Is Your Self-balancing Scooter Misbehaving? Here Are Some Tips to Handle the Issue

The technology that drives the self-balancing scooter is still new and undergoing further improvement. Well, these scooters took over the world in just a matter of years, and the demand is skyrocketing, making the manufacturers to produce more of the gadgets to meet consumer demand.

This situation placed the users in positions where some problems came up, with some being manageable while some aren’t. Today we look at some of the problems you might run into, and what to do so as to enjoy the experience of this gadget.

Loss of Balance

Your scooter might lose balance and not be responsive to tilting. This points to calibration problems with the scooter. If you run into this problem, you need to re-calibrate it on a flat surface. The scooter will show a red light in the middle (most models) signaling a problem with calibration.

To recalibrate, make sure the scooter is turned off then place it on a flat surface. Make sure the two sides are totally aligned then press the power button for five seconds. Monitor for flashing lights, after which you release the power button. This will start the calibration process that will run automatically.

Power Loss

The scooter uses a rechargeable lithium ion battery just like your cellphone. Lithium ion batteries fail after prolonged use. Therefore, if you start experiencing problems with the scooter in terms of loss of power or the gadget switching itself off automatically, it means you have a problem with the battery.

One way to use your battery properly is to fully charge it then draining it till 5 percent or so before you recharge it. This prolongs the life of the battery.

If the battery has reached the end of its life, you need to replace it with a new one. Once you get the new one, make sure you charge it often and avoid having it overheat. Additionally, protect the battery from damage.

Your Pads Stick

Well, for you to balance on the scooter, the pads ought to sense your feet. Failure to do this might result into loss of balance. When this happens, you need to try and unstick the pads by applying pressure to make them regain the original position. Before you attempt anything, make sure the scooter is turned off.

If this doesn’t help, you need to remove the lower cover and try to reposition the pads. Follow the instructions in the user manual before you can attempt this.

Shaking Scooter

This happens when the scooter loses the ability to balance and shakes whenever you step on it. The cause is usually the sensor mechanism that affects the alignment of the scooter. You need to use the user manual to perform this task.

You have to locate the sensor, identify the wires that connect the logic cable with the cover and unscrew the sensor to expose the rubber pieces. Cut the rubber pieces slightly to make communication in the sensors work.

Scooter Won’t Charge

Power issues are common for self-balancing scooters. The issues arise because first, the scooter loses its contact with the charging port, therefore the scooter won’t charge. Secondly, the scooter doesn’t connect to the power supply, so it can’t start again once you charge it.

There is a remedy to these problems. First, remove the cover to have access to the underlying wires and circuits. Next, inspect for any damage on the wires and, if present, fix with tape or replace the whole cable.

You also need to check the transistors or capacitors on the logic board. These items are the ones that send signals to your logic board for the scooter to function. These can malfunction when used extensively, requiring you to replace them.

None of the Above

After extensive use, you might end up with a scooter than dies off. No form of troubleshooting can make it work. A visit to the repair shop will yield the same answer – it will cost you more to repair and the performance isn’t guaranteed.

This is when you have to replace the board. You can go for the same model or an upgrade. You have to like this for getting the right upgrade. Check out the stats and features to understand the experience that awaits you.

How to Become a Better Event Photographer

As an event photographer, it matters less the event you are attending as long as you capture the best shots to highlight the mood of the occasion. Be it a gala dinner, corporate function, or a music or product launch; you must not get carried away to the extent of shifting your focus from what you need to do. With great photography, you can easily lure or impress donors, please clients, as well as garner the press. To better understand this concept, you can check out some of these photos taken from weddings at biltmore for a deeper insight. Even so, it is crucial that as an event photographer, you come to terms with the goals of the event and execute your laid out plan to achieve these goals efficiently. Discussed below are some important things you need to take into account in order to help you become a better event photographer.

