How to fly with a computer
A couple of weeks ago I flew on American Airlines to Seattle, WA from Tampa, FL for the LanPartyNW.com’s 400 Man LAN. I was going to be staff for the event. What I wanted to do is to bring my computer and LCD monitor with me. So I started looking into travel storage items to help me transport my electronics.

Getting the items gathered.
About 2 months prior, I started doing research on what is out there. Cost was not really an issue for me as I was looking at protecting my investment. The first thing was to figure out how I would transport my computer. For the trip, I built a new complete Shuttle system. In this situation, smaller is better. I wanted something that would be easy to travel with for LAN’s and this seemed to be a perfect solution.

Moving the Shuttle….PC that is.
After the Shuttle was complete, I decided to use the Mogen ZeroPC Carrier. I was able to find this nifty item at: www.ajump.com

Now let me give you some feedback for the bag. On the positive side: The bag can hold the PC, Keyboard, Mouse, 25ft Network Cable, DC Power Cable and other extra junk. It fits nicely and snugly. The carrier has an extendable handle and those cool “rollerblade” style wheels on the bottom that makes it easy to pull behind you. The handle does extend far enough for a guy that is as tall as me. (I’m 6ft 5). On the negative side: With all the items in the case, PC and Keyboard to be exact, it CANNOT fit in the overhead compartment of a MD80 airplane. It can fit fine on the Boeing Jets though. (My guess is that both planes have different specs for overhead cargo space.) Other then that, I was quite please with the Mogen. One word of caution though, if you have a BIG SFF PC, it probably won’t fit in the Mogen carrier. It was truly designed for the Shuttle and anything bigger would not fit in here.

Now I need to SEE what I’m typing! The LCD.
After the solution was found for the Shuttle, now I was off on my quest to transport my LCD. I have a Dell 20 inch LCD. This thing is a tad heavy, but more importantly I need to carry it easily. The answer was the “GearGrip” LCD Transporter from www.geargrip.com.

Positives:   The GearGrip fit perfectly on the LCD with a right amount of overlap on the edges to protect all sides of the screen. It had enough space in the rear pocket to carry the AC adapter.

Negatives:  None really, just that if you intend on throwing this over your shoulder with the strap….get some padding. It really digs in there and can hurt….especially if you have to get a gate in the airport that is quite a distance away. And….speaking of the airport……

Getting thru security….
Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect at the airport. I had traveled with a laptop before, but never with an actual computer and monitor. So, I got to the airport early, got to the TSA line, and here is how the dialog went….

ME….Hello, do I need to take out my computer? It’s a computer, not a laptop.
AGENT….Yes, please put in the bin
ME….No problem.
AGENT….What’s that? A plasma? (pointing to the LCD)
ME….No, it’s an LCD Monitor.
AGENT….That’s cool. You should really see what that looks like on the radar (looking at the X-Ray monitor).
—-(after the PC Traveled thru the X-Ray) —
AGENT….Give me a moment, I need to wipe it down real quick. (Wiped the surface with cotton….put it thru an analyzer..)
AGENT….Okay…your good to go.
ME….Thanks!

This was only at the airport in Tampa. When I traveled back home from Seattle, they did not wipe it down, but everything was kosher. Just remember to arrive at least 2 hours prior to give yourself ample time to get thru security.

Final Thoughts.
The whole experience of traveling with a computer was fine. When I got to Seattle and then got back home, everything worked fine with no computer or monitor problems. I must say that traveling with a computer is sweet, as there is nothing like having your own PC with you for Gaming and Fun. Thanks for reading.

Links for more information:
The Mogen PC Carrier @ www.ajump.com
The GearGrip LCD Carrier @ www.geargrip.com
The TSA Website @ www.tsa.gov
LanPartyNW @ www.lanpartynw.com

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