"Bill Powell" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 03 Dec 2004 12:46:56 GMT, "Martin"
wrote:

original post snippage
TenTec used to, or maybe still does, use the foam method. But as I
remember
it, they filled the box just halfway, then set the plastic wrapped rigs in
the foam, covered it and the lower foam layer and upper sides of the box
with plastic film, and poured in the top foam layer. Opened like a clam
shell, easy to get out.

I used the original box several times for moving the rig, and I know that
the fellow I finally sold it to used it the same way.
Still have my TenTec boxes up in the garage

I copied the technique several times on a smaller scale for
shipping fragile stuff.
Marty,
PLEASE - How?

Bill


Bill,

I used those spray foam cans that they sell for replacing insulation in
refrigerators after repairs and for insulating around electrical outlets
that leak cold air in the winter. It was just a duplication on a much
smaller scale of what I described. I've shipped some ancient Weston meters,
a couple of 4-400's and several fragile optical instruments that way with no
damage reported.

The only problem I had was guessing how much to squirt into the boxes. Had
to do a bit of trimming when it expanded too much. The boxes I used were
considerably smaller than the one the TenTec came in, and I recall needing
only one can for two boxes. I tried to get about 4" of foam all around.
Make sure the plastic bag that you put the items in has no holes or tears;
that stuff really sticks to things.

Marty - K1FHR

TenTec used to, or maybe still does, use the foam method. But as I
remember it, they filled the box just halfway, then set the plastic
wrapped rigs in the foam, covered it and the lower foam layer and upper
sides of the box with plastic film, and poured in the top foam layer.
Opened like a clam shell, easy to get out.

My last employer (Daytron World Communications)
used this method to ship their radios. Very low
damage rate.

73, John - K6QQ

On Fri, 03 Dec 2004 12:46:56 GMT, "Martin"
wrote:

original post snippage
TenTec used to, or maybe still does, use the foam method. But as I remember
it, they filled the box just halfway, then set the plastic wrapped rigs in
the foam, covered it and the lower foam layer and upper sides of the box
with plastic film, and poured in the top foam layer. Opened like a clam
shell, easy to get out.

I used the original box several times for moving the rig, and I know that
the fellow I finally sold it to used it the same way.
Still have my TenTec boxes up in the garage

I copied the technique several times on a smaller scale for
shipping fragile stuff.
Marty,
PLEASE - How?

Bill

Bill Powell wrote:
To-date, I have found VERY FEW (eBay) people who have the FOGGIEST
idea of how to properly pack a boatanchor. Especially the "trust me -
I'm an eBay professional" types.
So... I've been insisting on (and paying for) double boxing and heavy
cardboard boxes.
However. . . The "Joe Average" average double-box job can (usually)
lead to a crunched front panel - or worse.
A Knight transmitter I recently received was double-boxed with the
inner cushioned from the outer with a 1.5" layer of peanuts. However,
the front-panel of the transmitter had been stood off the side of the
inner box with a thick sheet of solid, hard styrofoam.
Right now I'm assuming that the "locked" shafts are simply due to the
knobs being scrunched just a little bit tighter against the front
panel than they should be.
I hope.

So do I, but I fear worse.

OTOH, a Johnson Viking Valiant (just add chain - no concrete required)
I received was so well packed that despite being dropped, the only
things amiss were a "floating" audio interstage under the chassis and
severely bent mountings on the mod transformer: absolutely NO front
panel damage or tube breakage!

"[S]everely bent mountings on the mod transformer" would raise my ire
somewhat.

My quest for knowledge:
Has anyone here tried DIY foam-in-place?
I'm talking about embalming the hunk-o-iron in double heavy duty
trashbags, shooting "some" (think of a kid with a can of whipped
cream) of the DIY spray-in foam insulation into the 4 corners of the
inner box and then setting the bagged anchor into the mess till it
sets. A follow-up would (hopefully) lock the bagged goodie
more-or-less into the middle of the box.
Or am I just gonna make a nasty mess?

