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First post, by pixelatedscraps

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Relocating to a new country - how do you transport your gear?

To those of you who’ve done it or considering it, what was the best option for you?

I’m based in Hong Kong and looking to get outta Dodge by moving the family to where my wife is from (Germany). But I feel my question would apply to anyone relocating countries.

Just how do you do it? What’s the safest option when transporting old hardware in bulk across several continents and the odd ocean or two?

OPTION 1:
Sea freight alongside home contents and furniture in a container

OPTION 2:
Sea freight by postal service

OPTION 3:
Air freight by postal service or courier (FedEx / DHL)

OPTION 4:
Some combination of 1-2-3 but with the most valuable items being taken onboard our one way flight to the Vaterland as excess baggage

OPTION 5:
Sell as much as possible, especially the bulkier items - my four 5970s, the six PowerBook / MacBooks, the 8 or so mid-90s, early 2000s laptops under my bed - the InWin A500 that’s part of my Ultimate 440LX Voodoo2 SLI rig - how is this fair?! I’m stopping this here---.

Assuming packing involves the following:

- antistatic ziplock-type bags
- silica gel
- bubble wrap
- potentially each item wrapped in a second, larger ziplock bag (only applicable to items going by sea freight?)
- large hard plastic shell IKEA boxes containing hitherto individual wrapped, dehumidified and sealed PCBs sealed with more silica gels and masking tape

Things to note in 2022
- International container freight charges are 600%+ more expensive than they were pre-Covid. Cost reasons imply I should pare down and get rid of as many non-essential items as possible. However, I’ve spent a good number of years and hard-earned cash building up this collection.
- Requires extremely careful packing, waterproofing and sealing
- Danger of long term exposure to humidity via sea freight
- Air freight charges are extremely high right now - at last estimate and based on DHL / FedEx fees from 2019, they're up about 200-300%.
- There is a security concern with all freight despite insurance policies, even with couriers such as DHL/FedEx
- I'm probably missing a bunch of other stuff right now but to be honest, my head is still taking everything in - the move, the future, family - the unceasing political nightmare that continues on its own absurd march here...

THE PACKING LIST
- Most items are without their original packaging
- Some items are very fragile (Yamaha amp, Technics SL1210, Yuel Beast Monument build)
- It's not a huge amount but it is quite sizeable once bubble wrapped and packed - my wife is going to ask some serious questions when she sees it all boxed up

PCs = 6
- InWin A500
- Sliger SV540
- Yuel Beast Monument
- G4 Cube x2
- Mac Pro 5,1 (optional, can be let go if necessary. They're 20kg+ beasts)
- Mac Pro 6,1

Audio
- Yamaha CA-2000 amplifier (1978?)
- Technics SL1210 MK2 gold
- JBL 4307 studio monitors x2
- KEF LSX
- Roland MA-12C

Laptops = 10
Motherboards = 8
Monitors = 2 (optional)
VGA / GPUs = 15
Soundcards = 5
HDD = 7
Big box games / OS = 12

Last edited by pixelatedscraps on 2022-02-09, 11:55. Edited 1 time in total.

My ultimate dual 440LX / Voodoo2 SLI build

Reply 1 of 16, by Plasma

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I would pick option 3, carefully packed and shipped via DHL. Besides humidity, salt in the air is also a problem with sea freight. We have shipped vehicles for international testing via sea freight and any uncoated metal had surface rust.

Reply 2 of 16, by pixelatedscraps

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I think that's the safest albeit most expensive option. I added a rough list of items to freight and a bullet point in there at the end about air freight charges being through the roof these days too 😉

My ultimate dual 440LX / Voodoo2 SLI build

Reply 3 of 16, by TrashPanda

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pixelatedscraps wrote on 2022-02-09, 11:34:

I think that's the safest albeit most expensive option. I added a rough list of items to freight and a bullet point in there at the end about air freight charges being through the roof these days too 😉

You might want to consider vacuum wrapping with silica gel the items you 100% dont want any humidity getting to, at the least shrink wrapping certain items would also work to protect them from humidity and moisture

Reply 4 of 16, by pixelatedscraps

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TrashPanda wrote on 2022-02-09, 12:53:
pixelatedscraps wrote on 2022-02-09, 11:34:

I think that's the safest albeit most expensive option. I added a rough list of items to freight and a bullet point in there at the end about air freight charges being through the roof these days too 😉

You might want to consider vacuum wrapping with silica gel the items you 100% dont want any humidity getting to, at the least shrink wrapping certain items would also work to protect them from humidity and moisture

Excuse the dumb question but vacuum cling film wrap with silica gel insert before or after the static bag? Funnily enough, I can see it working both ways - though with a static liner bag instead of a ziplock-style bag.

