Van Buildout (Update)

 It has been five years since  I planned to build out my van. Luckily, I never did complete it.

Where did the time go (again)?

 Five years ago I published the same question covering the same year. Reading through my blogs on a rainy Sunday, I discovered that I neglected to update my blog for a very long time. 

Again, this year it is September and I asked myself the same question - where did the time go? It seems that the older you get the faster the time flies. Although the daily routine does not deviate too much it still is Sunday then Sunday again.

 

A Discovery of Witches

`A Discovery of Witches' is a fantasy series based on the similarly named novel of the `All Souls' trilogy, written by Deborah Harkness. Teresa Palmer portrays Diana Bishop, a historian who discovers a bewitched manuscript in the Bodleian library. As she attempts to unravel the secrets this book holds about magical creatures, she is forced back into the world of magic, full of vampires, daemons, witches and forbidden love. Forming an unlikely alliance, geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont, portrayed by Matthew Goode, helps Diana to attempt to protect the book and solve the riddles within, while at the same time dodging threats from the magical creature world. 

After seeing the trailer multiple times on various devices, I decided to watch the series. Series one's episodes were nebulous enough to continue watching it. Although it plays in the fantasy realm (as far as we know), the actions of various characters do not deviate from the plots of other "power hungry" movies too much. 

The interesting part starts with the time walker discovery. As many theories suggest the paradox of time travel, it does not seem have an effect in this series or does not play a role. I'm curious to see the possible change after the characters return to the presence. As suggested in the movie "The Butterfly Effect" the slightest change will have great consequences. I'll see what happens here in the mind of the authors soon.

Two days later

So I watched it to the end. No butterfly effect here, in the greater scheme of things it is not important to the story line. Although one fact lingers in my mind: Diana is pregnant in 1590, returns to 2022 - pregnant - this must be the longest pregnancy in the history of mankind, also, the twins are 432 years old when they were born ... 

It was an interesting plot line with enough intrigue to keep watching. The cinematography was outstanding, so were the costumes. The scenes in Venice with the boat steering towards the hidden island got somewhat old after frequent switches between countries. The slow gathering of species over several episodes was well done. Some of the travel between the countries did not make too much sense, especially in the last series where the imprisoned witch is in Poland and drives to France, Matthew drives from France to Poland. This takes a long time by car, however, the actions in either location have not progressed too much in the meantime. Little parts which jump out and make the episode look chopped up in the last series.

The discovery of the dependency of chromosomes between the species was a logical explanation for the ending of the series, which also led to the dismantling of the old hierarchy. 

"If there is something wrong with the hive, you have to replace the queen" (from the Beekeeper) would be very relevant in this scenario.

Where did the time go?

Indeed, where did it go? It was just May when I wrote about the rolling thunder event, now it is October ...
As I get older it seems that the time is going by faster, perhaps it is the fact that you already have a plan (or something close to that) on what needs to be done during the day, week, or even months. In the younger years there were always deviations from the daily routine, now, not so much - the rat race.
As Harry Chapin expressed in his 1974 folk rock song  "Cat's in the Cradle" - "There are planes to catch, bills to pay" - .. "if I could find the time, You see, my new job's a hassle, and the kids have the flu". A relationship between father and son - missed opportunities to spend time with each other ...

I venture to say that you should stop and smell the roses once in a while.

Rolling Thunder XXXII

After living in D.C. for some time now I decided to pay tribute to the "last ride" since I missed many before that run. It was a very moving and overwhelming experience to say the least. There were thousands of motorcycles of many shapes and sizes as well as thousands of people lining the streets. All the roads with access to the mall were closed and blocked with dump trucks.
I was lucky to catch an Uber driver who knew his way around, he dropped me off just across the street from the Hirshhorn Museum just in time to witness the first wave of motorcycle riders. I crossed the mall to view the rest of the run on Independence Avenue.

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Part of the program for Sunday
Sunday, May 26th

12 PM - Rolling Thunder XXXII First Amendment Demonstration Run

First Amendment Demonstration Run - Bikes leave the North Pentagon parking lot to begin their run through the Mall area. After the run, police will direct riders to West Potomac Park, where they will pay tribute to their fallen brothers and sisters.

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As the Washington Post reports:

Rolling Thunder takes its final ride in Washington

By Jessica Contrera

May 26 at 4:26 PM

It was the Sunday before Memorial Day, and in Washington, that has long meant that one of the world’s largest motorcycle rallies was in town. Every year since 1988, riders have roared into the District for “Rolling Thunder,” a demonstration in support of veterans, prisoners of war and service members who went missing in action. But this year, the organization’s leader, Artie Muller, had announced that the financial and logistical burden of making the rally happen had become too much; after 2019, the event in the nation’s capital would be no more.

