Arduino in carry-on luggage

[Antoinette J. Citizen]

Hello, I am taking a few different flights and need to bring arduino
boards, shields and other electrical components with me. Most
regulations seem to say you cannot put "personal electronic devices"
in checked baggage. But I am unsure how bringing this in carry-on
luggage would go at the security check.

I am wondering if anyone has any experience with this before?

[Denver Gingerich]

I've flown with the Bit Reader USB pictured at
http://www.stripesnoop.com/?p=20 in both my checked and carry-on
luggage and never had a problem. I've carried at least three of them
in checked luggage on four different flights. This includes an
international flight to the US within two weeks of the Christmas Day
NWA Flight 253 incident.

So I'd say you'll probably be fine regardless of where you choose to
store the electronics, though I can't vouch for all airlines. Just
don't attach an Arduino to your T-shirt [1].

Denver
http://ossguy.com/

1. http://boingboing.net/2007/09/21/mit-student-arrested.html

[c f]

It appears to be really hit or miss. I've flown with a wide variety of 'homemade-looking' electronics and various components, and I usually get something 'swabbed' and tested for explosives, but that's about it. Also purely anecdotal, but saying "I'm an engineer" seems to get you farther than saying "I'm an interactive artist" or something. I friend of mine had several 'breathing books' she had made for an art project - basically hollowed out books with servos inside - that got seized by DHS and took a few months to get back.

-chris

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[demetrius jacks]

i have been caring my arduino electronics kit all over the world literally and had no problem.

   was intending to study but... didn't get to it. lol

   i would say don't worry about it. even to adu dhabi, where the check is pretty serious, soo.... carry on.

D

[Alpay Kasal]

i've traveled with arduino's a fair amount - only domestically though. my experience with homeland security is precisely this - it depends on who you get... and that is the advice i got from both the airlines and homeland officials. that advice blew me away.
 
the funny thing is, I thought i'd be turned away because my hardware looked seriously suspect, mysterious little boards soldered up with battery power, taped together and stuffed in a small project box. what i found is they didn't care about the arduino as much as they had issue with the physical implement (ie: the handlebars that had an arduino and xbee built into them were considered a blunt object i could beat a pilot with).
 
when i have been turned away and missed my flight, i was advised to just try to go through security again, avoiding the person that turned me away, and yeah, i boarded without a problem. this has happened a couple of times now. if it's just electronics, you should be ok. if you're building the electronics into any oddly shaped metal enclosure that won't fit into your laptop bag, then they might have issue with that as a blunt object. i know i was surprised.
 
i am not sure about international, but I am flying to Vienna with arudino's and pings in a couple of weeks. then a few more city's we'll see how that goes.


Alpay Kasal
Artist/Engineer
blog: http://blog.LitStudios.com
twitter: @alpaykasal

[Matt Joyce]

I've never had an issue.  And I've done some crazy stuff.  Though the TSA has blogged about one of my projects being banned from airplanes.

That being said, if you possess a ham license, you could violate all sorts of ethics and just straight up lie and say your gear is radio gear, and then show your license.  The FAA technically isn't allowed to prevent you from carrying on your radio gear.  Has to do with civil defense stuff from way back.

Just a thought.

-Matt

[Foxx D'Gamma]

I have traveled with an entire suitcase full of homebrew electronics
projects. Some of my antennas were literally quarter inch copper pipe
with threaded fittings, they look a lot like pipe bombs when going
through x-ray scanners. I have been stopped and checked every time.
One key piece of advice, keep all your stuff neatly packed, and the
batteries either not installed, or completely separate. If you keep
everything nice and neat if/when they search your bag it will take
less time, especially on the x-ray scanner. If there is no batteries
in your project they cant give you any real huge hassle since no power
means no operation... or so they assume. Check out this link
http://www.natch.net/stuff/TSA/ and how much a home made MintyBoost
gave one individual. Also keeping your kit neatly packed makes the
x-ray scanner come up with less false-positive identification for
questionable materials.

