asd_mar@eagle.wesleyan.edu (12/11/90)
Hi. I'm planning on taking my laptop home over winter break, and am wondering if the airport security personnel are likely to give me a hassle about x-raying it. I'm flying out of La Guardia, if you know about that airport specifically. I'd appreciate any comments; thanks.
a1695@mindlink.UUCP (Guy Saffold) (12/11/90)
I've been through almost every major airport in Canada from Montreal to Victoria carrying my laptop and have never been asked to demostrate that it works. I carry it in my briefcase which I simply run through the x-ray machine. Is there a hazard in this? Over the past two years I have yet to detect any problems. I also routinely send my data disks through the x-ray machines--sometimes the same disk will go through the machine ten times on a single trip. Again, in two years of this I've yet to lose even a single byte of data. -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- Guy Saffold a1695@MINDLINK.UUCPP Voice 604-888-7511 Fax 604-888-5336 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
gargulak@mozart.convex.com (Tom Gargulak) (12/11/90)
I know someone who went to France recently from the U.S. When he was leaving France, Customs completely dismantled his laptop and then left him with the pieces after it checked out OK. -Tom
nfs@cs.Princeton.EDU (Norbert Schlenker) (12/12/90)
In article <1990Dec10.180614.36642@eagle.wesleyan.edu> asd_mar@eagle.wesleyan.edu writes: >I'm planning on taking my laptop home over winter break, and am wondering if >the airport security personnel are likely to give me a hassle about x-raying >it. Security staff are very understanding, especially now that they see these every day. You'll have to turn the machine on and show that it boots, just to relieve them of the fear that the guts have been replaced by a bomb.
userAKDU@mts.ucs.UAlberta.CA (Al Dunbar) (12/12/90)
In article <1990Dec10.180614.36642@eagle.wesleyan.edu>, asd_mar@eagle.wesleyan.edu writes: >Hi. > >I'm planning on taking my laptop home over winter break, and am wondering if >the airport security personnel are likely to give me a hassle about x-raying >it. > >I'm flying out of La Guardia, if you know about that airport specifically. I'd >appreciate any comments; thanks. I have been told that (at least in some Canadian airports), you may be asked to demonstrate that a laptop works before boarding. (i.e. don't pack the power cord in your suitcase if it isn't battery powered). I have yet to be asked to submit a computer to the abuse of an xray machine. -------------------+------------------------------------------- Al Dunbar | Edmonton, Alberta | "this mind left intentionally blank" CANADA | - Manuel Writer -------------------+-------------------------------------------
buck@drax.gsfc.nasa.gov (Loren (Buck) Buchanan) (12/13/90)
In article <4117@mindlink.UUCP> a1695@mindlink.UUCP (Guy Saffold) writes: >I've been through almost every major airport in Canada from Montreal to >Victoria carrying my laptop and have never been asked to demostrate >that it works. I carry it in my briefcase which I simply run through >the x-ray machine. Is there a hazard in this? I would worry more about magnetic fields from the motors driving the belts than I would the X-rays. The amount of radiation recieved during the scan is probably less than that received during the flight (assuming a couple of hours at 35000+ feet). Battery backed DRAM is where you are likely to get hit first (by prematurely discharging the capacitor, and thus losing a bit). I don't worry much about sending my laptop through the scanner, I have a full metal case, but it has only saved me the hassel of turning on twice. Several airports I have been to recently have special stands with electric outlets conveniently located (the first time I was asked to turn it on, the guard pointed to an outlet 25' away). The benefits of having your laptop with you far outweigh an hassles I have had in the 5 years I have had mine. B Cing U Buck Loren Buchanan | buck@drax.gsfc.nasa.gov | #include <std_disclaimer.h> CSC, 1100 West St. | ...!ames!dftsrv!drax!buck | typedef int by Laurel, MD 20707 | (301) 497-2531 | void where_prohibited(by law){} Phone tag, America's fastest growing business sport.
trevorc@uwovax.uwo.ca (12/13/90)
In article <4117@mindlink.UUCP>, a1695@mindlink.UUCP (Guy Saffold) writes: > I've been through almost every major airport in Canada from Montreal to > Victoria carrying my laptop and have never been asked to demostrate > that it works. I carry it in my briefcase which I simply run through > the x-ray machine. Is there a hazard in this? Over the past two years > I have yet to detect any problems. I also routinely send my data disks > through the x-ray machines--sometimes the same disk will go through the > machine ten times on a single trip. Again, in two years of this I've > yet to lose even a single byte of data. Previous comments regarding x-rays and possible damage to a laptop and/or discs seem to be soemwhat alarmist. A fellow medical physicist and I could not understand what damage x-rays could cause to floppies so we conducted an experiment in which we subjected both 5.25 and 3.5 floppies to increasing doses of x-rays from a standard diagnostic unit. The doses were several orders of magnitude greater than airport security systems but we were unable to detect any damage at all - we used Norton utilities to check for bad blocks after each exposure. This should calm fears of damage to floppies and, presumably, hard discs. I have no idea what damage various chips might suffer but doubt very much if it would cause problems. I have often been asked to operate my laptop and my greatest concern on those occasions has been the quality of the mains power supply that the security personnel have asked me to use. It was decidedly poor on one occasion at Toronto airport (Terminal 2), international departures. -- Trevor Cradduck, | Phone: (519) 667-6574 Department of Nuclear Medicine, | FAX: (519) 667-6734 Victoria Hospital, | E-mail: University of Western Ontario, | BITNET: TREVORC@UWOVAX.BITNET LONDON, Ontario, | INTERNET: TREVORC@UWOVAX.UWO.CA Canada, N6A 4G5 | UUCP: TREVORC@RIA.UWO.CA
tad@cel.co.uk (tom drynda) (12/13/90)
There have been a number of recent articles about passing
portables through airport X-ray machines.
