[Elecraft] Re: KX1 and airport security

[Rick Hampton]

Hi, Al.

In my case, the guy was clearly only a parking attendant who was told to check the trunks of cars for anything unusual.  Airport security screeners before 9/11 weren't much better and neither was their xray equipment, when they actually had something that worked.

For everyone, I think the take-away is that the better trained the security screeners, the less likely you will be to have problems.  I've got some really funny, off-topic, pre-9/11 stories involving ignorant screeners, x-ray dosimetry badges, and ionization chambers to calibrate x-ray generators.  Since TSA took over, I've not had ANY problems getting anything through the checkpoints that wasn't on the banned list.  I had to turn my HT on once to let them hear the squelch noise and let them rummage
through a backpack to look at a small Maglight, but that's been the total of the insults I've had since that awful day.

Some things should go without saying, but some people need it said anyway.  The screeners are only trying to do a job they feel is very important.  Treat them nicely and with respect.  If you're taking a bunch of electronics, plan ahead and take out ANYTHING that looks like it might be on the banned items list.  Show up a little earlier so the screeners can rummage through your stuff if the image on the baggage scanner makes something look worrisome.  Should they ask any questions, answer them nicely,
offer to explain anything they don't understand, and thank them for their time when they clear you and all your stuff.  If, like one bozo I saw, you loose your cool when a screener takes away your pen-knife and you yell, "Give that back!  It's ONLY a pen-knife!  It's NOT like it's a BOMB, or anything!!!" expect to be ushered to a small, windowless room by six people with hands on their weapons, where you will wait until well AFTER your flight leaves the ground before you are released.

I think if you use common sense, you can take any of your radio equipment onboard with you without much hassle.

Rick Hampton, WD8KEL


al_lorona at agilent.com wrote:

> > He got REALLY excited and began pointing at it, yelling,
> > "WHUT ISS DAT?", over and over as he backed away
> > from the car.  My 14 year-old son got out of the car to
> > see what he was upset over and when he tried to pick
> > it up and show the guard it was only a radio, the guard
> > got even MORE excited, screaming "NO!!! LEAVE IT
> > 'LONE!!!".  About 5 minutes later, after finally getting
> > him calmed down, he finally, and hurriedly, motioned us
> > on through the checkpoint. Thank goodness he didn't
> > have a firearm with him.  He probably would have
> > drawn it from it's holster.
>
> Rick, this is such an amazing and incredible story. I think maybe the guard has seen too many James Bond films, no?
>
> But this thread also points out that many, many people have stories like this. I won't even go into the time that I took my little QRP rig through LAX (years before 9/11), was held up going through X-ray, had my briefcase and shaving kit dumped out on the table, with a guard hunched over staring at my rig for several minutes and then finally shrugging pathetically and saying, "Voices come out of this thing?"