Static electricty - Can it damage audio gear


I have run into a problem with static electricity and my AVP2 processor. It took a while to figure out but if I rub my foot on the carpet several times and touch the processor it will suddenly change into another mode or freeze into a setup mode. There is no shock or spark but the unit still freezes. Can this cause permanent damage to any of the circuitry ?

This is the 1 st time in 6 years that it has happened. Can a faulty component in the processor cause this problem ? Any suggestions

Thanks , Dave
dpetrenko

Showing 1 response by dpetrenko

After talking to a technician at Harman he said that ESD can cause some glitches in the circuitry. Since the unit works fine he thinks that there should be no damage from previous zaps. What I still find strange is that I do not feel a zap or see any spark. So it is a very small charge. He did suggest the humidifier, proper grounding, static guard. If the unit continues to lockup after these changes they would check it out under warranty. He claims that it is the first time they have seen this with a Proceed product. A decent humidfier is a lot cheaper than a new processor
Thank you all for the excellent feedback.