The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I travel regularly with a laptop bag issued by the US Intelligence Community. It's a legit bag from a legit organization, but I have never been a member, nor have I ever even applied for any security clearance. A recruiter gave it to my sister, who gave it to me. On at least 2 occasions where I was stopped by the TSA, I was then allowed to continue without further scrutiny because an agent saw the bag and waved me through...

Chuck wrote:I forgot to include in my previous post, that
in my humble opinion, modern TSA also falls
well into the "Dog and Pony Show" category,
and that it too provides only the illusion of
safe air travel.

Dog and pony show it may be, but to my knowledge there have been no incidents of airborne terrorism since 9/11 that originated on U.S. soil. I personally think it’s safer to fly cross-country than to drive around the block.

Raphael

I worked in airport security in Germany during the time of the Lockerbie disaster. The scanning machines were still black and white x-rays and much lower quality than today. Back then a large piece of metal with something inside would really have been a black block, as were lead-crystal vases etc. The new machines can actually look through some of these materials and display things hidden inside, if they are of different material and density. A lot of the most "annoying" procedures have been put in place to prevent security personnel from getting complacent and starting to gaze over the thousands of pictures that roll by on the screen in front of them.

Are the security checks 100%? Of course not, there will always be a chance of an oversight or human error. Are the security checks effective in achieving their objective? Absolutely! One big part of the checks is psychological. Just the added stress of someone trying to hide something is often enough to deter someone, or to make them act suspicious. Even with the older machines, that was a big part of the security. That's what the watchers are for. The actual machines are only part of it. Yes, it can be annoying, but I prefer it to the old days where everyone could just run into the airport up to the gate without being bothered.

Andreas

Many moons ago I sold an HMV 101 portable to a tourist on Portobello road , London , 6 months later he was back at Portobello Road and purchased another HMV 101 portable , so are you reselling them ? no he replied , the first 101 he took home via Heathrow airport , as he was passing through customs he realised he had left the portable in the Cafe where he had a coffee . He rushed back to the Cafe to get the machine but it was gone ! It had been reported to security as suspicious , and he was told it was taken to a safe area / room and blown up , hence the need for a replacement , so security works some times !

Not Pre-9/11--
Several years ago, my wife and I were given a weekend in Orlando--airfare included-- by my son who worked for JetBlue at the time. I 'happened' to schedule the romantic get-away for the same weekend as the Orlando show. At the show I purchased a Columbia Q with 10" cone horn-- I safely packed it in my carry-on. It elicited a 'pause' in the security line, but a quick explanation was all it took- Seems the agent was into antiques and was able to figure out I was telling the truth--

Then- This past summer I was flying home from Montana. My sister had picked up a VV-50 for me that had an absolutely horrible condition case. I scrapped the case (sorry) but stripped it of every conceivable part which, with 'tetris' precision, had been packed into a fairly small box and placed in my carry-on. The turntable was wrapped separately and placed in my checked bag. TSA again took a long look at it on their screen-- asked what it was-- and quickly accepted my explanation. I don't fly frequently, but am a pre-Check flyer. Perhaps I don't look dangerous??

Brad Abell

In the early 80s I flew out of Boston not with a phonograph but with a brass blade Western Electric fan dating from about 1915. It was a flea market bargain that was too good to pass up and I bought it before I considered the complications of getting it on to my flight back to Toronto. Even in those " simpler times," I knew like Lucy Ricardo, I was going to have some "splainin'" to do. I stuffed it into a duffle bag and was at least smart enough to be doing preemptive defense as it slid into the x ray machine. But of course everything ground to a halt as everyone in the line up was moved away to a safe distance . A hush fell as the inspectors gathered round, and I blushing like a traffic light, continued my nervous chatter: ...good deal...couldn't pass it up....uncommon...heheheh..... I was saved by one of the agents, bless her heart, as I opened the bag and she said " Oh my god I've wanted one of these for YEARS! Where did you get it??" And everyone breathed easy. Especially me

Jim