Hey, guys. I'm needing to ship my Sony TC-366, along with a big ol' box of about 45 or so 7" tapes.
Just wanted some tips on the best way to pack this thing without going overboard on my packing budget.
The recorder has the dust cover, so I intent to keep the dust cover on the front of the unit to protect it, and I will fasten the dust cover to the unit with non-residue tape.
Just wanted your guys's 2 cents on what works with packing this stuff. Both for the machine, and the tapes.
-callie-
Ok, first of all, I'd pack the tapes in a seperate box, upright and empty spaces filled tightly with crumpled paper, usually found bound at the UPS Store. You wanna make sure nothing moves. I'd also investigate the idea of fitting some 1" styrofoam panels on
all sides of the box [for the tapes]. Make sure the panels are, again, tight fitting on all sides. This will give some protection to the tapes. Again, any void space filled with crumpled paper, so that if you turn it 360 degrees, nothing moves.
There are several ways to pack a recorder and it changes from recorder to recorder but here's how I would do it for the Sony TC-366. Initially I thought the dust cover should not be shipped affixed to the recorder BUT changed my mind. It would protect the protruding items on the face. So yeah, affix the cover very well to the front of the recorder. When you do this, you'll have, what amount to really, is a nice smooth box like recorder, with nothing major sticking out. Now, get yourself a new 24x24x24 box and some good heavy duty packing tape. Put no less than 2" of a styrofoam sheet at the bottom of box and then measure the exact lenght and width of the recorder. Cut styro panels for the other sides of the box, making a tight fitting "nest" for the recorder. It's better to have it a fraction of an inch smaller than the recorder so that when you slide it in, it fits tight. Now, before doing anything and THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT: when you have made the nest, with the bottom panel and sides, take a bag, preferable a good garbage kind and put a lot of peanuts in there but make sure all the air is out of the bag. You can make a couple of small holes in it so that air escapes with compression. Now, this is a bit of trial and error so be patient. Place the bag of peanuts at the bottom but on top of that thick styro panel. Compress it evenly with your hands, adjusting for about 20 - 30 lbs of pressure so that the peanuts are more sturdy. IF, with the compression you find, there's less than 2 or 3 inches of peanuts, open the bag up and place more peanuts, compress again. You wanna have at least 2" - 3" of compressed peanuts so that when the machine sits on it, it won't compress from the machines weight alone. To place the machine in there, put it on the floor, on a flat garbage bag. This works best with 2 people. Pick it up by the opposing sides of the garbage bag and slide the recorder into the tight fitting "nest". Place another bag of compacted / compressed peanuts on top or perhaps just another thick sheet of styrofoam, making sure that when you close the box, it's not compressing too much on that center of the box but rather on the styrofoam sheets on the sides. The recorder's top is usually heavier with the motors and power supply so when you see it go down more on that side, place a smaller, seperate bag under that heavier top, so that the recorder sits evenly.
Many would suggest bubble wrap in place of what I have above but I don't trust that way, especially for heavier gear and for it to do anything, it would have to be wrapped many, many times and likely the box would prove too small.
Place several "THIS SIDE UP" stickers on the box.
Send it FEDEX GROUND or EXPRESS for safer handling.