FIRST, and * I M P O R T A N T *

Cut sections of mailing tube (appropriate diameter) to
go over each knob, so that the front panel bears the
load, not the knob and the 'spensive stuff attached to
it.

SECOND, and JUST AS IMPORTANT

Cut sections of mailing tube (appropriate diameter) to
go over the connectors and other projections on the back
(and sides, and top, and bottom), so that the panels bear
the load, not the 'spensive stuff sticking out. Use mailing
tube sections to brace transformers and other heavy items
on the inside where possible. Consider taping tube shields
and other items which might come loose.

THIRD,

Put the rig in a tri-wall box and then foam that
sucker using the foam-in-bags stuff that I've seen
a few times now. Get another tri-wall box that'll
hold the first one with room for 1" or 1.5" sheets
of resilient foam between the inside and outside
boxes on all sides.

FOURTH,

Use solid sheets of resilient foam between the
inner and outer boxes. Don't use peanuts or other
small pieces of crushable material, as they'll
shift and leave some parts of the gap between
boxes unprotected. The inner box should fit
*exactly* inside the outer box and foam sheets.
Use additional sheets of foam to fill in any gaps.

FIFTH,

Securely tape all joints and flaps on the inner
and outer boxes. Consider making a wood frame
around the outer box.

Yes, it's overkill. I figure that overkill when shipping boatanchors
is just about right.

--
Mike Andrews

Tired old sysadmin

Mike Andrews wrote:
Yes, it's overkill. I figure that overkill when shipping boatanchors
is just about right.

Not many people will happily agree to the $35 worth of "overkill"
you just defined. Sounds stupid to balk at $35 to protect
a $300 radio, but you'd be surprised how many people
do just that.

Subject: Packing A Boatanchor For Shipping
From: David Stinson
Date: 12/3/2004 1:06 PM Central Standard Time
Message-id: PO2sd.83$3T2.71@trnddc04



Mike Andrews wrote:
Yes, it's overkill. I figure that overkill when shipping boatanchors
is just about right.

Not many people will happily agree to the $35 worth of "overkill"
you just defined. Sounds stupid to balk at $35 to protect
a $300 radio, but you'd be surprised how many people
do just that.








I bought a SP-600JX-17 several years ago, the fellow shipped it from Michigan
in a box that just fit it. Out 4 sheets of newspaper on the bottom, same on top
and sealed it with tape.

Someone was looking over this dufus, 'cause it arrived unscathed. It was a
23XXX serial no. JX-17 with ceramic disc caps and was beautiful.

The luck of the Irish or something prevailed on that one.


Les Locklear
Monitoring since '57
Collins 51J4
Hammarlund HQ-120X
Hammarlund SP-600JX-14
Ten Tec RX-350D
Yaesu FRG-100
Alpha Delta Sloper
Quantum QX Loop
Various Longwires
http://www.hammarlund.info/homepage.html

Subject: Packing A Boatanchor For Shipping
From: David Stinson
Date: 12/3/2004 1:06 PM Central Standard Time
Message-id: PO2sd.83$3T2.71@trnddc04



Mike Andrews wrote:
Yes, it's overkill. I figure that overkill when shipping boatanchors
is just about right.

Not many people will happily agree to the $35 worth of "overkill"
you just defined. Sounds stupid to balk at $35 to protect
a $300 radio, but you'd be surprised how many people
do just that.








I bought a SP-600JX-17 several years ago, the fellow shipped it from Michigan
in a box that just fit it. Out 4 sheets of newspaper on the bottom, same on top
and sealed it with tape.

Someone was looking over this dufus, 'cause it arrived unscathed. It was a
23XXX serial no. JX-17 with ceramic disc caps and was beautiful.

The luck of the Irish or something prevailed on that one.


