Over the past twenty four hours we've been packing the nodes to deploy in Uganda and as of right now, Julian and I have taken the first of the many flights! Julian is flying South African Airlines (via JetBlue domestically) and has landed in JFK, and I'm flying Delta and am in the Boston airport. Both airlines were willing to check solar panels and the rest of our materials. Shipping our items to Uganda was an option, but hugely expensive and unpredictable in shipping speed. A similar project last year that was working out of Togo building a solar-powered internet cafe spent about $4000 to ship materials from the states and with a two month project, the panels arrived with only two weeks left.
So, obviously checking (if possible) is a better option. Julian has checked with him two solar panels (totaling about 41 pounds) that are lashed together. I checked the third solar panel, and given that the solar panels have a cavity (they can be generalized to a power-producing shallow box), my solar panel is also packed with a lot of our materials, weighing about 26 pounds. The stuff packed in the solar panel is pretty much anything that we can make flat which includes the wiring (we cut a generous amount off the spool to save space and weight) and a lot of the components themselves (packed in boxes with foam or in a clear compartmentalized box). The rest of the materials, i.e.: the boxes, the butane-powered soldering irons, the tools, the lights, the constructed circuit and other circuit boards, ended up packed in my suitcase. These parts are pretty well protected and have all of my clothing for the summer as insulation. Overall, my suitcase ended up at 34 pounds, and we were incredibly surprised at how light we were able to pack while still accounting for plenty of materials.
When it comes to what airlines allow you to check, the only thing we didn't bring was the lead acid battery for fairly obvious reasons. The butane powered soldering irons we are bringing have no spare butane cells, and we kept them in the original packing. It's unclear whether that's necessary, but the TSA web site says gas powered appliances must be checked and in original packaging, while butane powered curling irons (presumably a hair sort of thing?) can be carried on, one per person, without any butane. Delta customer service on the other hand said it should be totally fine, although the representative seemed to have no idea of what a butane powered soldering iron is. Our only other concern is that a TSA representative would scan a bag, see bits of circuit components and confiscate them because they look as though they could pose a threat and he/she is trying to exercise extra caution and doesn't recognize any of the components (other than the existence of ominous things like red wires). To try and pre-empt this possibility, we've included letters from Vicki Stocking, the Robertson Scholars summer coordinator, stating the educational/research purpose of the trip as well as the components they can expect to find in our bags. These letters are on each solar panel and in each suitcase, as well as on our persons.
The other thing that we had to worry about was the fragility of the solar panels. It remains to be seen whether our methods were effective, but the two panels that we lashed together we lashed with the two cavities on the outside, so the panels themselves have some protection. Then, after copious amounts of duct tape, we wrapped the entire unit in a layer of bubble wrap. The single panel we figured would have some protection from filling its cavity with stuff, but we taped an extra layer of bubble wrap to the face of the box with the solar panel flat against it, and then wrapped the whole thing in another roll of bubble wrap. The two boxes were each checked as oversize baggage but didn't carry any additional charge.
Another complicating factor in our flight was my routing through Boston. I have an eleven hour layover here, and apparently as an increased security measure following the Boston bombings, that means I had to pick up and recheck my bags and re-enter through security. Apart from an extremely difficult task of carrying the solar panel, my larger luggage, and a backpack to the Delta check-in, everything went smoothly and it just afforded an opportunity to confirm the solar panel had made it this far seemingly intact.
There are still thirty-some hours for something to go wrong with shipping, but as of now it looks like smooth sailing!
So, obviously checking (if possible) is a better option. Julian has checked with him two solar panels (totaling about 41 pounds) that are lashed together. I checked the third solar panel, and given that the solar panels have a cavity (they can be generalized to a power-producing shallow box), my solar panel is also packed with a lot of our materials, weighing about 26 pounds. The stuff packed in the solar panel is pretty much anything that we can make flat which includes the wiring (we cut a generous amount off the spool to save space and weight) and a lot of the components themselves (packed in boxes with foam or in a clear compartmentalized box). The rest of the materials, i.e.: the boxes, the butane-powered soldering irons, the tools, the lights, the constructed circuit and other circuit boards, ended up packed in my suitcase. These parts are pretty well protected and have all of my clothing for the summer as insulation. Overall, my suitcase ended up at 34 pounds, and we were incredibly surprised at how light we were able to pack while still accounting for plenty of materials.
Using one solar panel as a 'shallow box.'
When it comes to what airlines allow you to check, the only thing we didn't bring was the lead acid battery for fairly obvious reasons. The butane powered soldering irons we are bringing have no spare butane cells, and we kept them in the original packing. It's unclear whether that's necessary, but the TSA web site says gas powered appliances must be checked and in original packaging, while butane powered curling irons (presumably a hair sort of thing?) can be carried on, one per person, without any butane. Delta customer service on the other hand said it should be totally fine, although the representative seemed to have no idea of what a butane powered soldering iron is. Our only other concern is that a TSA representative would scan a bag, see bits of circuit components and confiscate them because they look as though they could pose a threat and he/she is trying to exercise extra caution and doesn't recognize any of the components (other than the existence of ominous things like red wires). To try and pre-empt this possibility, we've included letters from Vicki Stocking, the Robertson Scholars summer coordinator, stating the educational/research purpose of the trip as well as the components they can expect to find in our bags. These letters are on each solar panel and in each suitcase, as well as on our persons.
The other thing that we had to worry about was the fragility of the solar panels. It remains to be seen whether our methods were effective, but the two panels that we lashed together we lashed with the two cavities on the outside, so the panels themselves have some protection. Then, after copious amounts of duct tape, we wrapped the entire unit in a layer of bubble wrap. The single panel we figured would have some protection from filling its cavity with stuff, but we taped an extra layer of bubble wrap to the face of the box with the solar panel flat against it, and then wrapped the whole thing in another roll of bubble wrap. The two boxes were each checked as oversize baggage but didn't carry any additional charge.
Transferal of 2 solar panel bubble wrapped package.
Another complicating factor in our flight was my routing through Boston. I have an eleven hour layover here, and apparently as an increased security measure following the Boston bombings, that means I had to pick up and recheck my bags and re-enter through security. Apart from an extremely difficult task of carrying the solar panel, my larger luggage, and a backpack to the Delta check-in, everything went smoothly and it just afforded an opportunity to confirm the solar panel had made it this far seemingly intact.
There are still thirty-some hours for something to go wrong with shipping, but as of now it looks like smooth sailing!
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