31 Oct
2007
31 Oct
'07
11:27 p.m.
I'm going to VCF/nanotech thing by plane and I thought this would be a
good way to bring Al some 8" floppies (PLATO system!) to
archive/image, but I wondered if the airport x-ray scanner would do
anything bad to them? I'd hate to damage them on my way to having
them archived...
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/download/index.html>
Legalize Adulthood! <http://blogs.xmission.com/legalize/>
1 Nov
1 Nov
1:01 a.m.
Richard wrote:
I'm going to VCF/nanotech thing by plane and I
thought this would be a
good way to bring Al some 8" floppies (PLATO system!) to
archive/image, but I wondered if the airport x-ray scanner would do
anything bad to them? I'd hate to damage them on my way to having
them archived...
I have heard that what is in use internationally will damage them. The
power supply magnetics is what I was told is what is the real hazard not
the xrays. I would not risk irreplacable media finding out anyway.
I am looking for a way to ship 8" floppies internationally if anyone has
done so successfully. quantity is large and all are one of a kind that
cannot be duplicted at this time by any normal means.
Jim
2:56 a.m.
I have heard that what is in use internationally will
damage
them. The power supply magnetics is what I was told is what is the
real hazard not the xrays. I would not risk irreplacable media
finding out anyway.
I am looking for a way to ship 8" floppies internationally if anyone
has done so successfully. quantity is large and all are one of a
kind that cannot be duplicted at this time by any normal means.
The average airport system is running at around 120kV .5mA. About
120-170w power supply...
I would imagine that its a motor in the conveyor belt doing it. A
lot of those tubes are built using a monoblock construction (the
transformer is integrated) to save money. So the transformer is a
few feet above the belt. Dental units are built this way...
I don't know if the security systems use them, but there are conveyor
rollers with motors built right in. A motor like that would be
extremely close to the belt.
Of course I have no idea what's going on outside of the U.S...but its
probably the same.
See if you can hand carry the disks through the metal detector. Or
put them on top of your coat when you run it through.
Grant
10:01 a.m.
Grant Stockly wrote:
US policy has a provision for carrying fast film through instead of
running it through the xray.
I fly pretty often, and sometimes with odd toys. I've had good luck
calling the local TSA office and just telling them what I'm carrying and
why I want special handling. (I suspect that if the item was a large
block of Silly Putty with wires and batteries, they wouldn't be so
understanding!)
Caveat: Expect to get The Full Treatment anytime you bypass xray
with any item.
Ob WayOffTopic:
Although this hass just nearly been 10 years - when I first started
teaching for IBM only a few of the courses had gone to screen projector
presentation. Most still used overhead projectors and transparencies.
Even after screen projectors started catching on, I had to carry the
transparencies "just in case". A week's worth of presentation is a
stack between 75mm and 125mm.
Even before 11/2001, airport security made me do the explosives swab
test *every time* I went through, and searched my bags about 1 in 3
times. I finally asked one of the local security guys - who knew me by
name by then - why I kept getting tagged. He grinned and thumped that
stack of transparencies and said "I dunno what this stuff is made of,
but under the scope it looks JUST LIKE plastic explosive. You're giving
us all heart attacks."
Doc
I have heard that what is in use internationally
will damage them.
The power supply magnetics is what I was told is what is the real
hazard not the xrays. I would not risk irreplacable media finding out
anyway.
I am looking for a way to ship 8" floppies internationally if anyone
has done so successfully. quantity is large and all are one of a kind
that cannot be duplicted at this time by any normal means.
The average airport system is running at around 120kV .5mA. About
120-170w power supply...
I would imagine that its a motor in the conveyor belt doing it. A lot
of those tubes are built using a monoblock construction (the transformer
is integrated) to save money. So the transformer is a few feet above
the belt. Dental units are built this way...
I don't know if the security systems use them, but there are conveyor
rollers with motors built right in. A motor like that would be
extremely close to the belt.
Of course I have no idea what's going on outside of the U.S...but its
probably the same.
See if you can hand carry the disks through the metal detector. Or put
them on top of your coat when you run it through. 
10:17 a.m.
Even before 11/2001, airport security made me do
the explosives swab
test *every time* I went through, and searched my bags about 1 in 3
times. I finally asked one of the local security guys - who knew me by
name by then - why I kept getting tagged. He grinned and thumped that
stack of transparencies and said "I dunno what this stuff is made of,
but under the scope it looks JUST LIKE plastic explosive. You're giving
us all heart attacks."
You may also fit the profile. I ran into the same treatment ten years
ago, with my black case with a Thinkpad in it (and not much else). The
other engineers would go thru xray fine, but I was always, and I do
mean ALWAYS, pulled over to get my bag swabbed. When I asked my it
happens this way, the security guys always had some different excuse
that said a whole bunch of nothing.
And I do not even look anything like the Evil Midnight Bomber What
Bombs at Midnight.
