Back-ups are a relatively recent and purely digital phenomena. There is no way to back-up analog recordings without degrading the signal. Copying the tape would degrade the signal. Digitizing it with high-quality gear will preserve the signal quality AND provide a ready means for back-ups, which is what I'm doing. Note, too, that these are 8-track tapes (not 8-track cassettes, which consisted of 4 stereo pairs, but 8 discrete tracks on 7-1/2" reels at 15 ips, each containing one component of the entire ensemble). Until relatively recently (last year, really) there wasn't affordable hardware for digitizing multi-track. As it is, the interface that lets me digitize 8 tracks, in sync, simultaneously, at 92 KHz is a $300 device and I run it on my quad-core, 8 gig RAM 3.0 GHz computer which stores to a 3-terabyte RAID system.

Until this gear became relatively affordable, the only option was careful storage of the analog masters. This also doesn't address the 100+ hours of analog video that I have. Though, this year, I acquired the capability to make uncompressed 4.4.4 captures, 3 terabytes isn't remotely near enough to store this much uncompressed video, so digitization of that will just have to wait until drive storage increases by another order of magnitude or so.

I had invited the TSO to open each box, swab the tape inside, examine it closely -- in fact, do anything except un-spool it on the floor. Supervisor no. 1 refused.

Hmmm... what about this? - "I had invited the TSO to open my 500ml bottle of water, taste it, examine it closely, check whether the color of it closely resembled water, run a spectroscopic analysis on it -- in fact, do anything except pour it out on the floor. Supervisor no. 1 refused."

If you have something that cannot be taken through the checkpoint (either because it's forbidden or because you are afraid to yourself), then send it another way - don't assume you can coerce the TSO to bend the rules for you.

What's the difference? :confused::confused: Common sense or not - they were 100% within their rights to do this.

Where is it written that everything that goes through the checkpoint must be X-rayed?

Unfortunately, you're correct ... because any TSO can forbid any item, at any time, for any reason. Hence, one can never know if the items one's chosen to place in one's carry-on luggage will make it through the checkpoint ... no matter how many times TSA (or its representatives) say "it's all on the website". :(

Tapes can be taken through the checkpoint and on board the aircraft. Any other inapt analogies?

Oh, you think they were within their "rights"? Please tell me where, in either the 4th or 5th Amendment, they have the right to search, seize or x-ray my tapes?

They are allowed, according to the courts' construction of the Constitution, to engage in a limited administrative search for the purpose of determining that I am not carrying weapons or explosives. Period. Swabbing the tapes would (and did) confirm that they were not explosives. Do you think a reel of recording tape is a weapon? Granted, my music isn't great, but no one has ever died from it.

TSA "procedures" are subject to Constitutional constraints, just like every other administrative regulation.

Let me guess -- you're one of those, "anything to make us safer," people, aren't you? "Constitution shmonstitution." Right?

Yep, it always would trigger a hand check when I used mine years ago. I just would hand the x-ray person the bag and ask for someone to hand check it and they'd find someone. It was actually really easy and painless.

OP, if you're bringing stuff through that you don't want x-rayed, just toss in a couple rolls of ISO 1600 or 3200 film in the box. Should cost you no more than $15. Then say there's film in the box and it needs to be hand checked. Six rolls or so should do it, I think.