Speech Syn and static electricity

[+dhe]

I noticed the picture below on ebay.  Was just curious, as to if maybe the Speech Synthesizer might have been more prone to static damage then say the cassette or joystick ports?

 

[+mizapf]

This is the same sticker as the one on the I/O port of the console, if I remember correctly. I guess the same issues apply when you touch the contact and give it a shock, since it is essentially the same I/O port.

[+acadiel]

I really haven’t had a single IC get zapped to where it stopped working. But then again, I never walked across carpet and directly touched an IC.

[Keatah]

Ti (and a few other cheaply made rigs) were prone to building up a charge on their housings. 
 

Crappy transformers and cost-cut designs in their power supply. 
 

In some examples you could feel a tingling on the metal case/aluminum.

 

So yes they had a problem. But the internal semiconductors were no worse or better than other systems’ parts.

[apersson850]

3 hours ago, Keatah said:

Ti (and a few other cheaply made rigs) were prone to building up a charge on their housings. 
 

Crappy transformers and cost-cut designs in their power supply. 
 

In some examples you could feel a tingling on the metal case/aluminum.

This has nothing to do with ESD, though. It's frequently the result of a good design for EMC/FCC approval, and then not connecting the device to a grounded power outlet.

Static charges is something else. No tingling there, but either enough to zap you or nothing happens. Integrated circuits are always sensitive to ESD. The most tricky thing is that you could touch such a component and impair its lifetime, but you don't notice anything immediately. But instead of lasting for more than 50 years, that chip dies in five weeks.