Portable Travel

[GamecubePerson111]

Sorry i don't really know where this topic goes, not even sure if it should go here. Anyway, has anyone had a problem with trying to be able to take their portables on an airline flight ( security-wise )? Just because of all the components of a portable.

[eagle5953]

It's been a concern, I know. To security people, portables can look like a homemade rat's nest of wires.

[SpongeBuell]

Yeah, I wouldn't do it unless you're prepared to give it up, just to be safe. If you bring it anyway (maybe it's not a very important one for you or something) it would probably be best to have it turned on before you get to the checkpoint so they can see what it is ahead of time. Oh, and put it in a separate bin.

/Coming from a guy that works in the airline industry, albeit not the TSA. Had breakfast with a TSA guy among others on Monday morning, though...

[lucidPerspective]

Building it so it looks relatively professional would help a lot I think. and also if you make it easy to open, so if they do ask, you can open it up and show them the insides.

Thanks for asking this question by the way! I'm going to do those things I just mentioned on my next N64p so I can be sure to not get it confiscated!

Another idea would be to take along a postage paid bubblewrap envelope or something addressed to your house, so that if you do get asked to leave it behind, you could plead your case and tell them how many hours you spent making it and beg them to send it back to your place

[bicostp]

Another idea would be to take along a postage paid bubblewrap envelope or something addressed to your house, so that if you do get asked to leave it behind, you could plead your case and tell them how many hours you spent making it and beg them to send it back to your place

Most of the time confiscated stuff goes straight to the trash, never to be seen again.

The safest thing to do is throw it in a prepaid box at a post office and mail it home. We did that with our souvenirs last time we went on vacation; we didn't check any bags and our carry-ons were full. A couple of the big flat rate boxes took care of everything, and the boxes showed up a couple days after we got back.

I trust the postal system more than the airport security.

[lucidPerspective]

I think the whole point of his question was asking if it'd be possible to take it on the airplane lol. so posting it to himself kinda defeats the purpose ..personally I'd want to use my portable on the flight more than the destination.

And agreed about the airport security, but there would be a slightly higher chance of seeing your portable again if you gave it to them in a postage paid envelope. But of course the safest you could be would be to not risk it at all

[limpport]

I trust the postal system more than the airport security.

That's funny, I just read on the front page of my local newspaper that my nearby post office just got hit with $450,000 worth of fines

[lucidPerspective]

Woah! what'd they do wrong?

[Gaara Ichimaru]

Lol, to be honest I think this is fair.

Only because if you are about to get on a plane and you are holding a piece of equipment that is obviously tampered with and inside is a bunch of wires connected to various shifty looking components, it's gonna be an issue

Particularly on American airlines.

Not to say that there is any potential danger, but they are holding plane full of peoples lives in there hands and that is probably more important than the enjoyment or leisure of one passenger

I think you can still use your Iphone on planes though... If you have one

-Gaara

[limpport]

Woah! what'd they do wrong?

http://www.timesargus.com/article/20100 ... /707309900" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I exaggerated, it was only $420k

[Sparkfist]

I have to agree that bic's suggestion is the safest. However if that isn't something your'e going to do put it in with your checked luggage.

Trying to walk it on as a carry-on is about the most sure way to get it taken. And believe me I've heard of someone's mother getting a bit of the raw deal when a shampoo bottle and a cellphone charger. If an x-ray can see those tow things as a bomb, you'd hate to have them see a "rat's nest of wiring".

Only other thing I can think of would be if the airport offers it you can have the luggage shrink wrapped. You do that, it has to be checked first so you can be in the clear as they know what it is. Second is that as it's wrapped you can go from there all the way home unmolested by security.

-Sparkfist

[SpongeBuell]

I think that checked bags would actually be worse, if anything. They still get screened, and you won't be there to explain to the TSA what that rats nest of wires actually is, so you don't have a chance at convincing them if they were on the fence to begin with. Oh, and I just started work as a baggage handler. I'd be VERY careful about doing that with what these bags go through (not that we try to be rough with them, but when you have 20+ bags to unload out of the plane ASAP it would take a lot longer and we have plenty of other stuff to do).

[bicostp]

And there's the whole "slice the bag open to remove anything suspicious and/or valuable" deal. A friend of mine had his $900 DSLR (and the 8 gig SDHC card in it) stolen out of a locked checked bag. He gained about 3 feet of used tape and a new entrance to his luggage.