Slip-On Soft Cover Hack for ET11S ET12S ET13S

Want to protect your not-so-cheap thermal camera multimeter? Here's my Tooltop 13S with grippy armor!

Like me, you might have an old DMM with slip-on cover laying around that isn't in use, or is broken. I tried the cover from a XL830L/AN8205C first, it was loose fitting. Some padding would be necessary. The better one I tried is the A830L. Most meters in this category are about between $3 and $8 from AliExpress. I think mine may have been purchased at Lowe's many years ago for about $10.

The cool feature is this grip has an integrated kick stand, and open access to the USB-C charging-data port on the side. The camera lens is exposed where the battery bay was on the A830L. Also, the device tends to sit forward in the case: so much that there is plenty of open space for the macro lens attachment to stay installed.

Unfortunately, I don't see the A830L meter being available in red to match the unit. Either yellow on blue, or blue on white. So if you go this route, don't be surprised if your friends ask you if you stole your meter from Ronald McDonald.

How good is the protection? The face of the camera always rests below the top plane of the case. The unit isn’t turned “on” face down the same way it is without the case. If the camera is dropped on it's back or corner to a hard surface, I feel the confident the device should live through it without becoming shattered. A drop to the face should be better, but maybe not by as much.

This cover is more grippy than the hard plastic case the thermal camera is made with. Shouldn’t slip out of the hands as easy.

There are no access holes for the multimeter leads. This is easily solved by adding two holes finished by hand with a step drill through level 11/32". I measured 21 mm spacing between jacks and poked holes using a soldering iron to get things started (smelly, but effective).

So there it is. Reuse of existing materials at it's best. Even if you buy a cheap DMM only for the cover and not use the unit, the cost could be similar to a custom cover.