Weird static dilemma?
So I've sort of got a weird problem. I'm a walking static bomb, and it gets worse in the winter. Normally this isn't a big deal, and when I'm at home, I just make sure to discharge before going near electronics.
However, I have a fairly long commute (on a train, NOT in a car) during which I listen to my mp3 player with headphones. Occasionally, I brush against my player and discharge static into it. I feel the shock, and I know the player is affected because it either turns off or restarts when it happens. The player is in a leather case, and the headphones have no metal bits that are touching me, so I'm not even sure how I'm discharging.
At first I thought it was something wrong with my music player, and then I thought it was the headphones, but I've changed both (the music player died, incidentally) and it's still happening.
I don't care about the shock, but I'm afraid the repeated ESD is going to kill my player. Anyone have any suggestions on what I can do considering I can't necessarily hunt down a ground while commuting? Is there any sort of device I can buy/build to carry around to discharge static into? I see they sell little "static discharge" keychains but they still require a ground to work. And I have a standard ESD wristband for working inside my computer, but again, that's not much help when I'm on the move with no reliable source of grounding. Or is there a better way to protect my player from the electricity build up? This has happened regardless of the time of year and what I was wearing, so suggestions on that front aren't really helpful...
However, I have a fairly long commute (on a train, NOT in a car) during which I listen to my mp3 player with headphones. Occasionally, I brush against my player and discharge static into it. I feel the shock, and I know the player is affected because it either turns off or restarts when it happens. The player is in a leather case, and the headphones have no metal bits that are touching me, so I'm not even sure how I'm discharging.
At first I thought it was something wrong with my music player, and then I thought it was the headphones, but I've changed both (the music player died, incidentally) and it's still happening.
I don't care about the shock, but I'm afraid the repeated ESD is going to kill my player. Anyone have any suggestions on what I can do considering I can't necessarily hunt down a ground while commuting? Is there any sort of device I can buy/build to carry around to discharge static into? I see they sell little "static discharge" keychains but they still require a ground to work. And I have a standard ESD wristband for working inside my computer, but again, that's not much help when I'm on the move with no reliable source of grounding. Or is there a better way to protect my player from the electricity build up? This has happened regardless of the time of year and what I was wearing, so suggestions on that front aren't really helpful...