Electrode cleaning/prevent gold rub-off

oshaughnessyoshaughnessy Boston
in Electrodes
Greetings all,

I've had some issues with cleaning the ten20 paste off the gold cup electrodes from the OpenBCI shop. I've followed the instructions of dipping them in near-boiling water a few times before wiping them off. So far have been stuck with using paper towels and soft cloth. However, in most cases the gold rubs off along with the paste. Does anyone have recommendations of different method, tools, or electrodes I should look into?

Comments

  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA
    If you leave them in the very hot water for a period of time, should not require much if any rubbing.
  • oshaughnessyoshaughnessy Boston
    I've read that letting them soak is bad for the wire connection though. Do you have a recommendation for how long (or at least an upper limit) to leave them in the water?
  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA
    http://openbci.com/forum/index.php?p=/discussion/219/electrode-cleaning-after-use
  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA
    It might be that your water is not hot enough.

  • oshaughnessyoshaughnessy Boston
    Yes, I saw that, that's where I read not to let them soak, however your first suggestion was to "leave them in the very hot water for a period of time" which seems to be contradictory. That's where my confusion is stemming from.
  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA
    I think when Pete suggests not to soak, he means for like hours (putting them in and forget to take them out). Five or ten minutes should be fine. It's possible your water is not hot enough.

    Other alternatives to gold cups are silver or tin. These are solid metal and do not rub off. Many neurofeedback folks use silver. Tin is used in the Electro-Caps.
  • oshaughnessyoshaughnessy Boston
    Ah, okay. Thank you for the clarification! I have been looking into silver electrodes as an alternative as well.
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