The news inspired hundreds of thousands of bikers, likely a record-breaking number, to flock to the Pentagon parking lot Sunday morning, ready for their final ride into the city and around the National Mall.

WYZE cam (another follow up)

Yet another disappointment. The Wyze camera I raved about started spinning out of control. Even after several attempts to connect - it did not. No recording on the SD card either, just happily spinning around and around.
Now what?

TPMS (follow up)

Very much to my dismay the tire pressure readings from the ODBII sensor are way off. Excited as I was at first to see the pressure reading on the monitor I was skeptical. The readings showed the front tires 10 PSI higher than the actual reading was, whereas the rear tires supposedly were under inflated.
After I visited a Ford dealership the guy told me that he reset the light - not. So I went out to purchase a digital tire pressure Gage to double check and the readings confirmed that the tire pressure was normal for the front and the rear tires (hot and cold).
So now what?

TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitor)

The TPM light is blinking and staying on in the dash display indicating that there is either low tire pressure or one of the sensors is malfunctioning. I had the tire pressure checked and it was at the required PSI. My new system has a TPM display but failed to connect to the existing sensors. After some searching on various forums I came across the proper setup for the Torque app to show the tire pressure via the ODBII/EDU connector. Unfortunately I only copied the formulas and forgot to copy who wrote and published it - thank you for sharing this information.

I still have to figure out how to fix the indicator after all attempts to reset the TPM failed so far.

Left Front Tire Pressure (Driver Front) - Uses the vehicle's TPMS to read your tire pressure. GREAT for constant readings and to see how much PSI increase (or possibly decrease if tires get damaged) when driving! Each tire will get its own menu. All four listed below.

PID: 222813
Long Name: Left Front Tire Pressure
Short Name: Tire PSI (LF)
Maximum Value: 70
Unit type: PSI
Equation: (((256*A)+B)/3+22/3)*0.145
OBD Header to use: 726

Right Front Tire Pressure (Passenger Front)
PID: 222814
Long Name: Right Front Tire Pressure
Short Name: Tire PSI (RF)
Maximum Value: 70
Unit type: PSI
Equation: (((256*A)+B)/3+22/3)*0.145
OBD Header to use: 726

Right Rear Tire Pressure (Passenger Rear)
PID: 222815
Long Name: Right Rear Tire Pressure
Short Name: Tire PSI (RR)
Maximum Value: 70
Unit type: PSI
Equation: (((256*A)+B)/3+22/3)*0.145
OBD Header to use: 726

Left Rear Tire Pressure (Driver Rear)
PID: 222816
Long Name: Left Rear Tire Pressure
Short Name: Tire PSI (LR)
Maximum Value: 70
Unit type: PSI
Equation: (((256*A)+B)/3+22/3)*0.145
OBD Header to use: 726

The improved (another follow up)

I had a bit of time, which is rare these days, and tackled the USB port installation. This turned out to be a bit of an undertaking since there was no clear path from the top to the bottom of the dash board. I had to take off the radio enclosure and the switches for the fan and temperature Gage to get the USB cables to the proper location. At the end it did work out.

I also installed the front dash cam, not in the location I wanted it to be but it works as well where it is at the moment. Perhaps at a later date I will move it into the enclosure above the rear view mirror.

The improved (follow up)

To my dismay my existing ODBII connector did not work, besides, it was to bulky anyway. A quick order with Amazon fixed that issue. Now the connection comes up flawlessly on the Torque Pro app (included with the ATOTO system) and shows all the relevant, and not so relevant information.

Other than that the entire system works perfectly. Maps, radio, Pandora, telephone, equalizer, dimming of display, multiple screens to switch to, car information, and a multitude of other goodies which still need to be explored. The GPS system works well. I also added a WiFi hot spot to the car which allows for a flawless internet connection. To round it all up,  a power inverter allows for a laptop or even a battery charger for the power tools to be connected.

I still need to install, or rather extend the USB port which requires some drilling into the existing panel. The plan is to split the USB inside and have a dual USB flush mount in the dash board.

The good, the bad, and the ugly

It has been 90 days and roughly 4,000 miles since I purchased the Ford Transit 150 Cargo Van. I have to write that I'm very happy with the purchase decision. However, since I was not able to finish the build out in the first go around, mainly due to the cold weather, there are some observations I would like to share.

