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Questions about taking a QRP station on the plane

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Ronald Nutter

Questions about taking a QRP station on the plane

I will be doing some travelling and plan on taking a QRP station with
me. I have a KX3 on order. With the hassle of dealing with TSA, I dont
think I should have a problem with putting the KX3, a power supply, the
pigtail wifi interface, and a few other things in a Pelican case. The
antennas is where I will probably run into a problem. I am looking at a
couple of different antennas but expect that I will have to pack them in
my luggage. Any thoughts/experiences on this ?

Thanks,
Ron
KA4KYI
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Ian Kahn, KM4IK

Re: Questions about taking a QRP station on the plane

Ron,

The last time I travelled with a rig, it was an FT-857D. I was able to put
it and all the cables I needed into my carry-on, which was just my regular
attache/brief case. I attached a copy of my license to the top of the
rig. I had the rig and power cable. I didn't have a power supply because
I was renting a vehicle and driving back home (bizarre business trip - I'll
tell you the gory details off-list if you really want to know). Anyway,
TSA didn't even give the rig and cabling a second look. As to antennas,
because this was a trip to one of my company's offices in Metro DC, I just
shipped my antennas, mounts, and other necessaries ahead to one of my
co-workers. Don't know if that is an option for you or not.

Hope this helps.

73,

--Ian
Ian Kahn, KM4IK
Roswell, GA EM74ua
[hidden email]
K3 #281, P3 #688
HRD v5.x/6.0 Test Team
On Fri, Jun 22, 2012 at 1:24 PM, Ronald Nutter <[hidden email]>wrote:

> I will be doing some travelling and plan on taking a QRP station with
> me. I have a KX3 on order. With the hassle of dealing with TSA, I dont
> think I should have a problem with putting the KX3, a power supply, the
> pigtail wifi interface, and a few other things in a Pelican case. The
> antennas is where I will probably run into a problem. I am looking at a
> couple of different antennas but expect that I will have to pack them in
> my luggage. Any thoughts/experiences on this ?
>
> Thanks,
> Ron
> KA4KYI
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>

va3bxg

Re: Questions about taking a QRP station on the plane

I carried on a KX3 (#33) with a MFJ-1899 antenna. From CDN their only concern was that the antenna was not a police club. On the return trip from the US, not even a blink.

Robert

a 'kosher' ham
Sent from my BlackBerry device

-----Original Message-----
From: Ian Kahn <[hidden email]>
Sender: [hidden email]
Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2012 13:30:24
To: Ronald Nutter<[hidden email]>
Cc: elecraft<[hidden email]>
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Questions about taking a QRP station on the plane

Ron,

The last time I travelled with a rig, it was an FT-857D. I was able to put
it and all the cables I needed into my carry-on, which was just my regular
attache/brief case. I attached a copy of my license to the top of the
rig. I had the rig and power cable. I didn't have a power supply because
I was renting a vehicle and driving back home (bizarre business trip - I'll
tell you the gory details off-list if you really want to know). Anyway,
TSA didn't even give the rig and cabling a second look. As to antennas,
because this was a trip to one of my company's offices in Metro DC, I just
shipped my antennas, mounts, and other necessaries ahead to one of my
co-workers. Don't know if that is an option for you or not.

Hope this helps.

73,

--Ian
Ian Kahn, KM4IK
Roswell, GA EM74ua
[hidden email]
K3 #281, P3 #688
HRD v5.x/6.0 Test Team
On Fri, Jun 22, 2012 at 1:24 PM, Ronald Nutter <[hidden email]>wrote:

--
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k6dgw

Re: Questions about taking a QRP station on the plane

In reply to this post by Ronald Nutter

On 6/22/2012 10:24 AM, Ronald Nutter wrote:
> I will be doing some travelling and plan on taking a QRP station with
> me. I have a KX3 on order. With the hassle of dealing with TSA, I dont
> think I should have a problem with putting the KX3, a power supply, the
> pigtail wifi interface, and a few other things in a Pelican case. The
> antennas is where I will probably run into a problem. I am looking at a
> couple of different antennas but expect that I will have to pack them in
> my luggage. Any thoughts/experiences on this ?