Location Shots

Be sure to capture some photographs of the venue for archival use and storage. Such photos not only offer a fantastic foundation for discussion but also come in handy during debrief meetings. It is easier for people to understand and believe your words if you can show them any photo evidence. A potential client may ask for a resume and an attached sequence of photo evidence showing where you have worked before. Such shots would be pivotal as there is a likelihood that they could be unique and exclusive.

Crowd Shots

When taking overall shots or capturing the crowd, try to convey the bigger picture of the event. As such, don’t dwell on taking close up photos as they mainly exhibit your emphasis on design elements and focus on details. When capturing the crowd, try to take the shots from a high vantage point, as it shows you a clearer picture of the scope and size of the event. To get to a higher point, do whatever you have to do even if it involves climbing a tree, rooftop, a ladder or even a supplies truck. The image you capture makes a big difference and is worth all the trouble you go through to get to a high point.

Group Shot

If you are attending a corporate or any other official event, designate a particular time along with a location from which to take a group shot of the board or the committee, or whoever is chairing the event. Make sure you make the necessary arrangements to ensure the team arrives in time for the group photo before the actual event begins. Also, if any particular celebrity happens to be within the vicinity, ask them to join the group and pose for a photo with them. However, you first need to establish whether the celebrity in question is approved to pose for any photos before the event starts.

Guests from other regions

If you the event you are capturing has guests coming from other areas. See to it that you capture a few shots of the different guests according to the locations or cities from which they come. If applicable, you can send such photos to local newspapers or other news outlets within the city or the area where the guests emanate.

Important Things to Consider Before Buying a Grow Tent

Outdoor gardening is the most widely practiced form of plant growing across the globe. Unfortunately, your success remains at the mercy of the weather, and if it doesn’t favor you, there will be nothing to show for your efforts. Indoor gardening offers a better alternative as you can grow your preferred plants all year long. A grow tent is one of the many ways through which you can practice indoor gardening. It features heat and lights reflective materials, and it’s also furnished with ventilation and light. A grow tent affords you total control over your growing because you can control the various aspects involved such as the grow lights, circulation fans, heaters, air conditioners and humidifiers among others.

Regardless of the weather outside, the right tent structure, coupled with a little experience and growing ability, you can successfully grow all types of plants indoors any time of the year including fruits, veggies, herbs and flowers. Grow tents are also referred to as grow rooms, grow closets or plant bays depending on their size and shape. There is a broad selection of grow tent options to choose from in the market owing to their increasing popularity. This article will help you to make a sound decision by highlighting some of the things you should consider when shopping for a grow tent to ensure you get the right fit for your needs.

Ventilation

The ability to circulate air well is crucial to maintain ventilation and control the heat and moisture in your grow tent. For instance, if your grow tent will be indoors, you need to have an opening such as a window on which to set up the exhaust fan vents. See to it that the openings in place somehow corresponds to the location and the setting of the fresh air intake vents and the hot air exhaust vents.

Height

Knowing the type of plants you will grow, helps to determine how tall you want your grow tent to be. It is paramount that you buy a tent that is tall enough to accommodate the peak height your plants can attain and leave enough headroom for the plants. The best grow tent should come with an extension kit or flexible poles that can be adjusted to set the height to your preferred level. Considering that you may not always grow the same types of plants every season or every year, you can adjust the height to perfectly fit with the kind of plants you grow.

Size

Before you purchase a grow tent, take into account the amount of space you have available, the number and types of plants you intend to grow and also the room you will need to move about inside.  Consider the types of plants you plan to grow and if you will have an assortment of different plants that you will have to attend to regularly, look for an enclosure that allows you to enter and move comfortably inside or one whereby you can easily access and attend to your plants from all sides freely. Otherwise, if you only want a handful shelves of small plants, you can set up an enclosure that allows you to reach inside and attend to the plants without entering inside.