My ultimate dual 440LX / Voodoo2 SLI build

Reply 5 of 16, by TrashPanda

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pixelatedscraps wrote on 2022-02-09, 13:00:
TrashPanda wrote on 2022-02-09, 12:53:
pixelatedscraps wrote on 2022-02-09, 11:34:

I think that's the safest albeit most expensive option. I added a rough list of items to freight and a bullet point in there at the end about air freight charges being through the roof these days too 😉

You might want to consider vacuum wrapping with silica gel the items you 100% dont want any humidity getting to, at the least shrink wrapping certain items would also work to protect them from humidity and moisture

Excuse the dumb question but vacuum cling film wrap with silica gel insert before or after the static bag? Funnily enough, I can see it working both ways - though with a static liner bag instead of a ziplock-style bag.

Vacuum seal and them throw silica packets into the sealable bag with it, if the vacuum seal fails at least the silica will stop any moisture getting to the boards, you could also put the silica packets into the vacuum bag with the board, it would only do something if the seal fails tho.

I was just thinking of how humid the shipping container will be both sitting on a waiting ship and sitting at the dock before and after shipping, might need a number of silica packets per packing box or one of them portable dehumidifier containers with the desiccant in it. I know it sounds like silly overkill but its going to be humid as hell on the ship in the wet ocean heat and any extra silica protection you can add will increase the chance of stuff getting to Germany is good condition.

Reply 6 of 16, by BitWrangler

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When I did it many years back, it turned out cheaper to check everything in as excess baggage. Difference back then was something like $50 a large moving box as excess baggage and $80 for cheapest surface mail. (Three months ship time) ... The specialist freight and baggage forwarders had rates/fees like somebody else was paying, i.e. your large multinational employer was having all your relocation costs billed to them. However, ChinaPost air parcel seems dirt cheap when you order anything from there, but don't know if that's subsidized for goods.

Unicorn herding operations are proceeding, but all the totes of hens teeth and barrels of rocking horse poop give them plenty of hiding spots.

Reply 7 of 16, by BitWrangler

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An example... https://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_PH/baggag … redit-card.html see if you look at zone 4 and see $65 per kilogram that's scary, but that's for kilograms over and above the regular luggage weight of 23kg... in the table below you see a piece of up to 23 kilograms and under 80" long is $60 per piece... so you pack your boxes up to 22.5kg (don't get too close in case their scales are off or yours are) ... anything super heavy you can't split up, guess you'll wanna send freight or courier.

edit: Oh yes, the thing to remember is that checked baggage space is first come first served, so turn up like 4 or 5 hours early for your flight instead of 2 and get it all checked in.

editII: you'd also need to allow extra time for pickup, likely your stuff went right to the front of the baggage compartment if you were early enough, so it's the last dug out, so you're gonna have to wait a while for it to appear at the pickup... it's good anyway, you don't wanna be trying to grab it during the general rush.. the crowd will have cleared up by the time yours comes through.

Unicorn herding operations are proceeding, but all the totes of hens teeth and barrels of rocking horse poop give them plenty of hiding spots.

Reply 8 of 16, by chinny22

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Been thinking about the same thing as we plan to move from UK to Australia in the next 2 years, possibly even before the end of this year!?

Ignoring anything that has sentimental value as only you know how much that is worth
Next you need to consider how easily can I buy a replacement in your new country. That'll help categorize things for option 5

I think option 1 makes the most sense, especially if your already doing that for other household items. International shippers don't seem to care about weight which adds up pretty quick and size is another consideration.
I've made a spreadsheet of my oem systems as finding dimensions is easy enough and using that as rough guide for the scratch built systems. (still haven't decided which machines I'm actually taking)

Mac G4 43.2 x 22.6 x 46.7, 19.1 kg
PL1600 47.32 x 57.58 x 27cm, 29kg
HP XW 6200 44.1 x 16.5 x 44.0, 15.8kg
HP XW8600 45.5 x 21.1 x52.6, 28kg
Dell XPS 500 43.69 x 20.32 x 44.45, 13.6kg
Dell Precision 650 16.8 x 44.7 x 44.5, 18.6kg
Dell T5500 44.8 x 17.1 x 47.1, 17.7kg
Dell R710 8.64 X 44.31 X 68.07, 26.1kg

I'm not toooo concerned about environmental factors. remember all this hardware probably made the same trip in the same conditions when shipped new to the country. silica packs in the PCs' in the boxes, in the container it's not going to hurt!