I took my KX1 on a cruise thru the Panama Canal. I have an MP-1
knockoff that I thought about but didn't take. The resonator looks a
lot like a pipe bomb on the x-ray, and I didn't think I'd have much
success explaining the theory behind base-loaded short HF antennas to
the TSA folk, they have a hard time understanding the scrap metal buried
in my shoulder.

Whatever you choose to take, include a copy of your license, and an
explanation of what it is. That's worked for me ... so far.

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2012 Cal QSO Party 6-7 Oct 2012
- www.cqp.org

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Javier Campos-3

Re: Questions about taking a QRP station on the plane

I always travelled to the Carribbean and Latin America with my MP-1, mini tripod and a bunch of radials, coax that were checked in as part of my luggage.

Never a problem.

Only issue I had was in LAX, they always did the swab test on my K2/10 with the built in battery everytime I connected there.

Internationally, never an issue with my stuff nor at MIA, DFW or Houston at customs.

I always carried the radios with me (K2 or the KX1). The rest was checked in.

Javier TI2/NM6E

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 22, 2012, at 5:47 PM, Fred Jensen <[hidden email]> wrote:

> On 6/22/2012 10:24 AM, Ronald Nutter wrote:
>> I will be doing some travelling and plan on taking a QRP station with
>> me. I have a KX3 on order. With the hassle of dealing with TSA, I dont
>> think I should have a problem with putting the KX3, a power supply, the
>> pigtail wifi interface, and a few other things in a Pelican case. The
>> antennas is where I will probably run into a problem. I am looking at a
>> couple of different antennas but expect that I will have to pack them in
>> my luggage. Any thoughts/experiences on this ?
>
> I took my KX1 on a cruise thru the Panama Canal. I have an MP-1
> knockoff that I thought about but didn't take. The resonator looks a
> lot like a pipe bomb on the x-ray, and I didn't think I'd have much
> success explaining the theory behind base-loaded short HF antennas to
> the TSA folk, they have a hard time understanding the scrap metal buried
> in my shoulder.
>
> Whatever you choose to take, include a copy of your license, and an
> explanation of what it is. That's worked for me ... so far.
>
> 73,
>
> Fred K6DGW
> - Northern California Contest Club
> - CU in the 2012 Cal QSO Party 6-7 Oct 2012
> - www.cqp.org
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

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Bill Frantz

Re: Questions about taking a QRP station on the plane

In reply to this post by Ronald Nutter

I take my radio between SJC and MHT in checked luggage several
times a year with no problems. I occasionally get a TSA note
saying they have inspected the bag. I am usually carrying:

PSK-20 QRP rig from Small Wonder Labs (a radio with no
external controls)
A Signalink USB interface
rig to Signalink and a USB cable
"Wallwart" style power supply

I used to carry a 20M dipole, but decided to leave one at each
end to avoid extra stuff in my luggage.

Cheers - Bill, AE6JV

On 6/22/12 at 10:24, [hidden email] (Ronald Nutter) wrote:

>I will be doing some travelling and plan on taking a QRP
>station with me. I have a KX3 on order. With the hassle of
>dealing with TSA, I dont think I should have a problem with
>putting the KX3, a power supply, the pigtail wifi interface,
>and a few other things in a Pelican case. The antennas is
>where I will probably run into a problem. I am looking at a
>couple of different antennas but expect that I will have to
>pack them in my luggage. Any thoughts/experiences on this ?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Frantz | "The only thing we have to | Periwinkle
(408)356-8506 | fear is fear itself." - FDR | 16345
Englewood Ave
www.pwpconsult.com | Inaugural address, 3/4/1933 | Los Gatos,
CA 95032

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