--
Will
10:33 a.m.
William Donzelli wrote:
What, with my shaved head, earringed, early-forties,
jeans-and-tshirted, Enron-badged backpacked self? After the guy told me
that I started paying attention, and sure enough, when I didn't carry
those transparencies, I didn't get hassled.
"Besides, don't you know they don't do searches based on profiling?"
Doc
Even before
11/2001, airport security made me do the explosives swab
test *every time* I went through, and searched my bags about 1 in 3
times. I finally asked one of the local security guys - who knew me by
name by then - why I kept getting tagged. He grinned and thumped that
stack of transparencies and said "I dunno what this stuff is made of,
but under the scope it looks JUST LIKE plastic explosive. You're giving
us all heart attacks."
You may also fit the profile. I ran into the same treatment ten years
ago, with my black case with a Thinkpad in it (and not much else). The
other engineers would go thru xray fine, but I was always, and I do
mean ALWAYS, pulled over to get my bag swabbed. When I asked my it
happens this way, the security guys always had some different excuse
that said a whole bunch of nothing. 
2:28 a.m.
Richard wrote:
I'm going to VCF/nanotech thing by plane and I
thought this would be a
good way to bring Al some 8" floppies (PLATO system!) to
archive/image, but I wondered if the airport x-ray scanner would do
anything bad to them? I'd hate to damage them on my way to having
them archived...
As far as I can tell x-rays themselves can't affect floppy discs,
however the transport system can if it is magnetized for any reason
(rollers, plates, etc).
I understand that the metal detectors can cause problems with discs though.
Best to transport the discs in a box (metalized plastic??) that can
shield against stray magnetic fields if the disc's data are of high value.
No idea where to get such a box/container though. A scroogle search for
"shield floppy disc container erase" gives some interesting patents
though...
John :-#)#
--
John's Jukes Ltd. 2343 Main St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 3C9
Call (604)872-5757 or Fax 872-2010 (Pinballs, Jukes, VideoGames)
www.flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out"
7:34 a.m.
Dont wory about them, I lived on the road for several years as a field enginieer (Have
Scope will travel)
and carried a case full of disks through airports every day. One week I saw 6 clients in 5
states.
Never a problem with disks and airports.
The other Bob
On Wed, 31 Oct 2007 21:27:31 -0600, Richard wrote:
I'm going to VCF/nanotech thing by plane and I
thought this would be a
good way to bring Al some 8" floppies (PLATO system!) to
archive/image, but I wondered if the airport x-ray scanner would do
anything bad to them? I'd hate to damage them on my way to having
them archived...
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/download/index.html>
Legalize Adulthood!
<http://blogs.xmission.com/legalize/>
4:33 p.m.
I flew from Chicago with a couple 1/2" reel tapes this summer and just
asked that they not be x-rayed. The TSA attendant called their
supervisor who did a physical examination, swabbed them, and I was good
to go. Of course YMMV.
Lee Courtney
Product Line Manager - Linux for Consumer Devices
Wind River
500 Wind River Way
Alameda, California 94501
Office: 510-749-2763
Cell: 650-704-3934
Yahoo IM: charlesleecourtney
Skype: charlesleecourtney
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Richard
Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2007 8:28 PM
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Subject: airport x-ray machines: can they damage 8" floppies?
I'm going to VCF/nanotech thing by plane and I thought this
would be a good way to bring Al some 8" floppies (PLATO
system!) to archive/image, but I wondered if the airport
x-ray scanner would do anything bad to them? I'd hate to
damage them on my way to having them archived...
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available
for download
<http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/download/index.html>
Legalize Adulthood! <http://blogs.xmission.com/legalize/>
10:56 p.m.
The X-ray won't cause damage but most use a NMRI system
to look for nitrates. This can have a strong magnetic field.
I don't think it would be strong enough to erase floppies
but wouldn't stake my life on it.
It takes a really strong field to erase magnetic media.
The floppy drive has the head right on the floppy surface.
It doesn't need to be as strong as one a foot away.
Dwight
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org> From: legalize at
xmission.com> Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2007 21:27:31 -0600> Subject: airport x-ray
machines: can they damage 8" floppies?> > I'm going to VCF/nanotech thing
by plane and I thought this would be a> good way to bring Al some 8" floppies
(PLATO system!) to> archive/image, but I wondered if the airport x-ray scanner would
do> anything bad to them? I'd hate to damage them on my way to having> them
archived...> > -- > "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft
available for download>
<http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/download/index.html>> > Legalize
Adulthood! <http://blogs.xmission.com/legalize/>
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9 comments
9 participants
participants (9)
-
caveguy＠sbcglobal.net -
dkelvey＠hotmail.com -
doc＠mdrconsult.com -
grant＠stockly.com -
jrr＠flippers.com -
jwstephens＠msm.umr.edu -
Lee.Courtney＠windriver.com -
legalize＠xmission.com -
wdonzelli＠gmail.com