Les Locklear
Monitoring since '57
Collins 51J4
Hammarlund HQ-120X
Hammarlund SP-600JX-14
Ten Tec RX-350D
Yaesu FRG-100
Alpha Delta Sloper
Quantum QX Loop
Various Longwires
http://www.hammarlund.info/homepage.html

Mike Andrews wrote:
Yes, it's overkill. I figure that overkill when shipping boatanchors
is just about right.

Not many people will happily agree to the $35 worth of "overkill"
you just defined. Sounds stupid to balk at $35 to protect
a $300 radio, but you'd be surprised how many people
do just that.

Bill Powell wrote:

To-date, I have found VERY FEW (eBay) people who have the FOGGIEST
idea of how to properly pack a boatanchor. Especially the "trust me -
I'm an eBay professional" types.
So... I've been insisting on (and paying for) double boxing and heavy
cardboard boxes.

Well, you're the exception.
You priced packing material lately?
And please, guys- don't start with "the stores give it away,"
cuz it ain't so around here. You can get arrested for
retrieving boxes from the dumpster. I've asked several stores
and they quote "liability concerns." Wal-Mart will still give
you boxes, but they don't usually have good sizes or
strong-walled boxes. If you want *good, sturdy* boxes,
you still have to buy them and they aren't cheap.

I get tired of whines about packing fees.
I don't have a problem with packing well;
I *DO* have a problem getting people to
accept the fact that packing an ART-13 transmitter
or a DX-100 can easily cost $12-$14 or more.
And if you try to double-box a biggie,
you can easily box yourself right out of
USPS or UPS. Truck or bus is risky, expensive
and a show-stopper for most buyers.

Nothing is free, and that includes packing.
I add a piddling $1-$2 to my auctions to help defer
the packing costs (that's about a third to a half of
what it actually costs me),
and people still whine and complain about it.

D.S.

Guys,

I've received my share of broken radios due to poor packing.
In one case, I bought a pair of scarce Canadian-market-only
1960s Hallicrafters mobile CB radios from a fellow in VE7.
He put the two radios into a box with NO packing materials,
taped it shut, and UPS'ed it to me! Needless to say, both
radios were damaged beyond salvage. There was no electrical
damage, but ALL of the knobs and switches were broken, the
plastic front panels were broken, the steel cabinets were
dented, and the mic heads were cracked. My nice SX-101A
arrived with the glass smashed because the seller packed it
in stiff styrofoam that had absolutely no shock absorbency.
Same thing with an S-107; the glass dial was shattered. I
eventually repaired both of those receivers, but it never
should have been necessary. I've gotten lucky with a lot
of gear, but obviously not all the time. It's a crap shoot
at best. Shipping companies have no respect.

But wait... all is no lost!

I have a suggestion for shipping large and/or heavy BA gear:
ship it by motor freight! This is nothing new, but so many
of our ham brethren don't even think of it.

Get out the Yellow Pages and call around to determine the
best cost and shipping times. Pack the gear carefully in a
sturdy cardboard box with plenty of shock-absorbent material
all the way around, take the box to the trucking company and
have them strap it to a wooden pallet for shipment. Do make
sure the box is centered on the pallet.

With the box centered on a pallet, no other packages will get
bashed into yours, no humans will pick up your package and
toss it onto a conveyor belt, into a truck, or onto a plane,
and if you specify that no other pallets may be stacked on
top of yours, it can't get crushed from above. No damage!

This method will be rather costly, but the alternative is the
risk of having an irreplaceable piece of equipment damaged or
destroyed. No matter how well you THINK your equipment is
packed, if you ship via a normal shipper, there is still a
high probability that it'll be damaged in transit. How much
is that gear worth to you? Are you willing to risk it?

At work, we have completely stopped using FedEx, UPS, DHL,
and the other overnight shippers to transport our electronic
equipment because they were damaging 75% of our shipments.
Sure, they always pay the insurance claim, but in the mean
time, the production line is stopped until we the equipment
is repaired (which can't be done until the insurance claim
is paid!). Since we changed to motor freight shipment, we
have had ZERO damage! The extra cost is worth it.

73,
Dean K5DH