Traveling with an radio

[hflstnr]

im taking a trip to the uk and amsterdam for connection flight. im thinking my tecsun portable should be fine but im wondering about my SDR.
id also like to bring a Mag loop antenna with me. Im not checking my luggage just carry on. Wondering if anyone's had problems going through TSA
with their stuff?

[Ct Yankee]

Two things:

When I carry on a bag with a Tecsun portable, I almost always have had the bag opened by staff.  When I have a radio in a checked bag, the bag always get searched with a note from customs left for me.  I have learned to pack the radio for easy accessibility by airport staff.  The radio equipment/batteries have never been confiscated - here or aboard.

Second, I have Tecsun portables with and without lithium ion batteries.  Airlines have different rules on these batteries - not permitted in carry on, permitted if safely stored, or not permitted on plane at all.  I would read your airline's policy prior to departing.


Bon voyage. 

[europirate]

Be prepared for customs to ask you to switch on the radio and prove it works.

[hflstnr]

Thanks for the replys!  maybe ill just take my tecsun pl990 and keep it simple.
looking at buying the tecsun AN48x antenna cause it looks like it would be easy to
pack and id think it would preform better than a long wire in a hotel room.
Hopefully the 18650 battery wont be a problem but i could always get one when i got
there if they take it.. ill have to look into the airline/tsa rules. just haven't been out of the country in
a long time and would rather not have any hassle. just excited at the idea of hearing things out of reach here!
Thanks!!

[RobRich]

My AN-48X turned out to be underwhelming IMHO. I did find some of the annoying hand capacitance with the tuner section improved when replacing the provided feedline, which is basically just an audio cable, with a shielded audio cable. That made it somewhat usable for casual listening, but being straightforward, it has mostly been in its box on a shelf collecting dust after my initial testing.

The popular Youloop might be okay, but you will likely need a preamp or tuner to improve use with a portable. I have used both ways to pair a Youloop with a Tecsun PL-330, otherwise the mismatches and associated losses were quite high just straight to the radio. The Youloop was intended for use with high-dynamic-range receivers like the Airspy HF+ series or SDRs.

Curious, have you looked at the HFDY active loop antenna kit? The preamp is based upon the popular LZ1AQ circuit, though without the lowpass filter and the onboard voltage regulator.

It is not a high-quality LZ1AQ loop model like some other (far more expensive) offerings, but it is an affordable ~$30 active loop kit with a decent (for the price IMO) preamp, loop coax, feedline coax, bias tee, 1/8" portable radio adapter, etc.

You can configure it as a standard loop or even a shielded loop via dip switches. I found the shielded option worked decently when initially trying mine hanging in a window.

Testing indicates around 8v to be optimum for HFDY preamp performance, so it can be powered readily via a 9v battery if desired. Build a 9v battery to barrel connector adapter, or buy one for a couple of dollars. IIRC, the bias tee uses a common 2.1mm barrel power connector.