[CQ-Contest] Traveling with a HF Rig

[SM0JHF]

I recall my friend, who spent a few years in the Philipines (DU7CC), mentioning that clearing the radio equipment legally through the customs was a nightmare. His rig was bigger that the TS50 mentioned in previous message.
I have flown many times with radio gear since last September. Unfortunately once a switched power supply and an automatic antenna tuner with cables disappeared from my checked-in suitcase somewhere between Stockholm and Africa. No notification from any security authority, no compensation from the airline (except of a new suitcase). Since then I carry all my radios and tuners in hand luggage. No problems in Europe except of repeated X-ray scans. In some places, outside of Europe, they don't even have operational X-ray machines. I think that the security checks in Asia and Africa are different for different airlines.
Bringing a small radio into a country is one problem. Getting it out of the country through airport security checks is another. Bringing radios into the Philipines can be illegal but taking them out of the country is probably 100% legal. In Hong Kong - I don't think they care for radios. I would recommend taking the radio with you. Large airports have equipment for scanning for explosives and this is what they look for.
BTW, more than 10 years ago, Japanese security guards took my Swiss army knife in Tokyo. They said it was a potential weapon.

Henryk SM0JHF


>From Art Popoff" <ua3vcs at mail.ru  Sun Sep 22 18:19:46 2002
From: Art Popoff" <ua3vcs at mail.ru (Art Popoff)
Date: Sun, 22 Sep 2002 21:19:46 +0400
Subject: [CQ-Contest] can't send my wae log
Message-ID: <E17tAOY-000NV0-00 at f10.mail.ru>

Good day,

I've been trying all day to send my wae ssb logs to waedc at darc.de, no luck so far. All messages are failed to get through. Is there any problem @DARC, or it was probably me?? :?

73, de bw3/ua3vcs, Art