Another thing to consider is do you really want all this when you first arrive. Friends that moved back home where actually happy about the delay. It gave them time to find and move into a home settle in somewhat before been inundated with a bunch more stuff to unpack.

Option 4 is the best option for high value stuff, but if relocating permanently you'll probably find plenty of things take priority over items for your hobby and there is only so many bags you can take to the airport

Reply 10 of 16, by pixelatedscraps

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BitWrangler wrote on 2022-02-09, 13:42:

An example... https://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_PH/baggag … redit-card.html see if you look at zone 4 and see $65 per kilogram that's scary, but that's for kilograms over and above the regular luggage weight of 23kg... in the table below you see a piece of up to 23 kilograms and under 80" long is $60 per piece... so you pack your boxes up to 22.5kg (don't get too close in case their scales are off or yours are) ... anything super heavy you can't split up, guess you'll wanna send freight or courier.

edit: Oh yes, the thing to remember is that checked baggage space is first come first served, so turn up like 4 or 5 hours early for your flight instead of 2 and get it all checked in.

editII: you'd also need to allow extra time for pickup, likely your stuff went right to the front of the baggage compartment if you were early enough, so it's the last dug out, so you're gonna have to wait a while for it to appear at the pickup... it's good anyway, you don't wanna be trying to grab it during the general rush.. the crowd will have cleared up by the time yours comes through.

Good tips. We are looking at Lufthansa as the prices are more reasonable and they are the actual operator of the flights while Cathay has been hit / punished by flight bans and further restrictions. Lufthansa seems to charge €200 per excess 23kg up to one piece per person booked in advance. If done at check in, you are allowed unlimited pieces up to 23kg per piece depending on available quota - hence your early bird check in would be spot on.

Argh, it's a tough one. I'm especially worried about the 1970s amplifier, the SL1210, the Roland MA-12Cs and the big JBLs I own. I think the rest of the items like MBs, VGA cards I will probably airmail separately - the InWin, a PS4 Pro, Mac Pro 6,1 and anything else in original boxes should survive 3 months in a container provided they are well sealed against humidity.

My ultimate dual 440LX / Voodoo2 SLI build

Reply 11 of 16, by HanSolo

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As kixs already said, I would also sell heavy/bulky/not rare items and re-buy them in Germany.
I'm sure the German members here (that includes me) will help you finding out the expected prices here. If the prices are roughly similiar, that should be less expensive than shipping all of it.

And to optimize packing size don't forget that BigBox-Games often still have some room inside for other items like a soundcard 😀

Reply 12 of 16, by pixelatedscraps

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Thanks HanSolo, that’s very kind of you to offer. I may very well take you up on that offer via a pm. Great tip about the game boxes but not sure I'd trust a GUS to survive (or fit) into a System Shock box. Intellivision plastic box covers on the other hand do very well as protection for small to medium sized PCBs.

Currently I find myself building lists of items that are deemed important enough to bring but these lists just seem to go on and on with nothing added to my To Sell Or Get Rid Of list…

My ultimate dual 440LX / Voodoo2 SLI build

Reply 13 of 16, by HanSolo

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pixelatedscraps wrote on 2022-02-14, 00:07:

Thanks HanSolo, that’s very kind of you to offer. I may very well take you up on that offer via a pm.

I got your PM but apparently I can't write PM myself here, yet. Maybe you can send me an email-address that I can respond to?

Reply 14 of 16, by pixelatedscraps

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HanSolo wrote on 2022-02-14, 16:24:
pixelatedscraps wrote on 2022-02-14, 00:07:

Thanks HanSolo, that’s very kind of you to offer. I may very well take you up on that offer via a pm.

I got your PM but apparently I can't write PM myself here, yet. Maybe you can send me an email-address that I can respond to?

Ah, I believe that may be because you’re a new member without the required number of minimum posts yet.

Sure, I’ll email you now - thanks!

My ultimate dual 440LX / Voodoo2 SLI build

Reply 15 of 16, by RaiderOfLostVoodoo

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Welcome to Krautland. Smart decision to go into exile before it's too late.
If you need an opinion about prices here in Europe, you can ask me as well.

Reply 16 of 16, by pixelatedscraps

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So we made it in one piece. And by we I mean my family of old junk parts - and the child & wife.

The amp, speakers and turntable are crated up but I’m going to dig out an old laptop and a VGA card or two tomorrow and have a close inspection. My custom Monument build appears to have arrived safely in one piece but I’m yet to fill her up and plug it all in until we move into our new apartment.

I’ll post pics of what I come across in the next few days but wanted to thank everyone here for all the wise advice.

My ultimate dual 440LX / Voodoo2 SLI build