How To Ship Items
Needing Repair


Equipment can very easily be damaged during shipment. It is important that you follow a few simple rules while you are packing your goods to insure they arrive safely at their destination.

1.) Keep the packing materials that the equipment was shipped to you in when it was new.
Smaller items like transmitters are usually shipped in protective plastic boxes. Use these to store your transmitters when they are not in use - and ship the devices back to the factory inside these boxes. Larger, heavier items (intelligence kits, receivers, repeaters) will generally be shipped in multiple corrogated boxes with foam supports. It is imperative that you keep these boxes and foam inserts for possible future shipments.

2.) Assume that the shipping carrier will be throwing your package around - literally.
Most carriers use care in the handling of packages. However:  The smaller the box, the greater the propensity for it to be 'tossed' about during loading. The larger the package, the higher the probablilty it will be kicked about, poked with a forklift, knocked over, dropped, or all four. Always assume your package will encounter at least one or two abrupt shocks during shipment. Pack your item so that it will survive these 'close' encounters.

3.) When packing items - remember to 'build a buffer zone' around your equipment and the outer wall of the outside shipping container.
This buffer zone acts as a shock absorber to insulate your electronic equipment from those outside world encounters described above. Always pack your electronic equpment in a box within a box.

a.) The first box which houses your equipment should be tightly packed, so that the equipment (or the small plastic storage case for a transmitter) does not move about inside.

b.) This box should be suspended inside a second box. Create the buffer zone between the inside box and the outer box.
The lighter in weight the piece of equipment is, the lighter in mass and density the materials can be that you use to create this buffer zone. Lightweight equipment can use packing peanuts or multiple layers of bubble-wrap to create this buffer. Heavier equipment should NEVER use packing peanuts for this cushion. They need much more air and mass space between the two boxes, and must use much denser support materials such as very thick foam or thick styrofoam.

c.) Remember - the key is to create a zone around the inner box that will absorb a shock the package may receive during shipment. You want the zone and the support materials to absorb the shock - NOT your piece of equipment.

4.) When the boxes are all packed - NOTHING inside the box should rattle, shake, or move.
If something rattles, the carrier should not accept the package. But even if they do, damage that is caused by poor packing is NOT covered under any insurance policy. Any movement inside the box is an accident waiting to happen. Open the package, find the source, and secure it!

5.) Clearly label the package with our address, and your return address.

6.) INSURE your shipment.

7.) If you can't pack it - take the goods to a professional shipper who can, and will take the responsibilty for a poor shipping job.

If you still have questions about how to pack your device for shipment, please feel free to call our Shipping Department at 610-522-0106 for some ideas and sugesstions. We'll be glad to help.