I have done this many times with almost 100% success. It's not going to make your list of favorite things to do but it is quite do-able. Recommendation: use FedEx Ground. They handle their stuff more gently. No ifs and/or buts about it.
1. Get an oversize heavy carton. 2. Line it with sheet Styrofoam at least 1" thick and 2-3" on the bottom (get this from the INSULATION section of your local building supply store). 3. Tie down any moving parts with nylon wire ties and stuff the inside with newspaper to hold tubes in place (or pack tubes separately). Put a note on the outside of the case reminding the receiver not to apply power until the ties and newspaper have been removed. 4. Bag the unit--lawn and leaf bag required for really big stuff. 5. Put the unit in the box. Wedge in more sheet Styrofoam until it can't move. 6. Fill the box with Styrofoam chunks packed tightly. Break up the pre-formed Styrofoam packing things used with computers and monitors and TVs, etc. to make these chunks. Use chunks the size of your fist. 7. Fill all remaining space with peanuts. The purpose of the peanuts is just to keep the other packing in place. The peanuts should not be actually taking any stress. Mound the peanuts up high and shake the box to make sure they fall down into all the crannies. 8. Put in the manual, cables, whatever loose other items. Wrap cable ends in newspaper taped to stay on so they don't scratch the unit. 9. Put in your return address and note to the receiver. 10. Optional: you may want to put a piece of cardboard on top--mostly to control the shifty mound of peanuts as you struggle to seal the box. 11. Seal box with nylon re-inforced tape. Hint: If the box lid closes easily, you didn't put in enough peanuts. Run the tape all the way around in all 3 dimensions. Cover the nylon re-inforced tape with conventional plastic packing tape to protect it from wear as the box is slid around and jostled. 11. VERY IMPORTANT. Mark all 4 sides and top of the box THIS SIDE UP (with an arrow) FRAGILE. 12. Say a prayer and call FedEx. A note on rates and choice of shipper: FedEx and UPS rates (they are on the same federally-regulated rate card) went up 3.5% in January. Both firms charge extra to deliver to a home address and both firms sometimes apply fuel surcharges to their rates. Insurance is typically 35 cents per $100 in value. Rates are determined by a formula that includes size and weight. USPS rates are not competitive with FedEx Ground and UPS. USPS also has relatively low limits on the size box they will take. FedEx Ground and UPS will take up to 150 pounds and they don't generally worry about the size of the box. Good luck. 73, Don Merz, N3RHT -----Original Message----- From: Mark Foltarz [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2003 11:27 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [AMRadio] How do you ship big electronics ? Group, I am thinking about shipping an HT-9 here. However, I have never attempted to ship anything this big. Does anyone have good advice on shipping 120 lbs of vintage radio? TNX de ka4jvy Mark __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ AMRadio mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/amradio DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this e-mail may be confidential and is intended solely for the use of the named addressee. Access, copying or re-use of the e-mail or any information contained therein by any other person is not authorized. If you are not the intended recipient please notify us immediately by returning the e-mail to the originator.