~ Foxx

[Kevin Mark]

On Sun, Mar 21, 2010 at 03:25:35PM -0400, Matt Joyce wrote:
> I've never had an issue. And I've done some crazy stuff. Though the TSA has
> blogged about one of my projects being banned from airplanes.
>
> That being said, if you possess a ham license, you could violate all sorts of
> ethics and just straight up lie and say your gear is radio gear, and then show
> your license. The FAA technically isn't allowed to prevent you from carrying
> on your radio gear. Has to do with civil defense stuff from way back.
>
> Just a thought.
>
> -Matt

at some level this seems like a dice game. If you carry any non-professional
looking stuff you roll a 1d20, if you get from 2 to 5, you get bothered by an
agent, and get left behind, and then you can try again to take another change
with another agent. If you get a 1, you are screwed. Some how 'professional
looking' stuff is OK, until someone tried something with that. They already
have some odd restrictions on lithuim batterys. but some how if you get an
agent that never connected a battery, 2 wires and a bulb, you have to be
worried. So you get 'it depends' as an answer as to if you can get your
electronic gear through the airport.
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[Foxx D'Gamma]

.. and a short blurb about Matt's comment about telling them your
stuff is ham radio related. Well, I am a Ham, and my stuff was radio
related. You are required to carry your FCC License, and put a copy of
it in your bag of tech stuff, or your operators certificate. If you
bullshit them and tell them you hold an FCC License and you dont,
expect to get in trouble. I wouldnt suggest trying. Once they opened
my bag and saw I was FCC Licensed, they didnt give me much hassle. One
key thing that made the whole thing go over really quick was I took
all batteries, put them in a separate box labeled "Batteries",
explained none of the devices have power, and they didnt give me much
trouble. Just asked me what this, that, and some other things were and
told me to go.

~Foxx

[Alpay Kasal]

well said Kevin... and if your throw of the die is an unlucky one, i
hope your character sheet can see you through it... perhaps brings some
Mana potion for the experience... oh, but wait, you can't get through
with liquids. i guess even less than 6oz might help. for those who
have no idea what i'm saying, disregard, bad joke :)
 

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[Kevin Mark]

On Sun, Mar 21, 2010 at 03:44:12PM -0400, Alpay Kasal wrote:
> well said Kevin... and if your throw of the die is an unlucky one, i
> hope your character sheet can see you through it... perhaps brings
> some Mana potion for the experience... oh, but wait, you can't get
> through with liquids. i guess even less than 6oz might help. for
> those who have no idea what i'm saying, disregard, bad joke :)

Well the comment about removing the batteries seems like the best responce so
far. So that gives me a clear idea as opposed to a random one. Maybe tell the
TSA to add that to their list for amateur hobbists?

[Matt Joyce]

In all honesty I've never had a problem, I believe because I've been up front and pretty reasonable.  Understand these guys have a job to do, and they generally don't want to give you shit any more than you want to be hassled by them.  Treat them with respect, be nice even if you are being treated like shit.  Acting like a jerk gets you nowhere and being nice costs you nothing.  Don't talk down to these guys either.  This is their job.  They do this professionally day in and day out and they don't need you blundering into their field acting silly.  Explain what your device is, be sure to mention ( if necessary ) that there is nothing volatile in the design.  Offer to demonstrate it functioning ( if it's benign ).  And try to engage them as people with an honest interest in what it is that you do.  Most folks find this stuff fascinating even TSA agents.  Above all follow instructions quickly and calmly.

Do all that, and odds are there won't be any issues.  If there are... well... again, take it in stride.  You are a representative of all hobbyists and homebrew enthusiasts at that point, act in a manner that's appropriate and we would all be proud of.

Beyond that everything is outside your immediate control.  Don't freak out, and if it gets to a point where you are no longer comfortable with the situation request that legal counsel be present.

Assuming you want to avoid this whole scenario and it's possible consequences just fedex your device to your hotel in advance.  It's not a 100% sure fire way to get it there.  But if you are comfortable with the risk, all hotels will accept packages for you if you let them know in advance.

