It seems like a laptop computer and an Arduino board would be a great way to pass the time on long flights, as long as it doesn't attract the wrong kind of attention. I was wondering whether anyone has tried this.
Laptop, fine. Attached to an arduino with lots of wires sticking up all over, LOL. Air Marshal to the rescue.
Lefty
retrolefty:
Laptop, fine. Attached to an arduino with lots of wires sticking up all over, LOL. Air Marshal to the rescue.Lefty
Yeah I know, I was just thinking a USB cable though. Seems like someone made one that plugged directly into a USB port, wouldn't look much different than a flash drive.
I could see the TSA trying to decide if a USB Switchblade (hackers tool) is a threat or not, and by extension what kind of plot you can be charged with. Remember, the bigger the bust, the bigger the bonus! Maybe someone will visit or send you cigarettes to use as prison money while the courts figure out just how dangerous you are.
retrolefty:
[quote author=Jack Christensen link=topic=163135.msg1218699#msg1218699 date=1367084503]
It seems like a laptop computer and an Arduino board would be a great way to pass the time on long flights, as long as it doesn't attract the wrong kind of attention. I was wondering whether anyone has tried this.
Laptop, fine. Attached to an arduino with lots of wires sticking up all over, LOL. Air Marshal to the rescue.
Lefty
[/quote]
Yeah, god help you if they find out its linked to "hackerspaces". They'd probably just shoot you and push you out the emergency exit.
All righty, sounds like we have a consensus. I think I'll start a petition on petitions.whitehouse.gov to allow microcontroller boards on airliners as long as they are 2.36 inches or shorter.
I'm surprised they let laptops on board at all.
You might try a leostick
or an R2Duino
Or just a regular Arduino with a short cable. Probably less conspicuous if it was in an enclosure.
In other countries, banks have posted armed guards posted by their entrance. These guards are loaded with sidearms, shotguns or M16 rifles.
You don't f*ck with them.
Well, me and my officemate were going to a client's site but she decided to stop by the bank to do some personal business first.
Before entering the bank, the guards try to feel my gym bag's content with their hands.
Sure enough, they felt something heavy and bulky. Asked me to open the bag.
I opened up the bag's zipper for inspection by the guards, so they can peek in.
The guard saw something and he pulled out this metal cylindrical thing, with lots of wires sticking out. (I was carrying several stepper motors.)
DANG! Some guards were ready to draw their guns! It surely got their attention!
"What's this?" he asked.
"It's a motor" I said nonchalantly.
They recognized my friend so they waved us in.
But they were very wary of me.
So I'm sitting on the sofa in this big lobby, while my friend conducts her business by the teller.
I see 2 guards with shotguns walking around the 2nd-floor balcony, overlooking the lobby, keeping an eye on me.
Another 2 guards by the door looking my way, and the 2 guards outside the bank peering in the glass doors also keeping an eye on me.
Another guard is walking/standing by my vicinity, maybe 30ft away.
They were really observing me.
Never again will I bring stepper motors inside that bank!
Don't forget that I/O boards have to be limited to 10 pins.
Why? Where is that limit from?
CrossRoads:
Why? Where is that limit from?
In your state, a "large capacity feeding device". Unless you have the proper "license to carry". 
Still can have your Big Gulp so it's not all large capacity feeding devices.
GoForSmoke:
Still can have your Big Gulp so it's not all large capacity feeding devices.
Wouldn't that exceed the 3oz fluid limit for carry-on baggage?
The limit is a spoof on the 10 round limit to magazines in guns. NY state just passed a law limiting guns to magazines of less than 10 rounds.
wizdum:
GoForSmoke:
Still can have your Big Gulp so it's not all large capacity feeding devices.Wouldn't that exceed the 3oz fluid limit for carry-on baggage?
When the TSA finds the gun, I don't think the Big Gulp will be an issue.....
Why not using some simulator instead of the actual arduino? I traveled with Arduino projects by air before. I had someone write me a letter and they did open my checked luggage.
Last year, TSA tagged my Uno and my homemade LED shield in my carry-on bag at the Oklahoma City airport. An agent asked to see them. I warned him that they were bare circuit boards, and that there was a chance he could prick his finger, so he asked me to remove them for him. He explained that he was certain that the devices weren't dangerous, and that he just wanted a look at them. He asked a lot of questions about how they worked and what I did with them, made me spell "Arduino" out loud, and sent me and my gizmos on my way. I think he was an electronic hobbyist.
On the plane, I've connected an Arduino without attracting attention by putting the board in my shirt pocket. Oddly, nobody thinks twice about a guy on a plane with wires running into his pockets, particularly if there are headphones involved. I wouldn't try it with the board in view, though.