In my opinion the solution is in both equipment design and package
design . My factory is selling and shipping overseas, heavy but delicate
and sensitive telecommunication equipment. We are investing small
fortunes in mechanical and environmental test and computer simulations
for the equipment himself and for simulation of all the kind of stresses
a packaged item will pass on transportation by trucks, ships or air cargo
( 3-axes vibrations, bounce, drops, mechanical shocks..........). All this
tests are distructive and cost a lot of money due to all the analysis we make
after the stresses. A good designed equipment with an apropriate package
will withstand with all the transportation stress ( Electrostatic discharges,
thermal shocks, salt air, humidity, hi/low atmospheric pressure included ),
with the exception of catastophic events.
The question is, if the small or relatively small manufacturers of amplifiers
can sell their equipments in such expensive or quite expensive packages.
I doubt that they are designing the equipment and the packages and they
are investing in such expensive mechanical tests. Anyway, I'm buying from
US manufacturers and dealers almost all my rigs and antennas. I received
all the items in their original packages via Fedex, UPS and Satin Air with no
damages at all. My list includes few heavy amplifiers, rotators, HF beams,
two FT-1000, Eimac glass and metalo-ceramic tubes and lots of smaler stuff.
I don't have enough room at my home, but I never throw the original cartons.
If you're buying a second hand equipment, ask for the original package if you
cannot pick-up them. It's hard to ask from transportation companies for special
treatment when they are manipulating tens of thousands packages every day.
73 de Morel, 4X1AD
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