OK HFers, I was inspired by the recent discussion of adding belt clip functionality to an X3 case (or possibly even the X3 itself).
I thought that having a belt clip would be pretty cool, and make the X3 even more useful. Obviously this voids the warranty, but my warranty is already expired and it was voided when I swapped the stock smoked screen with the clear screen. So whoop-dee-doo.
I wanted a metal clip (not plastic) if possible, and it had to have a fairly small profile so it didn't interfere with my $3 DIY Nintendo DS case. (If you are not familiar with the DIY Nintendo DS case, you can get all of the details here:
https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/rockbox-xduoo-x3.803844/page-93#post-13317169).
Luckily, I found an old broken pocket knife that was destroyed beyond repair, and it had a nice polished stainless steel belt clip that would work perfectly for my purposes. The tiny machine thread screws that originally mounted the belt clip to the pocket knife could be reused as well. The screws were a little bit too long, but that could easily be corrected later.
All that was needed was to remove the back cover of the X3 via the (2) small T5 screws. Once the cover was removed, I noted the exact position of the battery (which is stuck to the INSIDE of the back cover via double sided tape). I then gently separated the battery from the back cover (if the battery doesn't seem to want to come off, gently heat the cover with a hair dryer and the battery will easily come off).
Here's what the X3 looks like with the cover removed. You can see where the battery is installed on the cover - it's kind of stuck to the center of the cover, to allow clearance for the yellow capacitor at the bottom of the X3 and the 3.5mm jacks at the top of the X3:
Next I determined where I wanted the belt clip. I decided that clipping the X3 "upside down" on my belt or in my pocket would be best - in other words, with the 3.5mm jacks facing UP. I marked where the back cover needed to be drilled using a Sharpie and the 2 holes in the stainless steel belt clip as a guide.
You can see a rough guide of where the clip will be going in this photo (marked in red):
With my screw holes marked, I used my Dremel to drill (2) holes slightly SMALLER than the (2) mounting screws. Once the holes were drilled, I simply forced the screws into the holes and as I turned the screws, the threads of the steel screws themselves were strong enough to cut the appropriate threads into the soft aluminum back cover. Then I removed the screws, added the belt clip, and reinstalled the screws using a drop of red Loctite (thread locker) so the screws wouldn't work their way loose.
Remember how the screws were a little bit too long? Well, now is the time to fix that. I tightened the screws down (tight but not so tight that they stripped the soft aluminum), then I sanded down the excess screw threads (ie the extra that was poking through the INSIDE portion of the back cover) using a sanding drum on the Dremel. Once the screws were sanded down nice and smooth with the INSIDE of the back cover, the cover is ready to reinstall.
Remove any dust particles /metal shavings from the back cover. Then I stuck the battery back onto the INSIDE of the back cover exactly where it was originally (reusing the same double sided tape).
Here is the finished product:
Obviously you would want to use the button locking function (via the switch on the side) to prevent inadvertent button presses while the player is clipped in your pocket.
Now, that the belt clip was finished, the next step was to make the clip compatible with the DIY Nintendo case. To do this, I simply laid the X3 back into the DIY case, and noted where the belt clip made an impression into the foam that lined the inside of the case. Then, using a Sharpie, I made a slightly LARGER area around the impression that the clip had made. I then used an Xacto knife to cut away the foam where the Sharpie mark was.
With that done, I then cut out a matching rectangle in the DIY case using a cutting disc on the Dremel (in other words, using the rectangle cut out of the foam as a guide of where I needed to cut the plastic case). The result was this:
All that's needed now is to put the X3 into the DIY case and make sure the cutout clears the pocket clip, adjusting the rectangular cutout if needed. Nice, it fits fine:
Finally, remember how I mentioned that I needed a belt clip that had a fairly small profile? The reason is that I sometimes stack my X3 with my FiiO E12A amplifier, and if I used a clip that was too large I would lose the ability to stack the X3 with the E12A (because the belt clip would stick through the rectangular cutout and hit the body of the E12A amplifier). Luckily the belt clip was the perfect height (did NOT protrude from the DIY case), so it's still perfectly stackable with the E12A. Here you can see the flushness of the clip in relation to the DIY case:
And here it is when stacked with the FiiO E12A:
Also, if you haven't already done so, consider doing the clear screen mod (which makes the X3 usable outdoors, and saves battery life by allowing you to lower the screen brightness). You can read about the clear screen mod here:
https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/rockbox-xduoo-x3.803844/page-101#post_13376076
Enjoy!
