case for Tirion charts

To keep this long and sad story short, I shall not delve into my thoughts with respect to designs, materials, prototyping. Simply put, I wanted an attaché case or thin box large enough to store the Tirion Sky Atlas 2000 star charts. More importantly, the base of the case needed to be thick or deep enough, i.e. about 3 cm, to allow me to integrate my red LED light box array. All this so I could use my red array in the field and transport the Tirion charts to and fro.

I couldn't find a case the right size. I couldn't find a lightweight but strong box the right size. I considered for a long time building my own. Charles and I talked at length about it. But the road case raw materials I was considering were really too "heavy" and bulky. Just too large. But previous searches for attachés had failed.

Recent brainwave #1 was to look at art supplies. Perhaps there were rigid carrying cases, which would ordinarily cargo artwork, large enough. And, in the end, I found many options. But I was a little surprised at the costs. And the materials. At any rate, I was planning a trip to Curry's and other spots, to check them out in the flesh.

But then I had brainwave #2. And I don't remember what triggered it exactly. Anyway, I started doing searches in eBay for large attachés. Bingo. Lots of options. Most interestingly, I found very large cases. Perhaps too big. But the best news? I found a dealer in Canada! Mezzi. Searched their site for a better size. The one I found on eBay was huge!

I chose the MEZZI LUXslim Aluminum Laptop Case - XXT. It has interior dimensions that are more than generous at 20.5 x 15.0 x 3.5 inches. Comes with a strap no less!

With a more appropriate size sourced, I returned to eBay, searched for the model, monitored, and won the auction. Paid for the case and shipping on Monday. The case arrived via UPS on Friday.

It's gonna be great!

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The next step, now that I've fast-tracked the case design, is to add my light array to the base... I should be able to have this project finished very soon!