Bipolar transistors suffer from beta (that's Hfe or gain for some)
degradation when the emitter base junction is broken down. There is not the
catastrophic failure common to gate oxide rupture in MOS devices but be
careful.

John
At 08:49 AM 8/2/00 -0400, you wrote:
>Pat writes:
>"
>At present within one of our sites we hand assemble pcb's using no form of
>static protection, I am told by the design authority that because the only
>active device fitted is bi-polar, no protection is required - the device in
>question is a Nat. Semicon. LM158AH/883 low power dual op-amp in a TO-5
>package. I feel that precautions should still be taken, can anyone offer
>some advice?"
>
>The safest way to protect your assemblies is to treat ALL devices as
>static sensitive and to practice static control thoughout the process
>(including receiving and shipping).
>
>Bipolar parts certainly can and do suffer EOS/ESD damage. The thresholds
>of damage are typically higher, but they surely should be treated the same
>as their MOS counterparts.
>
>Rgds
>John
>
>##############################################################
>TechNet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8c
>##############################################################
>To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with
>following text in
>the body:
>To subscribe:   SUBSCRIBE TECHNET <your full name>
>To unsubscribe:   SIGNOFF TECHNET
>##############################################################
>Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional
>information.
>If you need assistance - contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or
>847-509-9700 ext.5315
>##############################################################

##############################################################
TechNet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8c
##############################################################
To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in
the body:
To subscribe:   SUBSCRIBE TECHNET <your full name>
To unsubscribe:   SIGNOFF TECHNET
##############################################################
Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional
information.
If you need assistance - contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or
847-509-9700 ext.5315
##############################################################