Here's a little tip for you guys. Screen protectors!
There's commercially available screen protectors for just about everything. You'll get a perfectly sized stick on piece of strong cellophane for ~$5. I do something a little different. Pick up a roll of Duck Tape brand "HD CLEAR" packaging tape. You'll get 1.88" x 30 YARDS of very good screen protection. You'll be able to tell it's the "HD CLEAR" because you can seethe cardboard core through the entire roll. I've used this for my cameras, phones, and GPS devices, ATV speedometer screens, and it works well! ** I haven't tried it on anything with touch screen **
Application:
Clean your screen, and pull off a piece of tape larger than what you need. Find the cleanest part of the tape you just pulled off. Apply the tape "lightly" to the screen and check that it is lined up. Press down on the tape just outside the screen to keep it in place. Now peel it up off the screen and get your credit card ready. Hold light tension on the tape with one hand and use the CC in the other hand to push the tape onto the screen form the attached side. This is how to avoid getting any bubbles underneath the tape. If you do get a bubble (or a stray dog or cat hair
) just peel it off and start again. After all, you've got 30 yards to play with so screw ups are not a big deal. Once you're happy with it, get a sharp knife and trim off ONE side. Usually you can follow a contour line or the gap between the screen and the body of whatever you're putting it on. Be careful if you're putting this on something waterproof that you don't cut any seals! Use scissors on the other side and cut the tape about 1/2" too long. Fold it over, and stick it to itself effectively making a "pull tab" for when you have to remove the tape.
The down side: When the tape wears out, there's a good chance the glue will stay behind. I take care of this with "Goo Gone", a paper towel, and a bunch of light rubbing. Then I clean with an alcohol pad (or some other cleaner) and re-apply. When you do pull it off, do it slowly.
The story:
I applied this to my new GPS and then tossed it in a bag on the back of my ATV. Inside that bag was recovery straps, shackles, bottles of water, food, tire fix, etc. I went for a nice ride in the rocky mountains. They call them the "Rocky" mountains for a good reason. I was bouncing all over the place, got airborne a few times and was having a great time. I stopped to grab a snack out of my bag and thats when I noticed that the metal clip that holds the shackle pin in place had been happily driving itself directly into the center of my brand new GPS screen during the ride. The tape looked to be shredded. It was a hell of a buzz kill for my ride as I was SURE my GPS was permanently disfigured. I moved the GPS and finished my ride. When I got home I peeled the remaining tape off and proceeded to clean off the dirt and glue to see how bad the damage was. N O N E ! Not even a scratch on the screen! I was a believer after that! I've been using this method for years and have never had any problems.
Happy shooting!
Tom