The good

More room - a two sided sword.

On the one side, it allows me to carry a myriad of tools without making several stops during the week to reload or reconfigure the car for specific jobs. Furthermore, it allows for more accessories to be carried which in turn makes jobs easier to complete. On the other side it makes a mess since all of it is organized in bins at the moment and not in designated shelve units. Some sharp turns, sudden stops, or acceleration can cause some of the smaller bins to topple over and the contents is all over the place despite the lit.

The extra room also allows me to transport left overs or trash easier and faster to the designated landfills or dumpsters. Below is an example of carrying about 2,100 pounds of tile plus several bags of other stuff, or a cement Grinder ( a million pounds if you ask me).

Yes it is a mess but it worked. I'm not sure if I will be able to do that after I finish the build out, whenever that is.

The bad

The van, like all the other vans in the same class, only averages 14 miles per gallon. I drive mostly back roads or city traffic which does not help, neither does the weight of the tools. My previous car averaged about 17 miles a gallon which is not that much of a difference, however, with the gas prices going up again it is about a $100 per month increase. Although the van is not that long, the height prohibits to park in most garages, public or private. The car still is easy to maneuver and park, just not inside. 

The ugly

Opening the doors is like a box of chocolate, you never know what falls out first ... It is ugly inside and looks very unorganized. Dust and other debris is all over the floor. I have to clean the dash board every morning before I start the drive due to the dust accumulated on it. Hopefully this state of looks will improve in the near future.

The improved

This heading is not mentioned in the title but I upgraded the "entertainment" system in the car. I know that there are several upgrade videos online, everybody with their own opinion and style, so I will not go into the nitty gritty details and just show what I did to my van's radio upgrade. Should you be adventures and go for a complete build out, not just a work van, visit this site which has the most detailed and well thought out description of how to do it.

While I was at it I added some desperately needed floor mats for the front. 

I ventured out in the infinite world of shopping to find exactly what I wanted in terms of performance. The particular piece I was looking for was an Android system with most of the bells and whistles for the least amount of money. After weeks of research and comparisons I stumbled upon the ATOTO ANDROID IN-CAR ENTERTAINMENT system which addressed all the items I wanted in my dashboard, above all, it had the right price tag namely $179 on Amazon. Adding a new dashboard kit from Metra, wire harness, connectors, and adapters the entire new system was less than $240.

Since my soccer team had a bye week this Saturday I took the time to tackle the install. First I removed the existing top and front panels.

   

Second, I attached the wire harness and connected the cables in the order of ground, power, left and right speakers.

   

I turned the ignition key to turn on the power system and the system came right up - success.

Now came the fiddling with the brackets to align the screen with the panel. The small piece in front of the screen had to be cut so the unit slides to the back where it is fastened to the existing dashboard.

After mounting the side pieces, enlarging the opening of the screen front panel to fit the screen the unit was nicely in place and was working perfectly.

I will eventually write how the system performs in terms of radio, GPS, USB, Bluetooth, and OBDII.

Van Build Out (discontinued)

It is April already and the saga continues. Needless to say the cold weather threw a wrench in my well laid plan to finish the build out. As a result my van looks like the picture shown in my January 31st blog - the one on the right side.
Several large projects required too many tools, numerous trips to haul away left overs and trash, and, above all, lots of time. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and warmer weather in the forecast. Eventually I will find some time and accomplish what I set out to do.

Van Build Out (continued)

There are sketches of the layout, nothing concrete, just the basic idea. Most important is that the larger equipment will fit in the van so there is no repeating the mess from before. Here is the plan  after I placed all the equipment into the van.

With that in mind I went ahead and purchased the remaining wood panels.

Perfect height

I spent a day cutting the side panels to fit the contour of the inside and the shadow boxes to fit and extend the width of the future shelves. It is "only" a 2" inset, but every inch counts in that case.

More to tell once I get back in gear.

Van Buildout

Before I was able to get started with the "new" van interior build out I had to get to a stopping point at my current project. After that point was reached I had to take out all the equipment, gear, and whatever else was in the Sienna Mini Van and put it in the garage. Before it slips my mind, I appreciate the use of the garage and the driveway of my client, and above all, their patience.

Unfortunately, the back hinge of the Sienna broke a couple of weeks ago and had to be fixed first before I could empty the rear of the van. Installing the part was a short task, loosen some screws, remove the panel, loosen the old hinge, install the new hinge, re install the cover and screws, done.

