[sdiy] simple TTL OT

[harrybissell]

Its that bad. Some folk are pretty ignorant... but they grew up watching
"Goldfinger"  (the LEDs stopped at "007"....)

In the USA there was a man arrested after 9-11 because his landlady
saw a 'flight manual' in his apartment.  Turns out to have been the manual
for "Microsoft Flight Simulator" but he went to the pokey anyway (suit
against the landlord still pending iirc)

Another case had a man arrested in a hotel when an employee swore that
he found a aircraft receiver in the man's room. Yup, quick trip to the pokey
for him.  He did not get released until ANOTHER man contacted the hotel
(a pilot) and mentioned he was looking for his receiver, which he had
forgotten.
This guy had stayed in another ROOM... so the sworn statement of the employee

is probably suspect.  Again, lawsuit pending.

Remember, most people do not have any knowledge of electronics (especially
chambermaids etc...) and view all unknown devices as suspicious, maybe
nefarious.

Picture my worries as I crossed the USA/Canada border with my Guitar Synth
and
Quantized theremin...  My wife suggested that if we were questioned she'd
tell them
we were "on our way to catch a plane... oh...any plane..."  :^P

Then you could all e-mail me at Alcatraz as well

(seriously.. for all DIY devices I suggest good labeling as to function, and
maybe carry
schematics and photos with you if you travel with them.  A link to photos on
the internet
might be a good idea as well)

H^) harry

Peter Grenader wrote:

> huh?
>
> Listen, our current administration is bizarre, I admit...but if it's this
> bad I'm on the first boat over the puddle, for good.
>
> R. D. Davis wrote:
>
> > A word of caution for anyone in the U.S. building harmless and simple
> > TTL counters: don't let them be seen in public places with the digits,
> > wires, etc. showing (and don't let strangers, like repair people,
> > coming into your home catch a glimpse either).  Some time ago, a man
> > had such a circuit on a breadboard in a hotel room, the hotel maid saw
> > it, and he ended up in big trouble with the Barney Fife patrol (I
> > don't recall if they were federal or local), even though he wasn't
> > planning on doing anything harmful with it.  Big Brother has no sense
> > of humor.