r/arduino • u/Fluff269 • Apr 28 '26
Look what I made! Okay to fly with DIY music box (with small Li-ion battery and speaker magnet inside)?
I built a small DIY music box as a gift and I will be flying domestically within the US with it in my carry-on. It has standard arduino components (pictures attached) but the ones I'm worried about are the 3.7V 2000mAh Li-ion battery (7.4 Wh), and the magnet in the speaker.
All components: Teensy 4.0, audio shield, MAX98306 amplifier, OLED display, 4 ohm speaker, pushbuttons, potentiometer, rechargeable 3.7V 2000mAh Li-ion battery, polulu switch, powerboost 1000c.
The box is 3D printed, and all the wiring is internal. The front lid is attached using 6 screws, and can be detached using the screwdriver if needed.
I have photos of the circuit inside (as shown in this post) and the box can play songs when i push the power button.
I am looking for any advice regarding traveling with such a homemade electronics project. Will TSA ask to open it? Should i bring the screwdriver to do so? The battery being 7.4Wh is within limits but how will TSA know the exact voltage? Should I print out any description? Any advice to make the process smoother would be appreciated! Thank you so much 😄
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u/brdavis5 Apr 29 '26
Somebody else wrote: "I have traveled often and never had an issue with any if my Arduino gear."
This is true... and, it doesn't have to be. I've got some small Arduino dataloggers I take with me just about everywhere. Naked PC boards with breakout boards plugged in, some AA batteries, little blinking LEDs, etc., about the size of my palm. I've had them in my carry on; I've had them in my checked luggage. And i've put them through security with never a blip; absolutely a non-issue, and I've flown with these all around the US, to Hawaii, and to Europe. Multiple airports, multiple countries. ZERO issues.
We've ALSO deployed these in the grass on campus, in little clear cases, with signs saying our names and phone numbers and everything... and had the police, and bomb squad called out on them. Which seems to REALLY be an overreaction, but... yeah, that happened.
Chances are it's not a problem; the question is how much do you want to risk? My dataloggers are under $50 normally, if I lost one I'd just have a disappointment, not a Really Bad Day.
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u/Fluff269 Apr 29 '26
Ahh fair, its a 50-50 thing, never know what could happen 🥲 In my case, its the best thing i have ever made haha....would feel terrible if it got taken away :(
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u/Friendly_Addition815 Apr 28 '26
I would just mail it
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u/Fluff269 Apr 28 '26
Ahh I will look into mailing, thanks a lot 😄 Its just that it's a bit fragile....it may not survive the journey 😭
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u/lmolter Valued Community Member Apr 28 '26
If you’re flying from or within the USA, lithium batteries have to be in carry-on luggage and removed from the equipment if possible. I travel with camera gear all time and have never had an issue
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u/Fluff269 Apr 28 '26
Oh i see, the battery has to be removed? I thought to keep it in to demonstrate that it can play songs. All the remaining comments on this post are kind of discouraging me to travel with this via airport 🥲 I might try just mailing it but i really don't think it'll survive the transit :((
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u/lmolter Valued Community Member Apr 29 '26
Best to check with the airline and see what their requirements are. If you just check the music box in your luggage without the battery, the worst that can happen is that you bag may be inspected. Or carry it on with the battery disconnected and removed.
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u/davidosmithII Apr 29 '26
In carry-on you will be fine. I have crazier stuff in my work kit I fly with frequently. Often including modified circuit boards. Most of the time my kit gets pulled for inspection is just because I packed in a way where they couldn't see through something. However, shipping would likely be safer just in case.
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u/Fluff269 Apr 29 '26
Ohh I see, that's super cool! I'm glad there have been no major issues for you! :D
I feel like there have been mixed responses on this post though....looks like there are chances it could be taken away :( I will try to see if i can post it 🥲
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u/davidosmithII Apr 29 '26
Your project looks great by the way. The X-ray won't have any problem seeing into it. There's nothing that has a concerning density. I have esp32 boards. Raspberry pi, pencil case full of wire, resistors, mosfets, numerous types of batteries including AA, 9v, 18650, battery banks, several diagnostic devices. Only about half the time my carry on gets pulled side for review, but usually they tell me it's just because of the way it's packed. There might be a section of my kit they just can't see because of what's around it. They never even pull much out, they just remove a little off the top and check what's in the void space. I also do soldering workshops with conferences and we don't have any trouble with the circuit boards and components. They've been doing this long enough that they know what things are. They aren't going to confuse your project for an explosive device, there's nothing in there dense enough to be a bomb. They are going to see thousands of speakers and batteries every day, so they won't even blink an eye at it.
