AppendixBEquipmenthandling
Circuitboardhandlingandpackaging
Circuitboardsaredelicateitems.Theymayworkyearafteryearinanadvancedproduct,
butthenfailduetoasmallsparkofstaticelectricity.Forthisreason,itisveryimportant
thattheyareproperlyhandledandprotectedduringshipping.
BewareofESD!
Whenyouhandleelectroniccircuitboards,youmustbewareofthedangersof
electrostaticdischarge(ESD),bothtoyourselfandtotheequipment.Inordertoensure
safetransportandstorage,circuitboardsandotherelectronicunitswillalwaysbe
wrappedinaclearplasticprotectivebag,andthebagwillbesealed.Seealsosection
Electro-StaticDischarge(ESD)onpage282.
Unpackingandhandlingcircuitboards
Observethefollowingstepstounpackacircuitboard.
1Whereverpossible,prepareasuitableworkbench.Itmusthaveanapproved
conductiveservicemat,anditmustbeconnecteddirectlytoareliableearthpoint
viaitsearthingcord.Youmustwearawristbandindirectcontactwiththeskin,and
thewristbandmustbeconnectedtotheservicemat.
2Liftthecircuitboard,initsprotectivebag,outofthecartonandplaceitinastable
positionontheaoor/workbench.
3Inspecttheunitfordamagebeforeyouopentheplasticbag.
4Donotbreakthesealtoopenacircuitboardpackagebeforetheboardshalltobe
used.Iftheboardpackageisreturnedwiththesealbroken,wewillassumethatthe
contenthasbeenused,andwewillbillyouaccordingly.
5Assumingalliswell,openthebagandremovetheunit.
6Takeoutandkeepthedocumentation.Youwillneeditifthecircuitboardshallbe
returnedtous.Also,removeanypackinganddesiccantmaterialthatmaybeinside.
7Keeptheprotectiveplasticbagforfutureuse.
Unpackingonboardthevessel
Whenyouareworkingonboardavessel,an“approvedconductiveservicemat”is
oftenfaraway.Asyoustillneedtounpackcircuitboards,makesurethatyoudoit
intheinstrumentroom,oratanotherlocationwhereyouhaveasteeldeck.Keepfar
awayfromthebridgeoranyotherroomswithwall-to-wallcarpets!Ifpossible,bringa
wristbandandgroundyourself.
Returningacircuitboard
Ifyouwishtoreturnacircuitboardtous,observethefollowingrules.
Note
Failuretofollowtheserulesmayresultinunserviceablecircuitboards.
1Placethecircuitboardtobereturnedinthesameprotectiveplasticbagasyou
originallyreceiveditin-oraprotectivebagofsimilarESDprotectionquality.
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