I'm flying soon to mix a record and need to transport 3 reels of 2" tape to the studio. Shipping is expensive, so I'm considering taking the reels on the plane with me. The airline claims harm can be done to magnetic media if it is placed in checked luggage, but that the carry on xray machines would do no damage. Not sure how comfortable I am with this.
Has anyone flown with tapes before? Any problems, advice?
Thanks, Gary Olson
Flying with reels & X-ray machines
Re: Flying with reels & X-ray machines
I flew from N.O., LA to LA to finish a project my group started in another studio, with one or two flight interchanges carrying 5 reels of 2" 24-track 499, which was a pain because of the weight, BUT...
we specifically asked about carrying them and the x-ray search issues. Southwest Airlines was real cool about it (pre 9/11, though), and just to be safe we had them do manual/visual searches instead of Xray in one of the airports. Yhey reassured us that it would have no effect (and sounded like they got this question a lot).
really, i think that the amount of gauss an xray-scan puts out does less damage in one trip's worth than setting them near a pair of monitors...I mean, when was the last time you heard of a hard drive on a laptop or memory on a PalmPilot being wiped from flying? I'd tend to think that kind of stuff would be more sensitive. Y'know?
And do you really want to FedEx them, or trust them to a baggage handler? We bought an extra seat for the reels (one-way, about 120 bucks).
we specifically asked about carrying them and the x-ray search issues. Southwest Airlines was real cool about it (pre 9/11, though), and just to be safe we had them do manual/visual searches instead of Xray in one of the airports. Yhey reassured us that it would have no effect (and sounded like they got this question a lot).
really, i think that the amount of gauss an xray-scan puts out does less damage in one trip's worth than setting them near a pair of monitors...I mean, when was the last time you heard of a hard drive on a laptop or memory on a PalmPilot being wiped from flying? I'd tend to think that kind of stuff would be more sensitive. Y'know?
And do you really want to FedEx them, or trust them to a baggage handler? We bought an extra seat for the reels (one-way, about 120 bucks).
Daveaux
N.O.LA
N.O.LA
Re: Flying with reels & X-ray machines
Thanks for the helpful advice. Has anyone flown with reels post 9/11? I imagine it's a bit of a different game now.
Re: Flying with reels & X-ray machines
You should probably be prepared to undergo more vigorous searches no matter what you're carrying if it's bigger than a breadbasket.
..unfortunately, if you look like a freak (like most of us), that too raises a red flag.
God Bless AmericaTM.
..unfortunately, if you look like a freak (like most of us), that too raises a red flag.
God Bless AmericaTM.
Daveaux
N.O.LA
N.O.LA
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