 Although it is a known fact that you always have too much stuff, I'm was amazed how much stuff I accumulated and fit into the Sienna Van. All of it is piled up in the garage at the moment to be sorted out and organized into the new van.

After the seats were reinstalled in the Toyota Sienna I finally got started on the insulation of the Ford Transit Cargo Van.

One of the best web reference I found during my research is Isabelle and Antoine's blog about van life. They did an amazing job researching and blogging about the entire process. The blog can be read at https://faroutride.com/

Perfect fit

Much debate went into the thought of insulating the floor and provide a solid walk surface. I decided to purchase a molded floor mat for $180. It was an absolutely perfect fit.  Initially I was looking into laying insulation in between the floor ribs, covering it with Reflectix, and top it off with ¾” plywood. However, after adding up the cost (about $240) plus the time it takes to cut the strips, Reflectix, and the wood I decided otherwise.  There is always the option to add a sheet of plywood in between the left and right cabinets at a later date.

 

For the side walls I used 1.5“ thick Foamular 150 by Owens Corning. For the expanding foam I used Loctite Tite Foam especially formulated for large gaps -  also sticks to anything and everything.

Bunche cord helpers  

Last Panel with helpers

The ceiling was covered with ¼” plywood. In hindsight I should have used 1" foam board for the ceiling, it would have made the installation of the plywood much easier ...

Upgrading Transportation

After 15 years I decided with a heavy heart to upgrade my transportation. My small business required more and more tools to be transported to job sites and, even after taking out all the seats in the Toyota Sienna Mini Van, there was just not enough room for anything. Besides, finding smaller items became a chore although they are organized in little bins but the bins were covered with larger items such as saw horses, ladder, or other bigger items depending on the requirements for a particular job.

My trusty van provided save travel for me for 229,000 plus miles, actually only 164,000 since I bought it used with 65,000 miles on it. Even when it was fully loaded it had enough horse power to get up and go all the way up and down the east coast. Left out on the map are some places in Florida for some reason or the other.











With a new year on the horizon, I finally started searching for a worthy replacement while working on a house renovation. It came down to three cargo van brands, the first was the Mercedes Benz Sprinter Van 2500, second, the Ford Transit 150, and third, the Dodge Ram. Important criteria included foremost, parking, interior space, type of engine, cost, reliability. Not included was the gas consumption since neither van, including my current one, were efficient in this category. My price range was between $20,000 and $25,000, taking in consideration that this potentially new car was a commercial vehicle and the interest rate is definitely higher than a non-commercial vehicle.

Unfortunately, the Mercedes Benz line comes with a Diesel engine which means that, with the low miles per gallon, the overall cost for gas would mean an increase in cost of a minimum of $80 per month for fuel. Although the 2019 Mercedes Sprinter Van comes with a gas engine, it is only a four cylinder and also cost prohibitive. The monetary value of the diesel equipped Sprinter line holds really well which was very much to my disadvantage. For example a 2011 Mercedes Cargo Van 2500 with 80,000 miles would cost $20,000 which was within my budget. Several others had either very high mileage, higher cost, or both, therefore, this selection was out.

Next on the list was the Ford and the Dodge Cargo Van, although similar in looks and feel I leaned towards the Ford Transit 150 for some reason or the other. On the last day of January I found one with only 25,000 plus miles on it and within my price range. To make a long story short, I test drove it, liked it, and subsequently bought it.

It is a 2018 Ford Transit Cargo Van with a medium roof, very clean inside and outside. Enough space to carry all my necessary and not so necessary tools, gear, and other little things needed on any given job.
Now comes the time consuming, in between jobs build out, transferring all the equipment from the Toyota Sienna van and other storage options so it is organized part. While I was searching for the "right" van, I also looked at other tradesman van build out plans and photos. Since everybody has their own style and needs my build out also will reflect my style and needs.

Of course here is a scenario I had to laugh at because it is very true:

In any case, I will blog about the build out and find out if the left or right side reflects my style. In the meantime I have to figure out how to make this all happen while working full time on projects.