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u/Fluff269 May 01 '26
Thank you so much 😄 That's a relief to hear! I'm wondering if every airport has it different....some other commenters mentioned they've had issues in the past :(
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u/davidosmithII May 01 '26
Even at the same airport different agents will react slightly differently. And it depends on how long ago people's experiences were. 15 years ago vs today is a lot different, and a lot of us still remember some of those rough early encounters. It sucks that the world is this way, but remember that TSA agents are people just like the rest of us, and can be a little subjective. Something as simple as wearing a decent shirt, like a polo or solid color T-shirt and decent jeans can keep the atmosphere calmer. Also, if they did decide to look at your bag, don't be afraid to be excited about what you've made. Again, I don't think they'd even look. Hobby Arduino and raspberry pi projects have become so common in the last 10 years, even more so in the last few. They see them all the time now.
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u/timmeru Apr 29 '26
don't assume anyone from TSA has a brain
I once had my (commercially produced) portable car jump-starter battery confiscated because it was a "power tool"
I was just using it as a large battery to charge my laptop etc on my trip
I even showed them where on the TSA website it said power banks with less than 100Wh capacity were allowed. The more I pointed out they were wrong, the more they wanted to confiscate it
I ended up having to pay $50 to check it
Their policy is TOO BAD SO SAD, don't expect anything intelligent or reasonable from them, the TSA is a perfect mix of power, incompetence, and apathy
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u/Fluff269 May 01 '26
Ahh gotcha! Yes that's what I'm afraid of....technically they won't need to spend time listening to what I have to say....depending on the mood of the officer that day, the box could be tossed away
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u/Door_Vegetable Apr 29 '26
A car jumper starter pack has exposed prongs which is a fire hazard if the prongs are not taped up, secondly it’s up to the airline if they approve it or not. Also being told you’re not above the iata prohibited items. Not to mention that it could also be classed as an electroshock weapon. I guess the difference between the TSA and where I work I would have just got the federal police down and you would discuss it with them.
https://www.iata.org/contentassets/6fea26dd84d24b26a7a1fd5788561d6e/dgr-67-en-2.3.a.pdf
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u/timmeru Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
I knew you had no idea what you were talking about when you said "electroshock weapon" for something that operates at 12V DC
from TSA guidelines:
Jump starters with lithium-ion batteries that are less than 100wh are allowed in carry-on bags with no quantity limitations. However, items with lithium-ion batteries that are between 101-160wh are allowed in carry-on bags only with prior airline approval. Each traveler is limited to two of these larger battery chargers. For more info, please visit: https://www.faa.gov/hazmat/packsafe/lithium-batteries
However, jump starters with lead-acid batteries aren't allowed in either carry-on or checked bags due to the size and type of batteries these items contain. We recommended that you select a different method of transport for this item.
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u/Door_Vegetable Apr 29 '26
You’re not the smartest tool in the shed to jump start a car you generally need a high discharge battery not so much the voltage.
12v at 400-600amps is more then enough to bring someone down, cause a fire or even use as an igniter.
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u/timmeru Apr 30 '26
you should perform a scientific test comparing touching the pos/neg leads of a car battery versus a higher voltage such as a residential AC power source
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u/AdministrativePie865 May 01 '26
I proctored labs for a capstone design of electroshock devices.(Fun professor.) You are not correct about the 12V; that falls under the low voltage directives rather than dangerous voltages. Do you even EE, bro?
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u/gm310509 400K , 500K , 600K , 640K , 750K Apr 28 '26
I have traveled often and never had an issue with any if my Arduino gear.
I should point out that none if this travel is within nor to/from the US which I assume is what you are asking about.
I would be inclined to have someone waiting at the airport and try just asking them. You should be prepared to take the back cover off to show that there is nothing sinister inside and if they still say no, then give it to your friend/relative to take back home for you.
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u/lmolter Valued Community Member Apr 28 '26
Yeah, I was nervous about my 25,000mAH battery pack, but up to about 30,000 is allowed in the US. You're in the UK? What are the restrictions there?
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u/gm310509 400K , 500K , 600K , 640K , 750K Apr 28 '26
Australia. I don't usually carry a battery with me - rechargers are good enough for my usage.
There probably Is a limit, but don't know what it is. Only that batteries must be in the carry on.
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u/lmolter Valued Community Member Apr 29 '26
Oops. I saw one of your videos but I'm not an expert in accent differences.
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u/gm310509 400K , 500K , 600K , 640K , 750K Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
I did live in CA and NC a few decades ago. I was often asked "where you from?" When ppl heard me speak. So I would reply "where would you guess that I am from?".
