so i just watched 23 people walk through the center metal detectors gaining entrance to international departures, without a sound being made. i stepped outta the line after i noticed 6, i was 12, and finally left after the self proclaimed manager, larry went backward then forward through it, gettin the noise both times.
the strange thing is, after the first six, i asked one of the other staff on hand if the red light always goes off, or do u act just when there is noise or what? she replied, "navacanata ees seting thees." so on i left my watch, and my wallet i did't put in the big grey bin. almost 3 dollars in change,
CATSA and Pearson
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dutch-roller
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dutch-roller
- Rank 1
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- Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2005 3:42 pm
- Location: the Can
stoopid coin-op internet. where was i...
so with all this change, belt buckle, big metal watch, 2 amalgum fillings, one prince albert and my iron rich blood, nuthin.
so what's the story? who calibrates these things and how often?
i'm not concerned about terrorists more than the avg guy, but here is my question: when u charge through that thing, does the red light go off all the time, or is that a semi metalic indication? could have stuck around, but coyote jacks was calling.
and, bush pilot historical gallery is no more, now a basket weavig/textile exhibit, but still pretty cool.
also, after verbally interacting with these security schollars (not all of em) today, i was reminded of that clip with the philipino guy sniffing his detector wand in a dave chapelle movie, half baked maybe? good stuff
so with all this change, belt buckle, big metal watch, 2 amalgum fillings, one prince albert and my iron rich blood, nuthin.
so what's the story? who calibrates these things and how often?
i'm not concerned about terrorists more than the avg guy, but here is my question: when u charge through that thing, does the red light go off all the time, or is that a semi metalic indication? could have stuck around, but coyote jacks was calling.
and, bush pilot historical gallery is no more, now a basket weavig/textile exhibit, but still pretty cool.
also, after verbally interacting with these security schollars (not all of em) today, i was reminded of that clip with the philipino guy sniffing his detector wand in a dave chapelle movie, half baked maybe? good stuff
Back in the day I worked for CATSA as a screener... great, braindead job... awesome pay for a college student, too.
I'm not entirely sure what model of walkthrough detector you're looking at, but with the one we used it would beep once a certain concentration of metal was detected... here's a quick demo on how the buggers work: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/metal-detector.htm
in our procedures we used a two-inch solid metal bearing to test the machine at every shift change... it was calibrated by a dude from NavCanada every 6 or 12 months, if I remember correctly. Not entirely sure if that's still who does it or not.
I won't lie to you, but in my experience they're pretty finnicky gadgets for certain people. There are weak spots to the system, and it's only as strong as the person who's doing secondary searches on the other side. My favourite issue with these things was that foil from cigarettes or gum would shoot the bloody thing off the scale. A certain amount of metal is obviously allowed - belt buckles, watches, rings etc. usually aren't a problem, but if there is a large concentration of metal (texas beltbuckles, big-ass pilot watche, etc.) it's bound to set off the limit and it'll beep. With experience, an operator can usually get a good idea where the cause is with a glance at the person, then the secondary search is just a verification of their hunch.
One of the trickiest problems they run into is steel shanks (shenks?) in the soles of shoes... usually any shoe with a thick sole will have one - this is where some people get the idea that if they're holding their tongue wrong, or forget to cross their fingers, they'll set off the alarm. At our particular airport, we'd usually just have these folks take off their shoes and pass them through the x-ray machine - but this was Sarnia, an airport where we had (and made) time to do that sort of thing...
Anyways, that's probably way more information than you wanted, and is only my experience... take with a grain of salt.
I'm not entirely sure what model of walkthrough detector you're looking at, but with the one we used it would beep once a certain concentration of metal was detected... here's a quick demo on how the buggers work: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/metal-detector.htm
in our procedures we used a two-inch solid metal bearing to test the machine at every shift change... it was calibrated by a dude from NavCanada every 6 or 12 months, if I remember correctly. Not entirely sure if that's still who does it or not.
I won't lie to you, but in my experience they're pretty finnicky gadgets for certain people. There are weak spots to the system, and it's only as strong as the person who's doing secondary searches on the other side. My favourite issue with these things was that foil from cigarettes or gum would shoot the bloody thing off the scale. A certain amount of metal is obviously allowed - belt buckles, watches, rings etc. usually aren't a problem, but if there is a large concentration of metal (texas beltbuckles, big-ass pilot watche, etc.) it's bound to set off the limit and it'll beep. With experience, an operator can usually get a good idea where the cause is with a glance at the person, then the secondary search is just a verification of their hunch.
One of the trickiest problems they run into is steel shanks (shenks?) in the soles of shoes... usually any shoe with a thick sole will have one - this is where some people get the idea that if they're holding their tongue wrong, or forget to cross their fingers, they'll set off the alarm. At our particular airport, we'd usually just have these folks take off their shoes and pass them through the x-ray machine - but this was Sarnia, an airport where we had (and made) time to do that sort of thing...
Anyways, that's probably way more information than you wanted, and is only my experience... take with a grain of salt.
@#$%%&+**@ CATSA passnazis The GD hoop we had to walk through in YWG to get past the a**holes to get to work would go off if I walked beside it, never mind if I walked through it! ( 2 steel hip joints)
Best one was one night I forgot my screwdriver in the leg pocket of my covvies when we went for coffee. On the way back, of course I put it in the tray along with the other stuff. The boneheaded b**ch behind the machine looked at it and asked "What is that" I was taken a little aback, but replied "A screw driver" She asked "What do you use it for?"
Taken ever further aback, I leaned a little closer and said ....wait for it....
"SCREWING" She reported me to her supervisor for having a bad attitude towards her and her job. Go figurel
Best one was one night I forgot my screwdriver in the leg pocket of my covvies when we went for coffee. On the way back, of course I put it in the tray along with the other stuff. The boneheaded b**ch behind the machine looked at it and asked "What is that" I was taken a little aback, but replied "A screw driver" She asked "What do you use it for?"
Taken ever further aback, I leaned a little closer and said ....wait for it....
"SCREWING" She reported me to her supervisor for having a bad attitude towards her and her job. Go figurel
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