Additional Features

Consider any other extra features that you may need in your grow tent and look for one with those features. If you want to hang some of your plants, make sure your grow tent comes with sturdy bars on the top to support the dangling plants. On the other hand, if you want to add extra lights, you need to know the best lights for your grow room. LED grow lights are increasingly popular and are considered to be the best choice for indoor growing. You can find out more about these lights from http://www.lumigrowth.com/ and also see reviews of some of the best LED grow lighting systems in the market.

Cost

In general, when buying a grow tent, do not go for the cheapest models to save money. The cheap models are not well-constructed to support any dangling weight. A cheap tent is not ideal and won’t work as expected, especially if you will be setting it up outdoors. Therefore, just overlook the lower end prices when it comes to buying grow tents. On the other hand, do not be misled by the high price tags and consider the most expensive models as the best. Some manufacturers take advantage because they know that buyers tend to associate high prices with high quality, thus overpricing their products. You can easily find some mid-priced grow tents that are quite good and better than some of the overpriced models. Therefore, have a flexible budget before you embark on a shopping trip so that you can get a high quality grow room depending on the amount of money you are willing to spend.

Conclusion

With the effects of global warming causing many problems across the world, grow tents allow you to protect your plants from the sweltering sun and unpredictable weather conditions. However, like all good things in life, it does not come easy, and you will need to make a huge initial investment. Nonetheless, it helps to save you money eventually, and with a continuous supply of products all year long, you won’t even think about what it cost you to set up the grow tent.

Why Everybody Should Have Freshly Made Juice

Summer is the time of year for pools, loose clothing, picnics…actually, it’s about a lot of things, and one of these things happens to be juice. As a matter of fact, juice is good for any time of the year. Juice that’s freshly made is infinitely better than what you get from the store. Plus, it’s fresh, free from preservatives and God knows what else! It’s the perfect solution to keep the heat down and with the multitude of other benefits that fruits have to offer, you’re really missing out on a quick and delicious preparation that’s also great for the body.

Recipes for juices aren’t very complicated and involve little more than gathering the ingredients and tossing them in the juicer (if you’re in a more adventurous mood, there are plenty of trickier recipes available too.) There’s no reason why everyone shouldn’t be making fresh juice, no matter what time of the year. Want more evidence?

1. It Has More Nutrients Than Packaged Juice

There’s no overstating the importance of nutrients. You might think that you’re helping your body when purchasing bottles of juice from the store, but that’s simply not true. Packaged fruit juice has fewer nutrients than its natural counterpart, which is reason enough to go get yourself some fruits and make your own juice. But there’s more…

2. It Does Not Contain Preservatives

So much is added to the packaged food in stores, mostly to keep the taste and freshness of the hibernating food products alive as long as possible. This is unhealthy and also reduces the flavour of the food. It is no different with fruit juice and there is a marked difference in quality. Do yourself a favor and make your own juice!

3. It Will Be Free from Added Sugar

Obesity is on the rise and the World Health Organization has warned sugar is one of the most detrimental substances for the body. That hasn’t stopped it from being used in excess in all our store-bought products, fruit juice included. One of the best things you can do for your body is to reduce your sugar intake. Fruits are naturally sweet and doesn’t need sugar to enhance its taste.

4. It Can Be Healthier Than Raw Fruits

You might be surprised to hear that a fruit’s juice might be healthier than the fruit itself. This is because your body absorbs a lot more fiber when you have the fruit in its juice form. Fiber is essential for the body to digest food properly. So fresh fruit juice can make all the difference between healthy pooping and constipation.

5. It Will Help in Detoxing

Fresh fruit juice contains a special protein that is absent in store-bought fruit juice. This protein, called glutathione, plays a vital role in clearing your body of heavy metals and other harmful compounds.

It’s now pretty widely known that fresh food, straight from nature’s treasure chest, is good for you. It takes a few years for the cumulative effect of our unhealthy diets to hit us and, by then, it may be too late for us to do anything about it. It’s imperative that everyone starts early in this lifelong quest of healthy living. The incredible combination of vitamins and minerals that are present in freshly made fruit juice further adds to its importance in our diet. And why shouldn’t appear in our diet more often? After all, it’s so easy to make and so much cheaper. Whether you look at it from a nutritionist’s point of view or a practical one, fresh juice is always the better option.