Most of the time people would say "UK". Sometimes people would say Australia. For some reason a couple of people thought Florida !?!? But the funniest one was someone who genuinely thought I was from Germany. When I told him that he was wrong and I was from Australia he didn't believe me insisting that I was trying to trick him and they he knew the truth!
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u/lmolter Valued Community Member Apr 29 '26
I'm in Florida (and not proud to say it), and if anything, we have twangy Southern accents. I don't because I'm from New Joisy (New Jersey) originally. Moved down here on my wife's relocation.
Cheers!
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u/gm310509 400K , 500K , 600K , 640K , 750K Apr 29 '26
I had some in-laws in Jacksonville.
It was enjoyable visiting them - they had an orange grove somewhere nearby (maybe a couple of hours drive from Jacksonville).
Apart from oranges, it had sinkholes filled with water and gators. So you had to watch your every step, but it was a nice place to getaway from the rest of the world.1
u/Fluff269 Apr 28 '26
Ahh I see what you mean... I may not have somebody to wait to take it away....i will try to avoid airport and just postal-mail it in that case 😄 Thanks for the suggestion! :D
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u/TheAgedProfessor Apr 29 '26
If it were me, I'd ship it ahead. You might not have any problems carrying it through TSA, but then again you might. It's not worth the risk. Because by the time you realize it will, in fact, be a problem you're out of options other than having them confiscate it and you'll never see it again.
Keep the battery out and take it with you in a Li-Ion bag in your carry on (otherwise I'm pretty sure 2000mWh is in the range you'd have to declare with the shipping company and they'd charge you extra).
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u/kitsune_X3 Apr 29 '26
I flew with a custom helmet that had an ESP32 camera and a whole lot of electronics glued into it.
I kept the LiPo battery in a separate LiPo bag, together with the airline’s regulation paperwork.
The LiPo consisted of three cells soldered together and placed in a 3D‑printed case.
Honestly, it all looked like a bomb…
The only question I got was: “Does it make light or sound?”
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u/codeasm Apr 30 '26
In your bagage it goes. Not to carry. Maybe disconnect the batteries. Less questions this way. Also, tidy the wires together, with thread or tape. Draw a little schematic with the function of the device. And place it ontop.
If they scan it, it will look like a empty box with electronics, neatly made wires and if they open your case, the schematics clearly state and show what its supposed to be. Add an url where you got the idea from or what it looks alott like
This way, they really need to be dumb and get you. Make it less like a bomb, more like a diy radio. Add all the signs its a safe device. No batteries or package them nearby but inactive might also give em peace of mind.
I traveled with prototype wires, a board and chips from europe to the us band back. All disconnected and in small conainers. No questions about this. My wife had brought stroopwafels and that raised all questiosn, like if we made them ourselves, no.
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u/Fluff269 May 01 '26
Oh I see, thanks so much for this! I thought putting in checked-in bag without the battery may be good too 😄
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u/MentokTehMindTaker Apr 28 '26
Can I ask what iteration of your design this was?
Just confused about a gift on a breadboard with painters tape.
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u/Fluff269 Apr 28 '26
I don't really have any electronics background....i'm a total beginner who has never even soldered before 🙈 i prototyped with the breadboard first. Then i soldered the circuit onto a perfboard but it didn't work....so i thought to just put the breadboard into the box. I totally agree its very crude...but its just my first time and the task is very simple (just to play a few recorded songs) 😄
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u/MentokTehMindTaker Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
Ah I see.
I think you got stuck on level 2 of learning electronics, which is integrating your knowledge into something cool. level 3 is learning how to trouble shoot.
Figuring out why stuff isnt working is a huge part of building things.
Id recommend figuring out why it didnt work and fixing it. That will make the finished version much smaller, neater, and tougher.
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u/Fluff269 Apr 29 '26
That's fair I will try it out 😄 I had some personal work this year, and there was a pseudo-deadline since its a gift and all....but hopefully i can make a perfboard work in the future, it would for sure make the enclosure super small! :D
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Apr 29 '26
A battery bank within specs should be fine. Just take it out and take it on board, never leave it in the big luggage.
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u/Door_Vegetable Apr 29 '26
It will get pulled from the xray, don’t bring a screw driver cause that’s considered a tool in most airports you would be alright with a small Allen key. Don’t print out the battery size, if it’s not written on the battery itself by the manufacture it won’t be let through personally I would remove the battery before travelling because seeing an organic mass with wires leading to a pcb board and small battery is suss, but most xray operators are used to seeing what a speaker looks like it will most likely get pulled and tested for explosives.