Wyze Cam

Another curiosity purchase resulting from a review and a great price on Black Friday. WYZE Cam.
Their claim is 1080 High Definition Video, 120 degree Wide Angle Lens, High quality Audio, Enhanced Night Vision, 360 Pan Tilt Range, tracking of motion, 3.5mm focal length. F2.3 aperture. 120º wide angle lens. Enhanced 1/2.7″ CMOS sensor. Wyze Cam Pan delivers 1080p HD images with stunning clarity. 15 FPS, 8×DIGITAL ZOOM,1920×1080 RESOLUTION, automatically records a 12-second Event Video when it detects motion or sounds. Turn on push notifications to stay on top of things without having to constantly monitor the app. - and believe or not it is all true.  All of those features for

$29.99

I was amazed at the quality of the video, day and night time, even remotely. Speaking of which, no fiddling with port forwarding etc etc, simply connect to the router and voilà you are there no matter where you are. The playback is equivalent to upscale cameras, select playback and time and there you are.

Highly recommended over other WiFi cameras.

Nigel (one more time)

Alfred was fired due to performance issues.

 After some research I decided to give the "robVac servant" another try and decided on the Neato D7 with all the bells and whistles.

Then there was Black Friday offering coupons, discounts and all that jazz. I managed to wrangle one Neato D7 out of the online store for almost 50% off, still a lot of money but, but, but ...

Setup, again, was a breeze, no surprises there. The big aha moment came after I turned the roboVac on. Contrary to the first Neato bot, were the startup noise was compatible with a jet engine, the D7 in Eco mode was a low humming which brought a smile on my face right away. So far so good. I downloaded the Neato App and it connected to Nigel (notice it has a name now) right away. Contrary to Alfred I was able to setup the cleaning schedule with ease. Then I left him alone in anticipation for the next scheduled cleaning day.

Monday came and went, I forgot about Nigel until I arrived back home. Then my curiosity peeked. I opened up the app to see if things worked out the way I wanted to. Sure enough they did. There was the floor plan with the areas Nigel reached for cleaning, there was the dust bin filled with, well, dust and stuff. The first go around worked well. I was somewhat skeptical due to some of the reviews indicating that this and that did not work - must have been user errors I presume. After emptying the dust bin I decided to just let the program run its course. By the end of the week I had statistics about area cleaned, time taken to do so, and a clean living environment.

One more item I wanted to mention which comes with Nigel is the fact that it interfaces with Alexa, and it actually works right out of the box.

The upgrade 

After picking up an announcement about zone cleaning on Flipboard with the new version of the software I was feverishly looking forward to test that feature. However, annoying things like work prevented me from further testing the "no cleaning zones" or the "zone cleaning" itself. Comments to come soon.

 

The Soccer World Cup 2018

I was counting the days until the first game of the FIFA Soccer World Cup 2018 in Russia. It is always exciting to watch the countries best players to compete on the field. My team, the current champion, Germany, started the cup with a myriad of controversy in regards to the player selection by the trainer, Joachim Löw, but that was more a political issue and, in my opinion, has nothing to do with soccer. The biggest question this time was if Germany can successfully defend the title they fought for four years ago. Brazil was the last team in 1962 to accomplish this feat. Germany's first game was against Mexico in which a stunning upset marked the state of the team. After barely surviving the second game against Sweden with a game winning goal in extension time, I started questioning the advancement out of the group stage. The team looked slow, sluggish, and uncoordinated, although the average age of the team is 27.1 years according to statisa.com. Mexico (29.4), Sweden (28.1), and South Korea (27.8) were older on average but seemed much more nimble. After loosing the last game against South Korea 0:2, the team (die Mannschaft) ended up on the last place in Group F and did not advance to the next round.

Group F

Team		MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Sweden	3	2	0	1	5	2	3	6
2	Mexico	3	2	0	1	3	4	-1	6
3	South Korea	3	1	0	2	3	3	0	3
4	Germany	3	1	0	2	2	4	-2	3

A truly national embarrassment for Germany, the German newspaper der Stern published this minutes after the loss:

Natürlich ist das das Ende der Ära Löw!

Die historische Blamage ist perfekt: Deutschland scheidet in der Vorrunde einer Fußball-WM aus und diese sportliche Schande kann nur eine Konsequenz haben - unabhängig davon, dass die Wunde noch sehr frisch ist.

Von Finn Rütten

Naturally this is the end of the era Löw
The historic embarrassment is perfect: Germany does not advance out of the group stage and this sporting shame can only have one consequence - irregardless that the wound is still fresh... 

Back to the drawing board, they have four years to rebuild, however, nobody will ever forget, it will be referenced and questioned over and over again next time around.

Alfred follow up

After endless weeks of getting used to the erratic behavior of  the robotic vacuum cleaner by KOIOS aka Alfred I came to the conclusion that this was definitely a waste of money. Not only did he do the random bouncing around cleaning, but he also took two hours to do it, sometimes more. The last straw was the sudden turning right, after turning right, after turning right and then he stops.
Although, if he cleaned, it was somewhat okay. So, cleaning the dust of the vacuum cleaner and put it to work with some elbow grease.

