Topic: microphones and airport security???

[svenkid]

Hey all

Is there any fear involved with bringing mics on an airplane? and through security?

I recall hearing about dat tapes and magnetic fields not being a good combo?

 

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

I just brought my gear to Chicago. All went well except for my SLA battery. They didn't like that much. Basically they said it would cause me to get my bag inspected everytime I brought it through security. Sure enough they checked me both ways because of the battery.

Other than that they didn't seem to care about the mics, recorder, preamp or all the cables.

If you have a SLA battery I'd tell them before you put it though the scanning machine. Might save you some time.

FWIW, I recall reading that you should call your batteries, your "power supplies" because they've been trained "batteries" are bad, but "power supplies" are okay.

Oh, and I'm assuming you're carrying your gear on. I wouldn't let them check my gear in a million years. I think if I were given the choice to either check my gear or not get on the plane I would choose the latter.

Hope that helps.

MIKE B

[Gawain]

I've just done it one time (London) and they didn't care at all about mics, cables, power supply and recorder, they even didn't ask or took a look 

[svenkid]

I used to always have my dat and lead battery in my carryon, they would wig everytime. I guess Im more worried about if the magnetic security rays damage mics.

[Nick Graham]

Flew last year from Nashville to JFK, and not a word was said at all...never even batted an eye. They were way more concerned with my laptop.

[china_rider]

Back right after 9/11 I was asked to power on my dmic.  No other issues than that.

[jcrab66]

i just brought a boatload of gear to LA and back and no one said a thing

[Josephine]

I always open the bag, tell them I've got professional audio equipment inside . . . .  and they could care less.
I can't recall airport security ever looking inside.

Watch out for electric tooth brushes, though.  lol  (Still can't figure that one out.)

[Kindguy]

To answer your question  the Xray machine wil not harm your mics.

[JiB97]

Do airlines now make you check your stands?  Can I just bring it on as carry-on with my rig bag, or would I have to check it?

[gewwang]

Never check anything worth more than $500. Most lost luggage claims won't give you more than that.

[Teen Wolf Blitzer]

Bring those U89's up for Hornsby baby!  The zoo sounds so nice.  You can use my R4 and stand.   

[spyder9]

In the Archive, flying with equipment is covered:

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=36124.0

[pigiron]

Traveling with stands... I guessed that the airlines would freak if I tried to carry it on-board... so my solution was to get one of those hardsided but small traveling golf bags... an overkill and pricey... but my thoughts were...

• The stand would hopefully arrive unbent
• At the airport, hotels, etc., I've already got a bunch of crap that I'll be hanging on my shoulder or carrying in my hands, so I got a bag with wheels that I can just drag along with just one finger if I need to (and I've needed to)
• It's got pockets to carry even more crap
• While the airlines sometimes go bonkers about strange or oversized check-in, they don't blink an eye over golf clubs
• If they lose it, I can claim that it was filled with expensive Pings    and I put a clamp in my carry-on for backup in this instance

So far it's been working out great.

My stand is one of the older Manfrotto's with the "screw top", so I even bought a golf club cover to protect the threads...  and as size goes... I only have to extend the stand a few inches before putting it in the golf bag to keep it from banging around in the case.

[som]

Just make sure it's not one of these...




Polyphonic Spree Drummer Brian Teasley Makes the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List

Cory D. Byrom reports:
Brian Teasley, percussionist for Texas-based indie-pop outfit The Polyphonic Spree, caused a major ruckus at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport last Thursday, and in the process managed to weasel his way onto the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list-- for about an hour and a half. The offense? Concealing a microphone in his baggage-- a Placid Audio Copperphone, to be exact-- that was subsequently mistaken by airport security for a bomb.

No word of the scare had reached the Birmingham Airport Thursday evening when Teasley arrived in Alabama, where he currently resides, though he was disappointed to discover his luggage hadn't arrived. So he filed a complaint with American Airlines, then proceeded to do what anyone else in this situation would do: He went to Taco Bell.

It was upon arriving back at home that Teasley was approached by an FBI agent. Appearing seemingly out of nowhere, the agent asked, "Are you Brian Teasley?" When Teasley replied in the affirmative, the agent stated calmly into his lapel, "We got him." As Teasley tells it, cars immediately came from every direction at once, blocking off the driveway and thoroughly congesting the street. It turns out that after the airport security discovered the device in one of Teasley's bags, five gates were shut down in the C terminal, the bomb disposal robot was called out, and the FBI was contacted.

"If you're looking for a solid alibi, being on a national TV show is a good one," Teasley joked in a telephone interview with Pitchfork, referring to the fact that The Polyphonic Spree had recently performed on Late Night with Craig Kilborn. Once Teasley realized the source of the misunderstanding, he told the agent that he had the performance on TiVo, and could easily show them the microphone in question. After viewing the performance, the FBI were able to confirm with Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport that the item in question was, in fact, just a microphone. However, why the agents were unable to just disassemble the damn thing and figure out that it wasn't a bomb is a question you might not want to ask yourself, if you'd like to feel good about the state of national security.

"I don't want to over-dramatize the situation," Teasley stated, "but there were two or three minutes when I thought I was going to be in Guantanamo Bay with the Abu Ghraib people holding a thumbs up while pointing to my penis. I wasn't really scared about Guantanamo, I just didn't want people to see my penis. I'm a very private person."