I have not tested this out yet, but I believe it will work. I put this out there as an idea for those do-it-yourselfers. I have not yet tested whether the spray-foam I want to use will eat through the Saran Wrap or not. I'm also not sure yet if the foam gets hot as it cures DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK..,
I wanted an indestructible case that I could just toss into whatever carry bag (Gym bag/airline carry-on/briefcase/etc...) I had with me. I don't want to have to baby the unit, but I want it totally protected. nothing I've seen so far in the retail market fits the bill for me, so I decided to construct my own case.
What I came up with is to use Pelican's model 1020 case. Mine is clear with the black bottom gasket/lining. You can purchase them in clear with a few different colors of rubber lining material, or in solid, opaque colors. They cost about $12.00 US online. The case can take an unbelievable beating without breaking. It is highly water resistant (I think it's actually waterproof), has a pressure relief valve, and a unconditional lifetime warranty against breakage.
The 920 fits almost entirely within the bottom half of the case. There's a 1/8 to 1/4 inch gap all the way around between the sides of the 920 and the case. The 920 when sitting in the case rises about 1/16 inch above the lip of the bottom half of the case.
The cover which is concave is not deep enough to hold the cigarette lighter plug.
I would have liked to put that in as well, but I bought the case to totally protect the 920 itself.
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I'm still in the construction phase, but I'll explain what I intend to do.....
My next step will be to use either silicone sealer or expanding spray-foam insulation (from Home Depot or Lowe's..used for insulation) to make an exact fit... I'm going to try the foam first.
I'm going to wrap the 920 totally in a few sheets of Saran Wrap to protect it from the spray-foam. The foam is nasty stuff and whatever it gets on, it's on forever. I'll line the bottom of the case (above the rubber gasket) with a piece of the wrap so as not to permanently fuse it to the rubber gasket. I can adhere the foam to the bottom liner/gasket later, after trimming, once I like the total fit.
After laying in the saran wrap into the case (extending well beyond the rubber gasket on all sides) spray in a little foam, cover it with a sheet of the wrap to make a foam sandwich, and then embed the wrapped 920. You might need to add more foam if it does not rise to the top of the case bottom half. I'll use some strong rubber bands around the assembly, with the cover open to keep the 920 sitting with some pressure upon it pushing it down into the foam, until it is cured. I want any extra expanding foam to work it's way out of the case, up over the wrap-protected gasket.
Once it's cured, the foam is easily cut with a razor blade. Now I'll have a form fitting bottom half of the case. The cured foam can be removed from the case for any necessary trimming (because of the first sheet of
Saran Wrap)
For the cover, I'll either use the same procedure to fill the cover, or some foam rubber stuffed into the cover. I don't want anything pressing on the display screen when the case is closed, so I'll probably remove some foam where it would touch the screen.
I wanted an indestructible case that I could just toss into whatever carry bag (Gym bag/airline carry-on/briefcase/etc...) I had with me. I don't want to have to baby the unit, but I want it totally protected. nothing I've seen so far in the retail market fits the bill for me, so I decided to construct my own case.
What I came up with is to use Pelican's model 1020 case. Mine is clear with the black bottom gasket/lining. You can purchase them in clear with a few different colors of rubber lining material, or in solid, opaque colors. They cost about $12.00 US online. The case can take an unbelievable beating without breaking. It is highly water resistant (I think it's actually waterproof), has a pressure relief valve, and a unconditional lifetime warranty against breakage.
The 920 fits almost entirely within the bottom half of the case. There's a 1/8 to 1/4 inch gap all the way around between the sides of the 920 and the case. The 920 when sitting in the case rises about 1/16 inch above the lip of the bottom half of the case.
The cover which is concave is not deep enough to hold the cigarette lighter plug.
I would have liked to put that in as well, but I bought the case to totally protect the 920 itself._________________________________________________________
I'm still in the construction phase, but I'll explain what I intend to do.....
My next step will be to use either silicone sealer or expanding spray-foam insulation (from Home Depot or Lowe's..used for insulation) to make an exact fit... I'm going to try the foam first.
I'm going to wrap the 920 totally in a few sheets of Saran Wrap to protect it from the spray-foam. The foam is nasty stuff and whatever it gets on, it's on forever. I'll line the bottom of the case (above the rubber gasket) with a piece of the wrap so as not to permanently fuse it to the rubber gasket. I can adhere the foam to the bottom liner/gasket later, after trimming, once I like the total fit.
After laying in the saran wrap into the case (extending well beyond the rubber gasket on all sides) spray in a little foam, cover it with a sheet of the wrap to make a foam sandwich, and then embed the wrapped 920. You might need to add more foam if it does not rise to the top of the case bottom half. I'll use some strong rubber bands around the assembly, with the cover open to keep the 920 sitting with some pressure upon it pushing it down into the foam, until it is cured. I want any extra expanding foam to work it's way out of the case, up over the wrap-protected gasket.
Once it's cured, the foam is easily cut with a razor blade. Now I'll have a form fitting bottom half of the case. The cured foam can be removed from the case for any necessary trimming (because of the first sheet of
Saran Wrap)
For the cover, I'll either use the same procedure to fill the cover, or some foam rubber stuffed into the cover. I don't want anything pressing on the display screen when the case is closed, so I'll probably remove some foam where it would touch the screen.
