Dissapating static electricity

find a screw on the chassis of the cd-player, run a wire from it to a ground. a bit more extreme, but prolly good for your health, would be to install a humidification system in your house! ;~) if all else fails, make sure to touch a less-sensitive object directly prior to touching the cd-player. there *are* mats wired for sensitive electronic equipment, that you could also use. these, too, have to be grounded.

I have had this problem as well, and simply got in the habit of touching another object first, as Sedond mentions. I ran into a company called Virtual Mode a little while back, and had them send me a copy of their catalog. I can't really say much about their products and services or really vouch for them to any degree since I haven't used any of their products at this point. They do have some interesting things to offer and have several products which address this very issue. They have a website at www.virmode.com if you feel like taking a look at it. Perhaps someone here has experiences wit Virtual Mode?

If you have a threaded rod rack, you can simply ground one of the rods and then touch it before any of your gear. If not, a simple piece of metal like a door handle or knob, etc.. could be attached to the side of the rack and grounded. It's visibility factor would remind you to touch it before anything else in the rack. Since static electricity can be extremely high in voltage, it is QUITE possible to do damage to your digital gear due to it's sensitivity in this area. As suggested, a small humidifier will make a world of difference in both your static situation and sinus conditions. Keep in mind that your sinus' and ears are all linked together, so i would not doubt that this would / could affect your hearing too. Sean >

sean is absolutely right about the power of a static charge but it's not just digital stuff that's affected. several years ago, i blew out a board in a jrdg consummate pre with a touch of my finger. ouch! and ouch again! now, out of habit, i never touch any of my electronics without first dissapating myself (sounds kinda crude, doesn't it) with a touch to grounded metal.