DEC Terminals, free P/U in CA

On Oct 4, 2013, at 09:59 , Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> wrote: Once I shipped a USSR Fialka cipher machine ($3000+ of nearly irreplaceable, fragile electromechanical equipment) cross-country to return it to a guy I fixed it for. He didn't pack it too well, and it arrived in a non-rectangular box and with a dented lid. I wasn't about to let that happen on the return trip, so I procured a wooden crate and convoluted foam from U-Line to pack it for its return trip. Those cost around $120, not even including shipping. But for heavy, valuable, fragile items like old radios, computers, crypto gear, etc., that kind of overkill is pretty much necessary. Other good options include foam-in-place, double-boxing, lots of bubble wrap, etc. Sometimes, things like knobs need to be removed, switches need to be very carefully protected, etc. The worst thing to do is to toss something in a used cardboard box with some styrofoam peanuts. All too often, the box will arrive spherical instead of rectangular, with peanuts and pieces of the smashed contents leaking out the corners. Unfortunately, properly packing many items costs more than the item is worth, so that's why this sort of stuff is often given away for free or thrown away when the owner knows the item isn't worth the effort and expense of packing it for shipment. -- Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x at nf6x.net> http://www.nf6x.net/