 🤣.

don't have to worry about static in a tropical place like malaysia, except for mold! 🤣

TheMAN wrote:

don't have to worry about static in a tropical place like malaysia, except for mold! 🤣

Sounds like a big problem in USA where they usually cover all their floors with carpet runners 😉

Yeah dry winter weather is fun. I've lit up rooms with lightning bolts between my finger and wall light switches and various power buttons. 😉 It's not quite as "exciting" as 120V AC however (baby AT PSUs!!).

Don't wash your clothes that often 😉