pelican case | Web Portal for Benjamin J Heckendorn

Behold – a completely normal looking Pelican case!

My latest project is an Xbox 360 stuffed inside of a Pelican 1490 case. The intention here to create a “tough” portable Xbox 360 that can be transported with ease.

Enter missile launch codes here.
Xbox 360 inside a Pelican 1490 case

This unit includes:

17″ widescreen LCD monitor.
Built-in speakers.
Power cable compartment.
Reworked top-loading DVD drive.
Removable hard drive.
Ethernet and USB ports.

This unit was built because I’ve had a lot of requests for game consoles that could be used overseas by our servicemen and women and I thought it’d be interesting to take a crack at the concept. It was not built on consignment, a rarity for me these days, so it is up for grabs. I’m also interested the larger-scale possibilities of this kind of project if anyone has any ideas/money.

For the fairly detailed “Making-Of” check the story after the break. You can also click here to view a video demonstrating the unit.

The idea for this unit was inspired by Clint Green’s cases that I saw last May in D.C., you can check out his site at www.greenbarron.com/armoredgaming.

Continue reading Pelican Case Xbox 360 →

Over the years I’ve received many requests to build portable games system that could be used by our troops overseas, but nothing ever materialized. I was also inspired when I saw the Pelican cases that were used by Clint Green to transport gaming systems around the Walter Reed clinic for patient use.

So one day I decided that I would just build one and see what happens – kind of like what I used to do with projects before the requests starting outpacing my creativity. Podcast co-host Jason Jones is chipping in on the costs. Below is the progress:

Oh yeah four speakers baby!
Wow, it’s obviously done and ready for a magazine spread!

The idea here is to stuff an Xbox 360 and LCD screen inside a Pelican 1490 case. There are no “through hole screws” so when closed the case maintains all of its sealing and protective properties. Thus the power plug and even DVD lid will be all on the inside surface of the unit when complete (requiring the DVD drive to be converted to a pop-open lid type rather than drawer, one of the trickier aspects of this job).

For some more pics and specs, click below. I’m posting this early because it’s kind of a slow, backburner kind of project and I’d just like to gauge the interest ahead of time, so if this might of use to you please email me. This will probably be finished in November after I get the THQ laptop done. Estimated cost is about 40% of what I usually charge for an Xbox 360 laptop. Display is a 17″ widescreen.

Continue reading Sneak peak – Pelican Case Xbox 360 designed for Overseas Active Service Use →