[CQ-Contest] Radio as Carry-On Luggage?

[Keith Kerr]

Hi Craig,
This comment does not directly address your question but may be of interest 
to you and the wider audience.

To fit in with some business meetings etc I had to travel by air from 
Glasgow to Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland for the recent IOTA 
contest and had my Bencher paddles, electronic keyer and a 13.8V 
switch-mode supply in my carry-on bag. Predictably this little lot 
attracted attention at the X-Ray screen and I had my bag inspected. I 
explained what it all was and the usual 'swabs' were taken to 'sniff' for 
explosives. Imagine my surprise and concern when the swab from the Bencher 
paddles lit all the lights, set off alarms and generally had people looking 
at me in a rather suspicious manner. I was taken aside, asked by new 
security staff the who, why, what and so on of my journey and belongings 
including 'Had I been handling explosives?'!

They re-swabbed me and the paddles and thankfully all came up negative. I 
went on my way......with my carry-on gear intact.

Had this happened this past weekend and not two weeks ago, I suspect my 
passage through the airport would have been rather different.

The paddles are about 18 months old. Although I work in the vicinity of 
some chemical agents as part of my job (medical, hospital) I had not been 
at work that or the previous day. I have no idea what the machine detected, 
whether or not it was a 'glitch' (perhaps more likely given the second 
'negative' test) but got to wondering if something related to the 
manufacture of the paddles or in my shack (solder, flux, components, all 
the usual stuff...............and nothing that shouldn't be there!!!) may 
have been responsible. Food for thought.

Happy travelling and hope to see you from safely arrived-at destinations.

Keith GM4YXI (GM7V)



At 16:08 14/08/2006 -0700, ah8dx Craig Maxey wrote:
>I am interested in ops that have tried to put their transceiver in the
>carry-on luggage in the past few days and what type of hassle you went
>through. As the CQWW contests approach I am trying to foresee any problems
>with all of my radio luggage that ravels with me. Mainly interested in my
>carry-on luggage which almost always has my transceiver in it and a couple
>of 3-500's.
>
>Tnx,
>
>Craig Maxey, AH8DX & 8R1EA
>
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------------
Professor Keith M Kerr,
Consultant Pathologist, Department of Pathology, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary,
Professor of Pulmonary Pathology, Aberdeen University Medical School,
Foresterhill, Aberdeen,
Scotland, UK,  AB25  2ZD
Telephone:
Office direct line 01224 552414
Secretary 01224 550948
Department Fax  01224 663002
Hospital 0845 456 6000 (pager 2862)
k.kerr at abdn.ac.uk