Carrying electronics and trains through airport security

[DKS]

My fear is that I might make more trouble just by calling attention to something that they might not even notice if it's in the bag.

This. Make it easily accessible if necessary, but don't carry a neon sign pointing to it.

[Point353]

You missed a few posts.  I'm mailing the controller, not taking it through the airport.  This is just the engine
that we are talking about.

What's your back up plan in case the controller gets lost or otherwise waylaid in the mail?

[mmagliaro]

What's your back up plan in case the controller gets lost or otherwise waylaid in the mail?

A 9v battery.
The 0-6-0 will run at a slow speed on a 9v so the battery and couple of clip leads and at least people could watch it go.

If somebody has a spare power pack lying around, great.  But the battery is always a  fall back.

[DKS]

so the battery and couple of clip leads and at least people could watch it go.

Don't even need the clip leads. Just touch the battery to the track.

[Nato]

                  About thirty years ago my parents, two sisters, and myself  took a winter holiday vacation to Peurto Rico.  We flew from Salt Lake to New York where we overnighted. We were in the Pan American Terminal at JFK waiting to board our flight when I thought I heard my dads name being paged over the PA system. He went up to the counter and the agent said "come with me". They went out of the building onto the tarmac where my dads suitcase was sitting. They asked him if was his and explained that it seemed to be viberateing  (spell check) what did he have in it that would cause this. He thought a minute and then realized it was the Shick Electric Shaver , they were shaped like a large cigarette pack, and the built in battery in the base recharged it when placed in a charger. When the upper half of the case was pulled down the blades were exposed and the shaver was running. There was a switch to turn it off so you could clean out the heads with a small wire brush. The gate agent asked my dad to go out to the bag once he explained what he thought it was. He opened up the suitcase , yes it had somehow turned on. Problem solved, his bag went on the plane and we had our trip. Nate Goodman (Nato).

[railnerd]

Back in the 1990s I was on a trip to Europe and forgot to clean out my college backpack.

I had taken Digital Logic Design lab @ school the prior semester, and I also had various bits of model railroading paraphernalia (X-acto knife, paint)

It is surprising how bad a jar of Floquil silver paint, X-acto knife, electronic components, and loose wires looked like in the X-ray machine.

Ironically, it was only detected when I moved from the domestic terminal to the international gates at O'Hare.  They never noticed anything in Detroit.

God knows that I'd be "probed" in a dedicated room if this happened today. 

-Dave

[C855B]

Just to relate current conditions for "nonstandard" electronics on airplanes... a security incident today at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (BLV) shut down the entire airport, leaving incoming flights on the tarmac for up to three hours and outgoing passengers confined to the non-security areas of the airport while the "suspicious package" (checked baggage?) was investigated. Flights were cancelled.

The "laptop with suspicious wiring"? It had an external hard drive. Really. So even run-of-the-mill consumer electronics are now suspect if it's a slightly different configuration, and, worse, it's come down to a lot more than inconveniencing the three passengers behind you in the security line.

[atsf3751]

All of this explains why I don't fly anywhere any more. If I can't take the train, ship or drive, not going, not important enough. Of course, I am retired so that has some effect too.

[Maletrain]

The "laptop with suspicious wiring"? It had an external hard drive. Really. So even run-of-the-mill consumer electronics are now suspect if it's a slightly different configuration, and, worse, it's come down to a lot more than inconveniencing the three passengers behind you in the security line.

There is something "fishy" about that story.  External hard drives are not uncommon.  But, maybe having one actually connected to a laptop in checked baggage is the issue - in which case that would be both uncommon and stupid.

[C855B]

Yes, that's what it was. So they left it connected, no big deal. One USB cable. The over-response shut down a small but still public airport and inconvenienced hundreds of innocent folks. BLV has one small carrier, a pipeline to resort towns. The delays and cancellation (one flight, I think) over nothing cost some folks their vacation, if not reservation fees and pre-payments as well. That's what is wrong - access to otherwise reliable and safe transportation is in the hands of minimally-trained, non-technical personnel making mission-critical decisions in an operating environment where reserve capacity and failure tolerance has been tuned out of the equation.

But I'm with Marty. When I retired four years ago it was "no more flying, no matter what", and even before that I managed to wheedle my way out of nearly all flying for the job, as well.

[Philip H]

All me nuts, but who checks a laptop? Given how baggage is handled that’s a sure fire way to get your laptop destroyed.

[Maletrain]

Yes, that's what it was. So they left it connected, no big deal.

Well, yes, it should be a big deal. 

For one thing, it is foolish to put things connected with jacks into luggage, because the forces generated by the way luggage is handled can easily damage the jacks.  So, people are not expected to do that.  Second, a laptop could be used as a very sophisticated triggering device, with all sorts of possibilities for setting of explosives or releasing chemical agents.  And, something the size of an external hard drive could contain enough explosive or poison to be fatal to the plane's passengers.  So, with several terrorist organizations working to make mundane items deadly and get them past the screeners, I want the screeners to be careful with unusual things that are trying to go past them. 

As for not flying, too bad the passenger trains aren't still available.  It is nice to be able to pack all your vacation stuff in your car and have that delivered to you where you deboard the train, so you can just drive away with all of that stuff intact.  But, only the AutoTrain does that, these days.

[atsf3751]

Well, yes, it should be a big deal. 

For one thing, it is foolish to put things connected with jacks into luggage, because the forces generated by the way luggage is handled can easily damage the jacks.  So, people are not expected to do that.  Second, a laptop could be used as a very sophisticated triggering device, with all sorts of possibilities for setting of explosives or releasing chemical agents.  And, something the size of an external hard drive could contain enough explosive or poison to be fatal to the plane's passengers.  So, with several terrorist organizations working to make mundane items deadly and get them past the screeners, I want the screeners to be careful with unusual things that are trying to go past them. 

How far will we carry our paranoia? So now we leave our laptops home because they might be a trigger for something? At this rate it won't be long before you have to fly naked with no baggage at all. I will stick to ground transportation myself. It is bad enough you can't carry a bottle of water to a plane because it might be dangerous. Flying used to be fun, not any more.

[Maletrain]

How far will we carry our paranoia?

It doesn't fit the definition of paranoia when there really is somebody trying to blow-up planes.  So, the real question is "How much convenience are we willing to give-up in the quest for more safety?"

Flying used to be fun, not any more.

True enough.  And, exactly what the terrorists are trying to accomplish.

[peteski]

True enough.  And, exactly what the terrorists are trying to accomplish.

And they have accomplished that back in 2001.