Pivo Pod Heatshield

In yesterday's post, I shared how to use a Pivo Pod along with the accessories that I have slowly added over the past two years. Today I promised a "Heatshield" DIY project. Here it is.

Pivo Heatshield, patent pending

Materials:

• Cardboard box big enough to contain your Pivo Pod and smart phone while mounted
• A plastic lid from a coffee can, butter container, etc.
• Duct tape
• Mylar survival blanket (this is what I bought)
• A nail or something sharp to bore out a hole in the plastic lid
• Regular office stapler
• Scissors

Step 1:
Cut the edge off the plastic lid so that it creates a flat disk. Heat up a nail (I used the burner on my gas range) and poke a hole in the center of the disk big enough so that your tripod's mounting screw will easily fit in the hole. See photo below.

Step 2:
Cut off all four flaps of the box. Lay it on one long side. On the (new) bottom of the box, along the front of the long side, cut out a rectangle that is approximately 2 inches by 3 inches. This gap needs to accommodate the top of your tripod. See photo below.

Step 3: 
Lay the flat disk over the opening so that it lines up with the front of the box. Use duct tape to secure the disk to the cardboard. The disk will allow you to place the HeatShield on the tripod before you screw Pivo to the tripod. The plastic disk needs to be very thin so that the Pivo has sufficient threads to be securely attached to the tripod. Likewise, the opening that you cut in the cardboard needs to be big enough to allow the top of the tripod to fit within the gap so that the thickness of the cardboard doesn't interfere with Pivo attaching to the tripod. The Heatshield will be "sandwiched" between the tripod and Pivo. See photos below.

Underside of Heatshield

Step 4:
​When my iPhone 12 Pro is mounted to Pivo, the camera is on top and on the right side of the box (as I face it). As Pivo follows me, it will rotate such that if the right side of the box is not removed, Pivo will face the inside of the box and be unable to see me. When Pivo rotates to the left, the camera comes outside of the box so the left panel of the box is never in Pivo's view.  See photos below.

For your specific camera, you will have to ascertain what Pivo's radius is, and how far to the side of Pivo you will be riding. If you will be circling Pivo, this Heatshield will not work for you. If you mount Pivo at A or C, test how far your phone spins to determine how much of the box's sides you must cut out. See photo below.

Step 5:
Once the disk has been attached and the side of the box removed, you are ready to apply the Mylar blanket which will reflect the sun's heat. Lay out the Mylar much like you would for wrapping a gift. Determine how much Mylar you will need, and trim off the excess.

Step 6:
​Using a regular stapler, staple the mylar to the box. I used enough Mylar that I was able to wrap the edges of the box in Mylar. See photo below.

Step 7: 
​Even though the edges were stapled, I applied a layer of duct tape around the uneven layers of Mylar to ensure that it stays in place and doesn't tear. See photo below.

Step 8:
Before using it outside, you should do a dry run to be sure that everything is sturdy and well attached. In the photo below, you can see my box attached between the tripod and the Pivo Pod. My cooling fan is attached to the front of my phone. As Pivo rotates to the right, nothing obstructs its view. When it rotates to the left, it will come out of the box so the left side of the box won't block what Pivo can see.

Finished:
With the Heatshield and cooling fan in place, seen resting just to the side of Pivo, my phone is able to stream the Pivo Meet without overheating. Of course, you can't see the phone in the photo below because I needed it to take the photo.

While Pivo is an awesome tool, it does need some support. It rarely rains where I live, so keeping Pivo dry isn't an issue. With temperatures well above a hundred degrees for most of the summer, overheating is my main problem. Even in the winter, we'll have days comfortably in the 70s, and if Pivo is not in the shade, even those temperatures will cause my phone to get hot while running a Pivo Meet.

Duct tape and a cardboard box can fix a lot of problems. How are you protecting your Pivo from the elements?