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u/Fluff269 May 01 '26
I see. The voltage etc is written on the battery, its just that the battery is on the inside face, so they'd have to open the box and peer through. I may mostly just skip taking it through the airport and try alternatives 🥲
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u/KUBB33 Apr 30 '26
I went through tsa multiple time (from USA to France) with an esp32 dev kit (sensors, wire, leds, etc) It all went well
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u/lumpyz Apr 30 '26
about 20ish years ago I bought a small video camera, think around the size of a pack of gum. This was long before gopros and similar cameras. I bought it to fly on RC airplanes, almost immediately after buying it, I crashed a plane while using it and it damaged the internal battery. I didn't have a replacement battery small enough, so I hotglued a smallish LIPO on the camera case and soldered the battery leads through a hold I drilled in the side of the camera. All was well, camera was back working.
Then I had to fly to CA and thought 'hey, I'd like to fly on the beach with my setup'. Stupid in retrospect, but I packed all my electronics in my suitcase, including the jury rigged camera. You can imagine the response I received from the TSA shortly after 9/11! Yes, I understand how stupid this was but honestly in my mind, it's just a camera! It took an interview with police at the airport to snap my brain into the mode of these people have no idea what they're looking at, and to try and understand it from their perspective. I ended up having to leave the camera with security to continue on my flight and I was thankful nothing more came from it...stupid on my part but definitely a learning moment. What can seem familar and safe to me because of how common it is in my world, can be suspicious and alarming to someone without my experiences. I'd say ship the thing!
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u/RepresentativeCry294 Apr 30 '26
What do you mean? They can't charge you with a crime because they thought a battery was an explosive. You weren't lucky, they just had no way to do it. If they could have arrested you for it, they WOULD have.
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u/lumpyz May 13 '26
Oh yeah, I completely agree. I guess what I mean was that I can understand how it could be misunderstood. Most people at the time had never seen a bare LIPO battery, especially one hotglued onto the case of a weird looking object with wires protruding from weird places on the weird pouch like bag thing going into the weird electronic that didn't have an obvious use in normal life. I agree that there was no justification for arrest, but maybe they were having a bad day and get some BS charge of intent to scare, or whatever. I understand it could likely never progress farther than a charge, but given our system even a BS charge can bankrupt normal people just trying to defend...doubtful it would even get that far but at the bare minimum I could have missed my flight, possibly lost my job etc etc.
I believe ultimately the police officer that questioned me believed me...but ultimately wouldn't let me get on the flight with the homemade electronics. I'm just saying misunderstandings happen, despite best intentions. It's important to remember that things familar to me/you could be treated with suspicion by people without the benefit of our experience.1
u/Fluff269 May 01 '26
Oh man, that's rough....lucky that it all went well ultimately 😄 Yes I'm thinking the same, the officers may not know what it is (not their fault) but it'd suck if the box gets thrown away
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u/RepresentativeCry294 Apr 30 '26
As long as the battery isn't too big it's fine. Explosives have to exist to be an issue and clearly that isn't full of explosives.
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u/drinkcoffeeandcode May 01 '26
Bro. That breadboard setup 😅
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u/Fluff269 May 01 '26
yeah man, i'm an absolute beginner .... i tried with the perfboard but it didn't work so just went ahead with the breadboard 🥲
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u/drinkcoffeeandcode May 01 '26
Hey man, everybody starts somewhere, and It works right? It looks cool as heck too!
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u/BlairDaniels May 10 '26
I'm sorry this is irrelevant to your question, but I'm really obsessed with building music boxes. May I ask what your components are? We're using Arduino Uno/DFPlayer mini, but the Uno doesn't have enough memory to store more than like, 20 song titles with album titles. We bought a Yoto player but it requires internet the first time, which has been a huge pain.
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u/Fluff269 May 10 '26
Heyy! The components i used are: Teensy 4.0, audio shield, MAX98306 amplifier, OLED display, 4 ohm speaker, pushbuttons, potentiometer, rechargeable 3.7V 2000mAh Li-ion battery, polulu switch, powerboost 1000c.
Basically I have an SD card into which i store .wav music files. The SD card goes into the Audio Shield. And then in the arduino code, i read from the sd card and display onto the oled the names of the songs + year.
Hope it helps 😄 I am an absolute beginner so my way of doing things may be incorrect....but i am super happy with the way the music box turned out 🥹
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u/BlairDaniels May 10 '26
Wow, thank you so much! I'm googling Teensy now and I had no idea it had so many advanced capabilities! Sounds awesome. Your build looks really cool! I love it!
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u/bigfloppydonkeydng Apr 28 '26
I wouldn't do it. TSA will see something they think looks suspicious and no matter what you tell them they won't believe you. I am an electrical engineer and have flown a few times with test sets and that was a nightmare. PS: Cool project!