Anti-Static Wrist Strap and Coiled Cord

Comments about RadioShack Anti-Static Wrist Strap and Coiled Cord:

Working for a small company where we use our personal tools. This is comperable in quality to "commercial" wrist straps that cost 2-3x as much.

I did knock it down one star because the snap isn't compatible with other maker's cords.

Comments about RadioShack Anti-Static Wrist Strap and Coiled Cord:

First off, I'm willing to bet those doing "continuity tests" are using CHEAP ohm meters or using the old DIY LED and battery continuity tester. I'm no EE wizard, but I do know those low end meters will "give up" and declare a circuit to be open if the resistance is outside of its range. The LED will simply never get enough current. I personally tested mine with my Fluke 85-III and got a readout of 989K, well within the spec'd resistance.

We'll see how the plastic adjustment clip withstands use, but as far as being within spec out of the box, this is a winner.

A note to those with Nickel allergies: I'm not sure whether this item is just itchy or contains some form of nickel, but it is pretty itchy and leaves my wrist mildly irritated where the conductive parts make contact.

Comments about RadioShack Anti-Static Wrist Strap and Coiled Cord:

The negative reviews (two as of today) unfairly skew down the rating for a good product simply because the reviewers don't know what they're talking about. The fact that they both call themselves professionals must be a joke, unless their professions have nothing to do with electronics.

As the positive reviewers correctly state, wrist straps are SUPPOSED to have a high resistance to ground to protect the user from electrocution in case of a mistake. Radio Shack might have avoided the negative reviewers' error if they had prominently indicated in their online specs that a 1 MΩ resistor is built into the cord, which they DO state on the package it comes in. The one I just bought measures 1.003 MΩ (1,003,000 Ohms) on my Fluke multimeter, which is as it should be.

I hesitated to label myself as a professional because I am currently retired (and I am not inclined to lump myself in with "professionals" who complain that a wrist strap does not give continuity to ground). But I was an electronic engineer and worked for many decades with anti-static products, and this wrist strap is as good as any I ever saw.

Comments about RadioShack Anti-Static Wrist Strap and Coiled Cord:

All commercial wrist straps have 1 Megohm resistances to prevent enough electricity from flowing through your body to stop your heart or worse. If you forget to power down the device you are servicing and touch something hot electrically by accident, that 1M resistor will protect you. Zero ohms in this case can get you killed if you make a mistake. Keep in mind that the kilovolts of static you've built up WILL drain off using one of these. The idea is to get your body to the same potential as the device you're working on, to prevent the chips from being zapped.

Comments about RadioShack Anti-Static Wrist Strap and Coiled Cord:

In response to one of the previous responses, it's not supposed to have continuity - you don't want total continuity between you & ground unless you want to get fried should you come into contact with a serious electrical charge. You should be measuring resistance (which is what the other reviewer mentioned, so maybe some of these are bunk since he wasn't able to measure any). Checked mine and found 1M of resistance as I'd expect.

Comments about RadioShack Anti-Static Wrist Strap and Coiled Cord:

If you can afford to smoke a board, this is the strap for you. I needed one quick and after reading the previous review, I checked mine when I got to the car. No continuity in the long lead, had continuity through the short accessory lead. What kind of quality control does Radio Shack have?

Comments about RadioShack Anti-Static Wrist Strap and Coiled Cord:

I purchased one to use at work, prior to use I checked the cord for resistance......there was no conductivity at all. I decided to see if the wire was the problem. Yeah I know I shoulda taken it back, but I wanted to see if the construction was shoddy or what. The wire checked ok , the plug checked ok, the snap was the problem. I will probably buy another one....,but I'm gonna check the continuity in the store first!!!!!!!