8 Reasons to Ride Your Bike Daily

Cyclists are a varied lot. Some love riding road bikes up steep hills, some like riding down rock trails, some ride purely for fun and some for sport. Some ride for basic transportation and some ride to get that adrenaline rush. All of us, however, should take advantage of cycling as it has lots of amazing benefits.

As well as being one of the most efficient means of human locomotion, biking is one of the best physical activities for boosting our health as well. From the head to the toes, the benefits of bicycling are difficult to beat. Here are 8 wonderful reasons why you should jump on your bike every day.

It’s kinder on your limbs than running

Whether you’re training for an upcoming marathon, searching for a cross-training opportunity, or recovering from an injury, cycling gets your heart pumping and your legs moving without hammering your joints. Running can take its toll on your body but biking is a much more lower-impact workout that engages leg muscles with less pressure on the knees. As long as you keep pedaling, biking becomes an easier, lower-impact type of cardio you will enjoy, particularly if you’re nursing an injury.

It’s a lifelong activity

Even if you are in great shape right now, certain exercises and weightlifting aren’t going to get easier as years creep on you. One of the best news about biking is that you’ll still be able to ride years after you’ve ditched the gym or weights. Heck, you can even do it every single day for life.

Get outdoors and enjoy a nice day

There are lots of ways to spend your free time, but biking is one of the best as it gets your heart pumping. According to NutriStrategy, riding your bike at a leisurely pace (about 10 miles per hour) burns a lot more calories than having an easy walk (about 2 miles per hour). Challenge yourself by riding up and down hills and going beyond 10mph, but even maintaining a relaxed pace is an amazing way to stay active.

It’s a legit mode of transportation

If you’re heading somewhere important, like work, cycling is a totally green mode of locomotion that’s free and provides an amazing workout to boot.  Rather than slouch behind the wheel cursing traffic at rush hours, ride a bike. It’s another nice way to burn calories in your everyday or occasional routine. And with the costs of commuting ever rising, it’s certainly a great idea when you move out on the town on your bike instead.

Live longer

Having daily rides can do much more than make you happier and healthier. They also prolong the period of time you can feel that way, no matter if you’re already getting a bit long in the tooth. A major survey done in Norway that tracked a group of senior males in their seventies and eighties found that just half an hour of exercise each day increased the life expectancy of those men by up to  five years, compared to males who didn’t engage in any physical activity.

Another survey carried out in Taiwan asked more than 400,000 adults how often they exercised and followed those answers for more than 8 years. It found that working out for just 15 minutes a day added 3 more years to their life expectancy. All of these people weren’t young and most were not particularly athletic when they began the study. Well, it is never too late to get started!

It can cut stress

Most scientific studies have generally backed the idea that working out helps to relieve stress. Biking is very much key to that, but it is also important to note that bikers have reported reduced stress levels than car or public transport commuters, as a recent study by New Economics Foundation found.

Explore and know your neighborhood better

Most of us don’t fully explore our neighborhood. Even if you regularly run outdoors or change your route quite often, you aren’t approaching the range of exploration and travel you can experience if you ride your bike. Try to cycle in areas you usually drive by, and you could be stunned by what you see and appreciate. Get out there and take it all in.

You’ll look forward to it

All of us have those workouts we’d rather not do. However, even if you ride your bike furiously and feel a sharp burn in your quadriceps, chances are you’ll still love the experience despite the difficulty as you get a quick, thrilling ride. Riding may also give you more energy for other workouts you intend to do. You should bike rather than drive to your gym sessions.

There are lots of ways biking is amazing for your body and soul. What’s more, it comes with all sorts of physical and mental benefits.  It works your legs while being kind to your joints, and provides a great sense of freedom.Still need convincing?