That was really helpful.
You can take them through unless we decide you can’t. Great that is really helpful TSA.
Let’s give the OP the benefit of the doubt. If he flies rarely and doesn’t pay attention to stories about people with circuit boards in their shirts (reasonable, since it’s trapped between Brad Pitt and Britney Spears stories in most “news” sources), then it may not be obvious to him that this would never work. Plus, time really does fly by when you’re engrossed in an electronics project.
But, yeah, this would never work. If you got through security (I’d give it 50% chance if you said nothing, <10% chance if you claimed), then when you pulled out the gear on the plane, I’d give it greater than 90% chance that someone in eye-shot would freak out.
Moderator Note:
This isn’t the Pit. We don’t use the T word.
Gfactor
General Questions Moderator
lissener. The t word is probably better left out of your post.
Since the OP is kindasorta a question and looking for opinions, let’s shuffle off to IMHO. Moved.
samclem GQ moderator
I was just going to bring some 555’s and 556’s, maybe a couple 386’s, some resistors and caps and jumper cables, and one of Forrest Mims’ little circuit books.
Oh, well. So much for that idea. Hey, guess what - if this is what it’s come down to, THE TERRORISTS HAVE WON. Jesus.
I think you know the answer to this. Bring a book or your laptop.
I once tried to get into the waiting area past security to meet an arriving friend, with a briefcase containing some random electronic components (wires, a battery, etc.). First they wouldn’t let me through, and then, as I was about to leave the terminal to put the briefcase in my car, two harbor police lifted me by my shoulders and took me to a back room (I was 17). They said that what I had in the briefcase was “three-fifths of a bomb.” Then they got an FBI agent to come, and he interrogated me until it was clear that it was just a joke, and he got really pissed off. This was before 09/11/2001.
That’s pretty much true for anything, it should be noted, not just knitting needles. I’ve also been told over on the LiveJournal knitting community that you can’t carry on knitting needles in the UK and (IIRC) parts/much of Europe. So VCO3, they’re not setting out to pick on you directly.
Oooh, SimulMod!
I thought maybe if I used it in a question, like Fox News . . .
KIDDING!! Noted.
Oh please. It’s not somebody else who has a hobby has decided that an airline seat isn’t the best place to practice it, even if it’s technically possible, before 9-11.
Ever seen anybody build a model car on a plane? Don’t need much room, the fold down table would be enough room. But yet, building model cars on airliners never really took off even before 9-11. Wonder why? Probably because, even though the builders of models would have liked to, they also realized that it wasn’t the best place to practice their hobby.
Now reading about models? Yeah, great way to spend the flight. I don’t see why you think that you are being persecuted because a plane flight is probably a poor choice of a location to enjoy your hobby. Well, really I do, but we ain’t landed this flight in the proper forum just yet.
You’re entirely wrong. Model cars have hundreds of tiny parts, require smelly and messy paint and rubber cement to assemble, and must be guided by large, detailed foldout instructions. The post of mine that you quoted refers to a mere handful of parts that will be casually snapped into a small piece of plastic the size of a pack of cigarettes, and guided by a little circuit manual about half the size of a paperback book - all on the fold-down tray table that’s a perfect little area in which to do so.
Why don’t you just learn how to knit?
Crochet might be better–I’ve never heard of anyone getting a crochet hook taken away.
In fact, in the link above the TSA suggests bringing a crochet hook to cast off your work should they confiscate your needles, so why not cut out the middleman entirely and just focus on granny squares?
The two options are melding in my mind to a time I brought a rug-hooking hoop and project to a controlled environment (a medical trial, as it happened). The conversation went as follows:
Security: What is this?
Me: It’s a rug-hooking hoop.
Security: …
Me: It’s for rug-hooking. You spread the rug on it, clamp it in place with the outer hoop, and then you can hook your rug.
Security: … Could this be used to kill a person if wielded with deadly intent?
Me: …Underwear could probably be used to kill a person if wielded with deadly intent.
He let me through.
Stupid question.
Obvious answer.
Closing thread.