Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/09/30
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Time and place: Kauai Airport, September 29, 2007. OK. I had about 15 rolls of film. Mixed, 35mm, Tmax100, Fuji 100, 200, HP5+. It was all in a clear plastic baggie, just like always. I asked for hand inspection, and a nice Lady TSA agent escorted me to the chemical sniffer ( Specialized Mass spectrometer for you techie types.) She informed me it would take a while as she was instructed to test each roll of film separately with the wipey thing and then a run each sample through the equipment. She is both polite and professional as we talked cameras and film vs digital as she worked. Everyone has seen these things, they have a place for the wipey, a CRT screen with a display of mass vs spectral composition. When you put in a wipey, the machine sniffs it, checks things out, then produces a display that says.. all GO, no problem. Usually. We hit roll #7 or so when, out of nowhere, the machine declares: EXPLOSIVES DETECTED in really big letters, and starts beeping. I was surprised that Velvia could do this to me, but what do I know? She calls over her supervisor ( I was glued to the floor, with a polite but embarrassed look on my face. Not nervous.) who looks at me first, figures that he will follow procedure and makes sure I am still glued to one spot, and will not move. The nice lady is watching me constantly. He apologized as he took the one roll of film and put it through the metal detector, which, of course, I allowed without comment. Then I meet a male TSA person that was instructed to tap me down.... ( I am wearing shorts, so it was a top level checkout only). Twice. As the tap down is happening, the nice lady is writing something in her official looking notebook, with my name included. The metal detector found film inside the cartridge, nothing more. The film was returned to me, I was apologized to for the delay. And sent on my way. So that is what happens when the sniffer finds a sniff it does not like. I thought you should know..... Frank Filippone red735i@earthlink.net