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Limitations while traveling.


Saif and Sound

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Im booked for a gig out of state. And have packed up my gear in a pelican case. Im going to check it in at the airport. And then carry on the boom and my back pack.

Im just looking for any advice on to anysensitive item to look out for. I feel the items of most concern would be the batteries. I have 6 np1's and 16 AA's. Is this too much or am i fine? Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

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You can not check any Lithium Ion batteries; they must be carried on. Put your boom pole in your pelican case if it will fit. More than likely your full Pelican will be very overweight so be prepared to pay a hefty fee. Tape and cables should be put in your checked baggage. Take off any antennas from your wireless. Remove batteries from any wireless, recorders, mixers, etc.

When I fly I bring my kit as a carry on. Baggage handlers beat the crap out of luggage. Do you want your gear abused?

Don't refer to your shotgun mic as such. And no calling it a boom pole. Those are bad, bad words for TSA.

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Im thinkin now maybe i should just drop the pelincase and just carry the bag as carry on as well as my back back. Both will probably fit. I might have to use a pistol grip instead of boom. And shrink my np1's down to 4 instead of 6. Thanks alot for the info guys. This is potentially saving me from screwing myself.

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Just a thought on the 1510 carry-on legal size case. Most airlines have a limitation on how heavy a carry-on is allowed on board. Sometimes it's 10kg or 7kg. More importantly the 1510 is already nearing 6kg. A note to thyself.

Try to at least stuff everything into a Porta/Petrol case and have the option to open everything up with easy access just in case if TSA gets fussy. Reason in bringing a charger is safety for yourself and production just in case you run out of juice and need to charge. You might already have calculated that 6 NP would last you twice the trip, but the charger is indispensable. Downside is its equivalent size is to 5-6 NP1.

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I have been told that I can't bring a boom pole on board because "it can be used as a blunt object" - even though I have carried it on board many times it the past. One time I had to forfeit an XLR cable because it can be used "to tie someone up" . The short of it is it depends on the screener, so be prepared to check it or have it taken away.

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I fly about once a month. Everything is in my pelican except "microphone pole", which I carry on in a cabelas fly fishing pole tube. I have my 4 np1 batteries and nothing else special done. I always find the TSA slips in my clothes bag but never the pelican... And TSA member complimented me on my use of wording for microphone pole once, haha. I think people overreact over the battery issue. But I guess better be safe than sorry...

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Some time ago, I flew a number of times for gigs and carried gear.

I carried everything on. The basic mixer kit was in a large camera bag and everything else was in a carryon-size soft-sided suitcase -- mixed in with my clothes that I also used for padding. I found I could get much more into a soft-sider than a Pelican 1510 and the suitcase didn't add to the weight the way a Pelican would. The boom pole (an 8' vdB that collapsed down to 24") just made it into the suitcase diagonally.

TSA screeners always carefully checked the gear in the camera bag and usually did a swab and swipe. Only one time was I told I couldn't carry on the boom pole. The screener said it "...could be used as a bludgeon." Picking up on a tip from someone else (on RAMPS, I believe), I didn't argue or challenge him. I just politely asked to speak with the supervisor. The screener looked like he was about to get in my face when he seemed to come to the realization that I hadn't argued with him or challenged him in any way, but that I had only asked to speak with the supervisor.

He motioned to the supervisor who came over, took one quick look at the pole and waved me through without a word.

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New here but a long-time photojournalist (transitioning to audio). If I may suggest folks should have a look at the bags from Think Tank Photo (www.thinktankphoto.com). They do a range of cases made specifically for carry-on (http://www.thinktankphoto.com/categories/rolling-camera-bags/airport-series.aspx) and they're pretty awesome. Not cheap by any means but well designed and well made.

Jim Colburn

Omaha, NE

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  • 1 month later...

I just flew my gear out of state for the first time (I've always driven it in the past). The week before departure I was a few miles from the airport with a couple of hours to kill. I decided to take in my cases, gear, boom pole, etc. and speak with the TSA agents on duty. They were extremely professional and helpful in telling me how to pack; what to carry on and what to check. They actually thanked me for taking the time to ask them for their help. They advised me to carry on my mixer, recorder, short cables and all batteries (with tape over the battery leads). The things they advised that had to be packed in checked luggage were boom poles (I got the same "they could be used as a bludgeon" response), long cables and gaff tape. I also packed my wireless system, shotgun mic, chargers and harness in checked luggage due to carry on limitations. Got through security both ways without a hitch.

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  • 1 month later...

I remembered commenting here a little while ago, and it looks as though the battery situation might have changed for travelers carrying on 'larger lithium-ion batteries', any lithium-ion battery rated at 160Wh and above.

http://safetravel.dot.gov/larger_batt.html

This would likely only affect the camera department, but some guys running larger recorders in bags might be using batteries of this capacity.

Only allowed 1 'installed battery' and 2 spares of batteries 160Wh-300Wh will be allowed in carry-on baggage while flying in US.

Looks like NP-1s and batts of similar capacity will still be OK to bring on board.

Cheers,

Rich

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I'll have to knock on wood for posting this, but I've been carrying 25ft cables into the cabin for years 'cause I got tired of stripping my rig apart. I was challenged once by an agent who claimed I could "restrain" someone with the cable. I pointed out that someone could way more easily restrain anyone on the plane using their own belt, especially compared to this soft wimpy (read:premium mogami) cable I was carrying.

Surprisingly, they let me on... and let me wear my belt as well...

YMMV

Brent Calkin

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I flew once where they would not allow a bike lock on board because it could be used, "...as a clubbing device." Then I sit down and the girl sitting next to me on the flight had a monopod for her camera on her lap.

Really?

So much of this is just the individual you wind up being searched by.

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Good advice and links so far. I fly with gear fairly regularly. Best tip for carryon: Put your carryon audio bag/case right after the camera operator's (assuming you'll be on the same flight). Have him or her put their camera on top of their bag/case. TSA sees the camera go through, then is prepared for all the crazy stuff that shows up in your audio case. Works for me just about every time, in both large and small markets. BTW- I check my boom poles since those did seem to cause TSA concern more often than the rest of my stuff.

Also, you don't have shotgun mics, you have directional microphones.

If you have a lot of gear, see if the airline you're using still makes special accommodations for media baggage. For example, Southwest says, "Camera, film, video, lighting, and sound equipment will be accepted when presented by a representative of a network or local television broadcasting company or a commercial filmmaking company. A fee of $50 will be charged for each item in excess of the free baggage allowance. Media equipment will not be assessed oversized or overweight charges."

http://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/baggage/special-luggage-pol.html

Have fun.

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