CAT-5 cable in carry-on
 

So I posted in the Hilton forum about some hotel I was staying at with high-speed internet. One of the responses told the story of how someone brought a 7-foot cable in their carry-on and had this confiscated.

Now, I read this after safely traveling with a length of CAT-5 in my carry-on. No one seemed to care. Is this seriously considered contraband, or was this an overzealous gate inspector?

I have a 20 foot cable that I've been safely flying with for years (replaced every few months), back and forth every week and not a single thing said thus far.

This is one of those posts where it would help to have more info. I would like to know when it was confiscated and why. Remember, many "items" that were not allowed after 9/11 have since been approved.

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Michael Steinberg
Editor
BizTrip
www.biztrip.com

Very odd. I have traveled several times with Cat5 and other cables in the bag, both before and after Sept 11. Once, several years ago, I had a security person want to see what was in there because of the "wires". I showed them the various computer connecting cables that were in there, and went on my merry way.

There isn't anything you can do with a cat five cable that you can't do with your shoeladce or a belt (except of course connect to an ethernet network), so it was an overzealous security person.

I carry ethernet cables all the time in carry on and never had a problem.

I've even traveled with a box of the stuff post 9/11 and have never been in trouble with it. Sounds to me like one of those newbie TSA acts...

I've got 2 lengths of Cat 5,some phone cable, various power cords, USB cable, etc., etc., and have never had any problem. I can't imagine how it could be a problem.

I recently flew LHR-SAN on BA then SAN-LAX on American Eagle with an eight-foot length of Cat-5 in my carry on; I travelled the day the US went to 'orange alert' and endured the full-on treatment from the security guys at SAN on the second leg; including removing shoes, belt etc., full search of all my carry-on including going through my briefcase, swabbing my laptop for explosives, booting the laptop, looking under my watch strap (???) and absolutely no comment was raised about the cable.

So I'd assume it was OK :-)

I too have never had trouble with Cat5 in my bag. I have noticed though that lots of cables in your carryon seems to attract more attention than does lots of battery powered devices.

I often travel w/ digital camera, laptop, 2 cell phones, PDA, and a big mess of cables. If I check bags, I put the cables in the checked luggage and the devices in carryon. That really cuts down extra searches at the xray compared to when the devices and cables are both in the carryon.

The way the TSA goes nuts over laptops and other electronics, you'd think we live in a third world country where these items are a rarity.

My Toshiba has a magnesium-alloy case, is a really shiny silvery colour and is pretty light - it seems to get swabbed more often than my colleague's black-plastic Dell.

But that might just be because I look suspicious.