Thought I'd share what I'm doing with the new 2130. I liked the form factor of the 2120. Seems the 2130 is designed to be "hand held" or more accurately "2-hands held" the way the keys are laid out. I don't like that it hangs closer to the body... you have to bend your neck more to see the screen and unless you're a bit skinny, you may not be able to see it at all. Also the position of the straps interfered with getting my hands in and out of the hand straps. And as mentioned, there was really nowhere to effectively attach the SpeedVue. So I came up with my own fix that is working pretty well. It's just a piece of 1/2" Baltic Birch plywood. It was quite a bit bigger to begin with, but I just kept cutting away what wasn't really necessary. The straps attach to eye-bolts that screw into threaded inserts (for wood). The SpeedVue bracket is from the old 2120, minus the piece that fit around the handle. It just screws to a little block of wood which is glued and screwed on.

Here is the back. There is a large piece of "industrial strength" Velcro on the back that holds it to the board. The tie-wraps stabilze it and are added insurance. (the black band on the back is nothing... just tape residue)

The SpeedVue is positioned so it doesn't interfere with your hands. It pivots nicely. I hardly ever take it out of the holder. The supplied CSI cable is a little short and has already started to fail (after 4 months). I am having a better one made up by CTC.

Looks rough... works great. The edge of the bottom rests about at the hip joint, below the waistline. One of my customers gives me a hard time about having a $25K analyzer strapped to a $2 piece of plywood. When I get the final design the way I want it, he insists I make a drawing so he can have it cut on a CNC machine, probably from 1/4" aluminum (?).

We are never stuck with what they give us.

Just beautiful! Patent Pending?

Rusty,

Maybe some sort of plastic would be good. ABS won't show the grease so bad and is very tough, light and non-conductive.

Plastic?
... but you have to love the craftmanship of the Baltic Birch plywood.

Bill,

You're right Baltic Birch is really nice and the grease really brings out the grain.

One thing about black plastic that I hadn't really considered is that it also hides big gobs of grease as well as small smudges. Especially as the eyes start to weaken.

Hey, I see I made it to 1000 posts.

Do I win something or do I have to shut up now?

Rusty,

Good innovation!
How about adding a cup holder?

Remember when climbing a ladder to Place Your Tray Table Upright and in Locked Position!

Walt

Cup holder... that's a good one. Actually, I have taken to carrying a bottle of water in my "tool bag"... sometimes when I get on a roll I will collect data for 2 or 3 hours without stopping for a break, so I need the water. No, no snacks in there... I'm under strict orders from my Doc to lose weight and lower my blood pressure. (But how can you do that eating "road food"?)

I do realize now that the bottom edge of the "board" should be curved to fit the body better. Some sort of plastic would work fine, but not sure it'd be lighter. Once I get this "perfected", I'll probably make a template so I can make them with a router and a pattern bit.

Asuming that you are traveling in your own vehicle, get a 12 VDC/110VAC cooler. Bring fruit, yogurt, etc and stay away from fast/junk food = anything with corn syrup is bad. Adjust to moderate quanties of salt. Only visit McDonalds to use the free facilities!

Rusty
I am not getting the pic through on my end would it be possible if you have a minute to email them to me I would like to see what you have built.Thanks epredictive@gfp-inc.com

Rusty
I have no idea what just happened but as sonn as I posted this request the pics loaded up and I have them so I do not need the email copy thanks again though.

You have to sign in to post. Doing this lets you see the pictures.

quote:

Originally posted by Danny Harvey:
Hey, I see I made it to 1000 posts.

Do I win something or do I have to shut up now?

At least a cheers from all of us!

Just on the comfort of carrying a data collector around, I too collect data for long periods of time. My right shoulder feels like jelly by the time it is completed. We are currently looking at changing how we carry our 2120's & 2130's. The strap over the shoulder does not seem to distribute the weight very well.
HAS CSI LOOKED INTO THIS PROBLEM?

SURELY WE ARE NOT ALONE, OUR NECK,SHOULDERS & BACKS ARE AGEING VERY QUICKLY.

At this point in time we are managing how long we cary it in one go. We have not eliminated the problem as yet.

Thanks Rusty for sharing your work, networking your ideas like you have done may save us all a little grief in the future. Well Done Mate!



Hooch

I like that the shoulder strap "slides" in the pad that CSI supplies. It gets out of position sometimes, but it lets me slip the meter down by my side when moving from place to place. This decreases the "moment arm" and thus the pull on your back/shoulder. With the meter on my left hip I just sort of carry it with my left hand. Takes almost all the weight off the shoulder strap.

Also, I'm sure there are pads for the shoulder strap that would be better than the one supplied. A large sporting goods (gun) store should have a variety of pads available. I'm thinking something with a 'gel' insert might work well.

Was looking for something else and ran across this old post. If any of you are considering making any sort of "carrier" for your 2130 or other meter, a good, cheap material to start with is a large nylon (?) cutting board from Wal-Mart. These could be cut and formed easily with a jigsaw or bandsaw. You could also refine a pattern in 1/4" hardboard or plywood and then use a router with a pattern bit to actualy cut out the carrier from the cutting board stock.

Rusty,
Did CTC get your cable for the speedvue made?
That's one of my problems with this device. I use both the holder, which the cable works ok for and a magnetic mount from a photo tach. When I use the photo tach base, the short cable is a real problem.