Alternatively get in touch with a local hackerspace or academic lab that is relevant to the field of your expertise and ask them to assist in receiving the device in advance. 

Keep Calm and Solder On.

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[dr...@stonedcoder.org]

I travel by air, often internationally, every other week or so, and my
backpacks got ben's TLC board and freeduino in the front, along with 2
battery packs on USB cables.

No problems whatsoever, maybe once someone asked me what it was and I
explained respectfully.

-Eric

>> nycresistormicrocon...@googlegroups.com<nycresistormicrocontrollers%2Bunsu...@googlegroups.com>

[Marius Kintel]

On Mar 21, 2010, at 7:56 PM, Alpay Kasal wrote:
>
> i am not sure about international, but I am flying to Vienna with arudino's and pings in a couple of weeks. then a few more city's we'll see how that goes.
>

What's up in Vienna?
If you're displaying your mirror work, I'd be very interested in it!
Also, make sure to drop by the Metalab when you're here - and get in touch if you need anything.

Cheers,

~/= Marius

--
We are Elektropeople for a better living.

[Alpay Kasal]

wow, what a pleasant surprise to read this... Yes, i'm going on a
little tour with several mirrors but sadly it's only for some trade
show work, not for anything artistic or open to the public. although i
am happy to say i had a nice little budget to work with so the newest
build contains materials that blows away the originals (I've also spent
this weekend cooking up some fun demo materal of my own to show on the
new mirrors). I'm hitting 11 cities, Vienna is the first, and with a
couple of extra days to hang out :) i'll definitely look you up along
with Metalabs. 2nd week of April.Thanks! very much appreciated Marius!

 
Alpay Kasal
Artist/Engineer
blog: http://blog.LitStudios.com
twitter: @alpaykasal

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[joesaavedra]

I traveled to Belgium from NYC last October, with 6 augmented
("spatialized") umbrellas. They each had a custom arduino circuit
made from perf board, as well as wires running down each spoke leading
to 6 speakers and LEDs that surround the user's head.

Needless to say, a BUNCH of long wires and homemade circuits embedded
in large umbrellas = super sketchy. I was going to exhibit at a
festival in Belgium, and when I went to check in my luggage (obviously
the umbrellas needed to be checked) I told the woman at the counter,
"I need to speak with a TSA supervisor, because I have potentially
sketchy looking materials in my bag". Not sure if I used the word
sketchy, but she completely understood. She called the supervisor on
duty, and in 10 - 15 min he showed up.

I opened my bag, explained that I am an artist going to exhibit work,
and showed him one umbrella. He understood that it was
"art" (whatever that is) and said it's really good that i spoke with
him - he told me he wouldn't even have opened the bag, would have just
gone straight to a bomb checker machine, and never gotten on my
flight. It's important to ask to speak to the supervisor, because
he's the one in charge when sketchy shit goes through.

My girlfriend went to Israel with a bunch of arduino's and circuits,
did the same thing and was fine.

Good luck!

On Mar 21, 8:24 am, "Antoinette J. Citizen"

[cbeauvois]

I put together a CHDK USB remote camera trigger while on a project in
Europe, and accidentally flew back to NYC with it in my carry-on. I
got screened and just had to show how it worked. Still, I figured I
was lucky and put it in my luggage a week later for a trip to
Montreal. It wasn't there when I unpacked at the hotel, though. No
note, nothing. The only other thing that disappeared like that was my
Sonicare battery on a trip to Austin once. Just sayin'.

[pete edwards]

I can pretty confidently say that you will have no problems. Expect them to want to see what's in your bag, be friendly and responsive. You'll be on your way in under 5 minutes.
 A product of the bomb scare times we live in is that most airports now have super expensive explosive detecting equipment. They'll just run your stuff through the special scanner. Once they see that there's no explosives the discussion is over. They don't care what it is or how it works, don't offer info they don't ask for. They just want to swab it and scan it to make sure there's no threat. the end.