Traveling with tape

MagnumPI

MagnumPI

New member
Hi Guys,
I'm going to be taking a trip to Europe and want to bring some reels of tape for recording over there. Some are blank and some have some music on them. It is the Quantegy 407 on 7" reels. I've got about 6 reels.
Do you know if they could potentially be damaged by the airport scanners or the temperature change on the flight?
I was thinking about putting them in my hold bag that goes under the plane.
Any thoughts?
Thanks.
:drunk:
 
X-rays do not damage/erase recorded tape, but conveyor belt motors might. The temperature in the cargo hold is probably no big deal. I would carry them on the plane after they have been recorded just to be safe. That said, I have Fedexed my own master tapes a number of times without incident
 
Yeah if it's anything important, I wouldn't let it out of my sight: take it in your carry-on bag. And if you're super-paranoid (like me), you could always ask the security guard to inspect them by hand.
 
MagnumPI said:
Hi Guys,
I'm going to be taking a trip to Europe and want to bring some reels of tape for recording over there. Some are blank and some have some music on them. It is the Quantegy 407 on 7" reels. I've got about 6 reels.
Do you know if they could potentially be damaged by the airport scanners or the temperature change on the flight?
I was thinking about putting them in my hold bag that goes under the plane.
Any thoughts?
Thanks.
:drunk:
Click to expand...

If you take them as carry on, because of the shape, they are metal, expect to be pulled to the side and searched. No big deal, but expect it. Don't go all silly with them as you will make the situation from routine to bad. But you shouldn't have any issues other than that.
 
I just found this:
"The increase in security at airport check-in has led to a resurfacing of the age old concern, 'what effect will airport x-rays have on my magnetic tape recording?'

X-ray systems used at airport check-in have long been found to have no effect on magnetic tape media. But, customer uncertainty regarding what effect the new sophisticated Explosive Detection Systems (EDS) might have, prompted Sony to conduct a preliminary test to determine if more extensive testing was warranted.
Based on a controlled test using a variety of Sony magnetic tapes with varying degrees of susceptibility to erasure (i.e. values of coercivity), it was found that the EDS in use at one airport did not impact the magnetic recording on the tapes tested.

Unfortunately variations in the design of security x-ray scanning equipment (i.e.: positioning of the electric motors that power the conveyer belt; radiation intensity & frequency; speed of the conveyor belt; length of time the material is x-rayed; equipment used outside the U.S.) make it impossible to definitively determine what effect, if any, these new scanners might have on magnetic tape recordings.

Although it is highly unlikely that these new EDS' will affect your magnetic recording, as a safeguard it is recommended that you consider the following guidelines:

Carry-on valuable recordings and submit them for hand inspection at security checks.
Allow yourself some extra time in the event there is any question.
Carry along a sample tape that can be put through the normal inspection, if necessary.
Avoid mailing magnetic tape through the United States Postal Service, or the like, unless it can be arranged for these mailings to be exempted from being x-rayed.
If it is unavoidable for your tape to be subjected to x-ray security, try to avoid multiple passes.
If possible, make a back-up copy before you embark on your travels."
 
Well then. I definitely would not leave them in the regular bag, I would have the security guard do a hand-inspection. It's sensitive material and probably irreplaceable, so better safe than sorry. Just make sure you give yourself plenty of extra time. BTW what's your source?
 
Last edited:
DM60 said:
Don't go all silly with them as you will make the situation from routine to bad. But you shouldn't have any issues other than that.
Click to expand...

I agree... don't chose that time and place for your battle with the TSA. Get a good look at the agents... take a picture if you can. Then later... weeks, months, years down the line, find them, kill them and bury them in a remote area. And don't kill them quickly. Make it last. Talk to them about how they are enemies of our free society and are helping to destroy our county, that its nothing personal, but this is war. No one will connect the disappearance with anything that happened between you and them at the airport. At least no one has connected any of mine, or even found the bodies yet.

Seriously though, in practical terms this is a non-issue. Magnetic recordings are shipped all the time via air without incident. However, on commercial flights luggage has been lost, or at least MIA for a time until they find where they accidentally left it or sent it, and eventually gets back to you. So, I carry mine on and keep it with me. And give them a heads up that you have magnetic tape and are concerned about it.
 
Beck said:
I agree... don't chose that time and place for your battle with the TSA. Get a good look at the agents... take a picture if you can. Then later... weeks, months, years down the line, find them, kill them and bury them in a remote area. And don't kill them quickly. Make it last. Talk to them about how they are enemies of our free society and are helping to destroy our county, that its nothing personal, but this is war. No one will connect the disappearance with anything that happened between you and them at the airport. At least no one has connected any of mine, or even found the bodies yet.
Click to expand...

Kind of a funny side story...

I was on tour with a band called the Protomen, helping to make a documentary film about their travels. Along the way, my wallet (along with all of my identification) was stolen, and I needed to fly home from Seattle with no ID. It is possible, but they will ask you a million and a half questions and scrutinize you much more closely than usual. During this scrutiny, I was telling the TSA agent about my travels as he hand-searched my bag. He happened upon a few of the band's CDs that I had gotten autographed when he stopped and asked, "Wait, is this the band? The Protomen? I love them!"

I told him he could take a CD or two and I'd look the other way, but he said he couldn't. So, I did the next best thing, which was to call the band and try to get him on the guest list for the show that night.

In connection with your inquiry, I would also make backups of whatever material you're carrying with you. If the material is that important, you may just want to travel with the backups, especially if there isn't any discernible difference between the two.

-MD
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top