Operating Precautions; Preventing Electrostatic Discharge Damage - Agilent Technologies PNA series Installation And Quick Start Manual

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Operating Precautions

IMPORTANT Most causes of instrument failure can be avoided if you will apply the information in
this section. PLEASE READ!

Preventing Electrostatic Discharge Damage

Protection against electrostatic discharge (ESD) is essential while removing assemblies from or
connecting cables and assemblies (DUT) to the network analyzer. Static electricity can build up on your
body and can easily damage sensitive internal circuit elements when discharged. Static discharges too
small to be felt can cause permanent damage. To prevent damage to the instrument:

always have a grounded, conductive table mat in front of your test equipment.

always wear a grounded wrist strap, connected to a grounded conductive table mat, having a 1
MΩ resistor in series with it, when handling components and assemblies or when making
connections.

always wear a heel strap when working in an area with a conductive floor. If you are uncertain
about the conductivity of your floor, wear a heel strap.

always ground yourself before you clean, inspect, or make a connection to a static-sensitive
device or test port. You can, for example, grasp the grounded outer shell of the test port or
cable connector briefly.

always ground the center conductor of a test cable and DUT before making a connection to the
analyzer test port or other static-sensitive device. This can be done as follows:
1. Connect a short (from your calibration kit) to one end of the cable and DUT to short the center
conductor to the outer conductor.
2. While wearing a grounded wrist strap, grasp the outer shell of the cable and DUT connector.
3. Connect the other end of the cable and DUT to the test port and remove the short from the
cable.
Figure 1 ESD Protection Setup
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