Topic: Flying with Recording Equipment

[funkoff13]

fyi




http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/24/tsa.incidents/index.html

From Mike M. Ahlers
CNN
     
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Police across the country should be on the lookout for what could be "dry runs" for a terrorist attack, the Transportation Security Administration advised after series of suspicious incidents occurred at U.S. airports.

 
Blocks of cheese were found in a bag with a coil of wire and tubes, the TSA said.

 1 of 2  An unclassified advisory, sent July 20 from TSA to law enforcement agencies, raised the possibility that recent activity could be "pre-attack security probes."

CNN obtained the advisory from a government source.

The TSA downplayed the significance of the advisory in a statement released to the media following its leak.

The TSA said it was one of more than 90 bulletins sent to police in the past six months "with the intent to provide as much information as possible to our front line officers."

"There is no intelligence that indicates a specific or credible threat to the homeland," the TSA said.

The advisory details four incidents from the past 11 months in which screeners found unusual objects with items that could mimic bomb components in passengers' checked or carry-on bags.  Watch how cheese was made to look like a bomb »

In one case last September, a couple in Baltimore, Maryland, checked a plastic bag with a block of processed cheese taped to another plastic bag containing a cell phone charger. Earlier this month in San Diego, California, a passenger checked a bag containing two ice packs covered in duct tape. The ice packs had clay in them instead of the normal blue gel.

Terrorists could be testing the system, or could be conducting repeated operations to desensitize security officials, the bulletin says.

"The unusual nature and increase in number of these improvised items raise concern, and TSA personnel should continue vigilance for groupings of ordinary items that look like IED (Improvised Explosive Device) components," the bulletin says.

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At least three of the four incidents involved U.S. citizens, the advisory says. While "initial investigations do not link them with criminal or terrorist organizations," the bulletin adds that "most passengers' explanations for carrying the suspicious items were questionable, and some investigations are still ongoing."

The bulletin also details a case from June in which a passenger in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, had a carry-on bag with items resembling IED components, such as a wire coil wrapped around a possible initiator, an electrical switch, batteries, three tubes and two blocks of cheese.

And in November, a passenger in Houston, Texas, checked luggage that contained a plastic bag with a 9-volt battery, wires, a block of brown clay-like minerals and pipes.


The bulletin is titled "Incidents at U.S. Airports May Suggest Possible Pre-Attack Probing." It is labeled "For Official Use Only."

"We constantly feed intelligence and training information to our officers and the law enforcement community and this is one example of such information sharing," the TSA said in its statement

[jerryfreak]

sounds like a lot of discussion here can be boiled down to what has already been stated:

leave yourself extra time for the unexpected. I have flown dozens of times, pre-and post 9/11 with a rig, and my homemade li-ion batteries from 2002 that im still using are a bit on the sketchy-looking side.

i always make sure i have enough battery to power the rig, to turn the lights on and demo that it actually is a battery and a thing with lights.

usually batteries are :
a. heavy
b. cheap and replaceable (relative to other electronics)

so i try to check em

I took my gear bag out of my backpack for the first time last weekend, and didnt even get a hand-search, as they were 'less confused' when it came down the pipe

[Stagger]

I had my best encounter yet leaving O'Hare for Raleigh last spring. The normal routine is that the run my bag through and then swab it for bomb residue (I'd hate to know if they could swab it for any other residue what kinda trouble I'd be in). This trip (my last one with SLAs) they run it through the scanner then the guy at the other side askes me if its mine and when I reply yes, he tells me to have a nice day. I ask him if they are going to swab my bag and he says, "No, we don't trust you anyway." 

[krowllaw]

Couldn't find any information from the last decade, I'm sorry if there is and my search skills are sub-par.  Any updates or experience traveling with recording equipment and a mic stand in the modern era?   I intend on carrying on both but would appreciate a link to any threads I missed about it or any advice I'll need.

Thanks!

[DavidPuddy]

Couldn't find any information from the last decade, I'm sorry if there is and my search skills are sub-par.  Any updates or experience traveling with recording equipment and a mic stand in the modern era?   I intend on carrying on both but would appreciate a link to any threads I missed about it or any advice I'll need.

Thanks!

It's usually not an issue but they may make you check the stand depending on size. You may have to demonstrate that the gear works for TSA.

[BradleyJY15]

I have only flown with mic stand a few times.  But am doing it next week and looked into Southwest policy.  I plan to check my stand.  I have a soft bag from Manfrotto.  I will wrap the stand in clothes to cushion the bag as must as possible. I will claim it as a musical instrument.  For Southwest, this has 2 advantages: 1-it flies free 2-you can try to bring it onto plane if it fits overhead (as previously said, I am just going to check, but they will let you bring on if it can fit and claimed as musical instrument).  Hope this helps, every airline will be different.

[rocksuitcase]

^^^^^^^
re the stand and covering it clothing etc. If you have an old lawn chair, the bags often can be used to fit stands which are not huge.

[krowllaw]

Thank you for the replies!

[DavidPuddy]

^^^^^^^
re the stand and covering it clothing etc. If you have an old lawn chair, the bags often can be used to fit stands which are not huge.

There's a lacrosse stick bag that voltronic posted about which fits the Manfrotto 1004 stand, if you have that one.