[hpsdr] suggestion: a new project for TAPR

[Ken N9VV (Win-7/64)]

How about this:  A brand new kind of tester for *every* Ham Shack, a
unit that measures the *ACTUAL GROUND POTENTIAL/RESISTANCE* between any
ground mat or ground wrist strap on your work surface and your
environment.

I don't ever remember seeing ANYTHING like this in any Ham magazine.
Where are our "ESD" monitors" and why don't we have them between our
rigs and PC's and ground? What about protection for all the delicate and 
expensive electronic parts we are handling now?

Some Hams spend thousands of $$ on Bus Bar grounding for anything on
their bench, but never measure how effective it actually is when they
touch the front panel knob (or case) of their rigs.  What happens when
we get to front panel touch screens?

<URL:http://esdsystems.descoindustries.com/ESDCatalog/TestingMonitoringEquipment/ContinuousMonitors/SingleWireACCapacitance/94392/#.VAzf68tSjrE
  >
This outfit charges $200+ for these "testers". I bet we can build them
for $29 USD <g>

Virtually EVERY piece of Ham gear I have purchased comes with a WARNING
about proper grounding before handling any IC's, SBC's, SoC's, FPGA's,
FET.... and no one has a MONITOR to let me know if my actual bench pad
is properly attached to a suitable ESD ground.

Perhaps TAPR could be one of the very first organizations to grab
hold of this critical ESD area and help us determine if we are in
compliance and we are handling electronics safely.

(Looks like one heck of a wonderful Cottage Industry to me :-)

BK de Ken