Fixing a broken solar-powered motion light

I love the solar-powered motion lights I have at my house but recently one started coming on during the daytime, then by night barely had any battery left, so something was definitely not working right.

Success! Battery-powered light now running from a wall USB charger

For fun I decided to open it up with my daughter to explore, and found that to my surprise, the inside was delightfully modular! Ripe for hacking. Maybe other models are similar inside? Let me know in the comments, please. I used the MITAOHOH MT-SL-82-4P which comes in a 4-pack for a shockingly low $20-$25.

(In general, it still blows my mind that any company can put products like this together for so cheap -- LEDs, solar panels, batteries, connectors, screws, wires, motion sensor, circuit board, and injection molded housings for $5 each, shipped to my door. Wild. That means negative externalities, unfortunately.)

Sad, dim solar light on during the daytime where it can't help anyone

How to Fix Broken Power Button on the Saeco Vienna Plus

I’ve written a lot already about troubleshooting the Saeco Vienna Plus, but I still had a new problem happen to my machine the other day. Somehow the part of the front control panel holding the power button and switch had cracked, allowing the switch to be pushed all the way inside! Initially the switch only pushed in a small amount, so I removed the (no longer operational) button and was pushing the switch with my finger. Then it finally gave way and I was sunk.

Saeco Vienna Plus with cover removed

Missing power switch! It recessed into the machine.

The Solution

This can be fixed by opening up the machine and hot-gluing the switch in place!

How to adjust Bowflex C6 and Schwinn IC4 water bottle holder position

The Bowflex C6 and Schwinn IC4 are great bikes to use with Peloton and other apps (see my analysis of using these bikes with apps), but the water bottle cage placement always had me bumping my knees on the top of my bottle. It probably inadvertently was influencing my form, so I wanted them moved!

Stock water bottle holder positions on the Bowflex C6

Here’s a quick fix: For those of you irritated by the placement of the water bottle holders on the Schwinn IC4 / Bowflex C6, you can make a bracket to move them pretty much anywhere you'd like!

Extender brackets installed to move bottle holders

Data and details on the Bowflex C6 bike with Peloton app

Early in the 2020 pandemic I realized I probably wouldn’t be going to a gym anytime soon. I already had a treadmill (see my treadmill repair guide), dumbbells, and yoga mats, so we wanted to expand that into spin classes and officially cancel our expensive gym membership. A proper Peloton bike and subscription is pretty pricy, so I wanted to see if I could get most of the premium benefits for a fraction of the cost. Short answer: you can!

The Peloton app can be used with just about any spin bike, not just theirs. And to boot, the monthly cost when you do so drops from $39/mo to $13/mo (super wacky; I guess they assume you aren't locked into their ecosystem and so have competition).

First let's talk about the bike I chose and the setup, then get into the technical details of how it works and how to get the best power data out of it.

Home gym with Bowflex C6 and iPad Pro (with SelectTech 552 dumbbells!). I cleaned up the power cable with gaffers tape.

So which bike?

You could go cheap (~$330), and it’ll work, but I wanted to mostly replicate the premium experience. A Peloton bike runs $2245 for the base kit with no accessories, but for $950 (hmm, now $999) you can get a Bowflex C6 with all the fixins (or even spend $100 less for the Schwinn IC4 which is the same thing with different accessories [no mat] and graphics. The Bowflex had a shorter lead time when I ordered. Sales rep for the parent company Nautilus confirmed they are mechanically the same.).

How to Carry a Bike With Another Bike

For years I’ve wanted to tow a bike with another bicycle and had this towing solution tucked away in my garage. Now I finally want to make it available to everyone! What do you do when you have one person and need to move two bikes? Maybe you’re taking a bike to be repaired, or your dirt jumper to the bike park, or picking up your friend at the train station and don’t want to drive there. Or you left your bike at the bar and need to pick it up the next morning. I searched all over and couldn’t find a solution that was compact, easy, and did not involve disassembling the second bike, so I designed my own device to tow one bike behind another.

Updated 4/21/2021

Attached bike ready to tow, thanks to my assistant

Ready to go! And it won't fall over!

Saeco Vienna Plus Troubleshooting and Repair Ultimate Guide

The Saeco Vienna Plus is a super-automatic espresso machine that has been long discontinued, but is a workhorse for many people. I bought my unit refurbished in 2013 and it has been going strong since, saving my family thousands of dollars on lattes and espresso. To keep it running smoothly takes some maintenance of the brew group, along with occasional troubleshooting of the rest of the machine.

I already have a guide on how to open up the Vienna Plus to replace some parts, and what follows here is a more general troubleshooting guide.

The Saeco Vienna Plus espresso machine

Troubleshoot your ProForm treadmill and replace the controller board

Like everyone else sheltering in place, we are mostly exercising at home, so having our treadmill working is more important than ever. I thought I’d do some preventative maintenance since we had bought the unit a few months ago used. In a fit of irony, the machine stopped working when I was checking the belt tension. Bummer. (Our model is the ProForm Crosswalk 545, PFTL6193.0S)

ProForm Crosswalk 545: decent treadmill, adorable girl