DIY iPod Classic protective film (1 Viewer)

[Nelson Au]

I thought I'd post this for fun though I think it has a limited appeal.

Back in the day when I bought a brand new iPod 5G in 2005, I used a protective film from a company called Power Support. They make great protect films and I've used them on my iPhones. The film is still on my iPod 5G and doing its job.

Recently I scored an iPod Classic 5.5 on eBay. It was brand new and never opened. So it's brand new. I was amazed it works and the battery is taking a charge and holding that change. Not bad for an 11 year old iPod that's never been used before.

So I wanted to protect my investment and keep it scratch free. Power Support of course do not make films for such an old iPod anymore, at least I couldn't find them. So I made my own from purchasing a brand new iPhone 6 film. They provide two films in one package which is great, so I could both the front and rear films. I measured the iPod and drew it up in CAD. Then I printed out the outline for the films and used that as a template to hand cut the films. They turned out great. Luckily I have a circle cutter.

I have an iPod Classic 7G that I've been meaning to make a protective film for the rear side. Maybe I can still find a film for that one. At any rate, This was a fun little project.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I am curious. Why do you want such an old ipod? Are you antiquing? Is this one of the ipods that had a tiny hardrive? If I had tried to do this it would have looked like the Frankenstein monster did it. This is professional work.

 

[Nelson Au]

I have an iPod 5G which I bought in 2005 and it's got a Wolfson DAC which is reportedly the best sounding DACs from an iPod ever made. But the next year Apple made one slightly better with a next gen Wolfson DAC chip, it's called the iPod 5.5G. So I was curious about that in the last year or so. I finally found one brand new and it was essentially the same cost as a brand new iPod in 2006. I wanted one to compare against the sound from the ipod 5G and a 7th Generation iPod Classic, the last one Apple made. And compare to the last few iPhones as well. All iPods after the 2006 iPod 5.5 have a DAC made from another company and there are some who claim they do not sound as good. They sound good, but some seem to think the 5.5 is the grail to find. So that was my reason to seek out these older iPods. I was very curious to listen for myself.

From good headphones using the earphone jack, it's really hard to hear a difference. So the next step is to use the 30 connector and connect the iPod to my hi fi system. I typically do that in my home office when I use the Apple iPod dock and use the analog cable out from the dock to an older NAD receiver and it sounds very good. The next step is a digital connection from the iPod to the USB input on my newer pre-amp in the home theater set-up. I've already tested out the analog out into my newer pre-amp to the hi if system in the home theater and it's quite good. I might have time this weekend to test out the digital connection since a recent firmware update was done to my newer pre-amp. Previously when I used the USB connection to the iPod, I'd hear a clicking sound during playback and it was annoying.

So I guess I'm an iPod collector and I never meant to be, it's kind of fun and I'm tempted to try to find another one. The 5.5G does have an 80gb hard drive which so far is ok. The 7G iPod has a 160gb drive. I'm seeing a lot of people take the 5.5G iPod and refurbish them with newer higher capacity flash drives. I might try that with a used iPod 5.5. There are replacement rear metal cases too for replacing the scratched up ones.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I have an iPod 5G which I bought in 2005 and it's got a Wolfson DAC which is reportedly the best sounding DACs from an iPod ever made. But the next year Apple made one slightly better with a next gen Wolfson DAC chip, it's called the iPod 5.5G. So I was curious about that in the last year or so. I finally found one brand new and it was essentially the same cost as a brand new iPod in 2006. I wanted one to compare against the sound from the ipod 5G and a 7th Generation iPod Classic, the last one Apple made. And compare to the last few iPhones as well. All iPods after the 2006 iPod 5.5 have a DAC made from another company and there are some who claim they do not sound as good. They sound good, but some seem to think the 5.5 is the grail to find. So that was my reason to seek out these older iPods. I was very curious to listen for myself.

From good headphones using the earphone jack, it's really hard to hear a difference. So the next step is to use the 30 connector and connect the iPod to my hi fi system. I typically do that in my home office when I use the Apple iPod dock and use the analog cable out from the dock to an older NAD receiver and it sounds very good. The next step is a digital connection from the iPod to the USB input on my newer pre-amp in the home theater set-up. I've already tested out the analog out into my newer pre-amp to the hi if system in the home theater and it's quite good. I might have time this weekend to test out the digital connection since a recent firmware update was done to my newer pre-amp. Previously when I used the USB connection to the iPod, I'd hear a clicking sound during playback and it was annoying.

So I guess I'm an iPod collector and I never meant to be, it's kind of fun and I'm tempted to try to find another one. The 5.5G does have an 80gb hard drive which so far is ok. The 7G iPod has a 160gb drive. I'm seeing a lot of people take the 5.5G iPod and refurbish them with newer higher capacity flash drives. I might try that with a used iPod 5.5. There are replacement rear metal cases too for replacing the scratched up ones.

Ok, I get it now. You are a electronic geek supreme. Perfectly understandable now.

 

[Sam Posten]

I will never ever understand the appeal of plastic wrap on this tech. That said it looks like you did a great job with it, hope it works well for you!

 

[Johnny Angell]

I will never ever understand the appeal of plastic wrap on this tech. That said it looks like you did a great job with it, hope it works well for you!

I do. It provides an added level of protection without degrading the look. Cases are another thing. I wish I was one of those people who never dropped things, never put them where'd they'd get scratched. Me, I'm a klutz so I need a good case.

 

[Nelson Au]

Ha, ha! Plastic wrap, that's a good one. . Thanks to you both on the compliment. You could say that it's a part of the job to have this kind of skill.

Yes, I like how the film protects but doesn't add bulk or cover-up the device.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I have a 30GB 5th gen iPod but the battery hasn't been able to hold a charge since around 2010. Since I began to use my iPhones as mobile audio devices when I first bought a 3gs, the iPod has been collecting dust in our armoire since 2011.

 

[Johnny Angell]

There's a website her: https://www.ifixit.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqsGJlMyM1gIVlbfACh2uNw14EAAYASAAEgLeTfD_BwE that sells the tools and parts to fix a lot of stuff like iPhones. The price is cheaper than paying to have it done. Not sure if they have kits for the older products. They also have instructions and videos explaining how to fix the device.

 

[Clinton McClure]

Even though the DAC is supposed to be superior to what is in my iPhone, I can't hear the difference so it's personally not worth what it would cost for me to fix it. It's only 30GB with a mechanical HDD. My music library is much larger than that now so I would also have to upgrade to a large capacity SSD. I stream via Bluetooth in my car and that can't be done with the old iPod.