In an article in a Toshiba magazine that was sent to me
recently, they say that none of their portables will be adversly
affected by being passed through airport X-ray machines.
In that same magazine, they also give a definitive list of
which airlines will allow you to use your laptop on board the
aircraft, and procedures you should be expected to go through in
the security check.
I will post more detail on the above later (when I remember
to bring the magazine in to work !) since there seems to be a lot of
interest.
Tom Drynda - tad@cel.co.uk |Crosfield Electronics Ltd
__/_________ / |Three Cherry Trees Lane
/ ,-. ,--/ "Even with an IQ of six thousand, |Hemel Hempstead
/ ,--/ / / It was still brown trousers time"|Hertfordshire, HP2 7RH, UK
(_ (__/ (__/ - Holly, Red Dwarf's Computer. |+44 442 230000 ext 3387nather@ut-emx.uucp (Ed Nather) (12/14/90)
In article <2006@mts.ucs.UAlberta.CA>, userAKDU@mts.ucs.UAlberta.CA (Al Dunbar) writes: > In article <1990Dec10.180614.36642@eagle.wesleyan.edu>, asd_mar@eagle.wesleyan.edu writes: > >I'm planning on taking my laptop home over winter break, and am wondering if > >the airport security personnel are likely to give me a hassle about x-raying > >it. > I have yet to be asked to submit a computer to > the abuse of an xray machine. As part of our routine operation of the "Whole Earth Telescope" project we travel all over the world carrying laptops through airports. We have tried numerous approaches (e.g. "...you'll want to look at this ..." or "...this is a computer; want to see it work?") but have found the simplest and fastest is to put the laptop through the X-ray machine. No hassle, no argument, no dismemberment, no abuse, no damage. -- Ed Nather Astronomy Dept, U of Texas @ Austin
dejong@idca.tds.PHILIPS.nl (Hans de Jong) (12/15/90)
I regularly carry a laptop with my on my travels. This is a T1000 or T1200. To prevent any problems, I normally try to get PC and diskettes hand inspected. In USA and Canada, security personnel will do so. In Europe, they sometimes want to inspect the diskettes by hand, but the PC must always go through X-ray. The only times I experienced problems is at Stockholm Arlanda Airport, where the X-ray consistently damages the contents of the battery backup-ed RAM disk of the T1000. Apart from that, the greatest delays on airports are caused by using carnets which my company officially says are needed. Especially at US airports when leaving the country it is hardly possible at all to find customs who can sign the carnet. A severe inconvenience using laptops arises when trying to use a modem. Non-standardized telephone plugs, fixed wired telephones, different tones, pulse ratios, impossibility to dial international numbers in certain US hotels without operator, etc. Hans de Jong telephone plugs in various countries,
hrs1@cbnewsi.att.com (herman.r.silbiger) (12/16/90)
In article <2006@mts.ucs.UAlberta.CA>, userAKDU@mts.ucs.UAlberta.CA (Al Dunbar) writes: > > I have been told that (at least in some Canadian airports), you > may be asked to demonstrate that a laptop works before boarding. > (i.e. don't pack the power cord in your suitcase if it isn't > battery powered). I have yet to be asked to submit a computer to > the abuse of an xray machine. I have taken my laptop all over the worls, sometimes in my carry on garment bag, and sometimes checked in my suitcase. It must have been x rayed some 50 times, which does not seem to have affected it at all. Once,in Berlin, where I had checked it in my suitcase, was I called to open my suitcase and show that it worked. This shows that they really do x ray suitcases on international flights. Herman Silbiger hsilbiger@attmail.com
chittamu@pogo.cs.umass.edu (Satish Chittamuru) (12/16/90)
As far as I know there is no problem sending any magnetic stuff through
an X-Ray machine. A Magnetic detector is quite another matter. But I see
people making a lot of fuss even with the X-Ray machines. Can anyone give
authoritative information about X-Rays and magnetic media?
--
-Satish K. Chittamuru
chittamu@cs.umass.edu Software Development Lab.
chittamu@umass.bitnet Dept. of Computer & Info. Sciences
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01002
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