Static Shock Disconnecting USB C Device

I’m DJ’ing with the new 15” Air. As a DJ you can generate a lot of static electricity and anytime I move and then come back and touch the laptop it disconnects my external USB-C sound card. It usually reconnects after 1-2 seconds but it happens all the time, especially if I’m on carpet.


Any ideas to reduce static shock? Anyone tried using a grounded power cable with the MagSafe cord? Maybe an anti static mat under the laptop?


I’m also going to try a different sound card and different shoes.


ps….DJ’s need an external sound card to be able to listen in their headphones while playing music through the main sound card to the mixer. 😊

MacBook Air 15″

Posted on Jun 25, 2023 8:49 AM

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Posted on Jun 25, 2023 1:22 PM

The problem is you 🙃


You're the one building up an electric charge by moving around a lot on effectively insulated surfaces. You discharge yourself by coming into contact with conductive things with a dissimilar charge. That sudden unrestricted surge of current is causing the spontaneous disconnection.


If you and your equipment all had the same charge there would be no sudden discharge or what most people call "static shock" or carpet shock. So the idea is to equalize all of those dissimilar charges before coming into contact with sensitive electronic devices.


When you work with sensitive electronics it's common to wear a wristband like this



It allows for a conductive path through a high resistance (something like 1 megohm) so you don't damage static sensitive electronics if you were to become charged by moving around on various nonconductive surfaces like carpets or upholstery. The alligator clip connects to "ground" which is defined as a reference point for zero potential.


That particular solution might be impracticable for a DJ, but perhaps it will give you an idea of what to do. Different shoes are another good idea along the same lines — whatever you're wearing should provide a conductive path so that you don't become charged.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 25, 2023 1:22 PM in response to Jerm Face

The problem is you 🙃


You're the one building up an electric charge by moving around a lot on effectively insulated surfaces. You discharge yourself by coming into contact with conductive things with a dissimilar charge. That sudden unrestricted surge of current is causing the spontaneous disconnection.


If you and your equipment all had the same charge there would be no sudden discharge or what most people call "static shock" or carpet shock. So the idea is to equalize all of those dissimilar charges before coming into contact with sensitive electronic devices.


When you work with sensitive electronics it's common to wear a wristband like this



It allows for a conductive path through a high resistance (something like 1 megohm) so you don't damage static sensitive electronics if you were to become charged by moving around on various nonconductive surfaces like carpets or upholstery. The alligator clip connects to "ground" which is defined as a reference point for zero potential.


That particular solution might be impracticable for a DJ, but perhaps it will give you an idea of what to do. Different shoes are another good idea along the same lines — whatever you're wearing should provide a conductive path so that you don't become charged.

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Static Shock Disconnecting USB C Device

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