SONOS

In search of a suitable device as an extension for Lois the infamous sentence exclaimed by Julius Caesar came in mind "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears." (Why? idk just did)

As usual the inquiring advice from the almighty search engine spit out the optimal device to be connected to an existing network to play music from any capable device in the household:

SONOS Play:1

Today I wanted instant gratification. I visited Best Buy to find out what the price was, turns out to be the same as on Amazon - instant gratification.
Setup is a breeze, plug the power in, download the app, follow instructions - 3 minutes later

BOOMING SOUND  

meet (potentially) Alfred

After a long debate with myself and the bank account I decided to hire Alfred. Alfred is a robotic vacuum cleaner by KOIOS. The advertising as well as the description puts many claims forward. One of them is that the noise the robot makes during vacuuming is less than 65dB, the other claims state that the suction is 80% higher than the competition, and boasts an infrared-sensor for evading obstacles. The main factor for me was, of course, the price, $199 on Amazon.
Scheduled delivery was Monday, but it showed up two days early - excellent delivery service. Of course I had to check it out right away although it was past 9 PM.

The package

Expecting an overnight charge like my previous robot vacuum, I positioned the machine (it has to prove itself before it gets a name) in the docking station and started fiddling with the remote control. To my surprise the machine was already fully charged which I discovered after I hit the clean button on the remote and the robot zoomed off. It turns out that the first claim about the noise was completely right, in contrast to the previous one (the machine aka Nigel) this vacuum robot only emitted a low humming sound while scuttling at various speeds throughout the house.

Day 1

I programmed the machine to start at 10 AM although it was Sunday. The predecessor was not allowed to work on the weekend due to the noise.
The robot started right on time under my watchful eyes. First thing I noticed that the machine did not run into objects, instead it stopped short if it was within the infrared-sensor. My second observation was the fact that the vacuum did not get as easily tangled up in the fringes of the carpet. However, the brushes on the right and left side skidded under the carpet when the robot was trying to switch from the hardwood floor to the carpet and caused the machine to back off or, in some cases, get stuck. Although the cleaning result was adequate, I still had thoughts; a long term employment might not be in the cards for now.

Day 2

How time flies, it is 10 AM again and the KOIOS vacuum has started its round. I set the program for a full house cleaning, in an relentless effort and multiple passes through the rooms the robot finished the work and docked for reloading for the next day. It seemed that the hardwood to carpet transition was resolved for whatever reason. I got the feeling that it did not depend on how much the machine cleaned, since it does multiple passes for each room, but how low the battery is. Also it seems that the cleaning pattern is somewhat erratic. For short periods of time it covers an area in a parallel back and forth pattern, then it rolls somewhere besides the end of the area which was just cleaned and repeats the pattern. I don't think it tracks what areas have been covered and which ones have not been treated.

Day 3

Today was the first day when the robotic vacuum was on its own. I left all the areas open to see what the robot can do. Occasionally I peeked through the surveillance camera to see how the machine performs. Sure enough the wheels were spinning and a little black dot was going back and forth. I returned late in the afternoon just to find the little guy tangled up in the fringes of the carpet. After I freed the machine it continued with the cleaning without hesitation - for two and a half hours. That is either dedication or bad programming. 

Day 4 

I moved the docking station to the same position the previous vacuum (Nigel) was in anticipation of a different route and/or behavior in cleaning.
The usual start 10 AM on the dot. However, after 2 hours and 45 minutes I finally had enough of the humming and the occasional cry for help. I stopped the vacuuming and send the cleaning robot to its room aka recharging station, which did not work. After guiding it with the remote close enough so it can sense the recharging station it was incapable of docking, instead, it ran into it several times and backed out. The machine does not have any guidance system whatsoever to know if it was in the room or not. I'm all for cleanliness but if you work from home it would be preferable to endure the humming for an hour or so (the place is not that big) and not 3 hours with repeated visits. Yes indeed it cleans, very well I must say, largely due to the pattern. The first one is sort of straight, the second and third cross wise. The latter leads the bot into other room openings and it starts the pattern or continues the pattern again until the forward movement leads it out the door again.

Ricochet Pattern (bouncing off the wall)

This is the auto clean setting which is completely annoying because the gizmo does not know when to stop. Tomorrow I'll try the one room setting, according to KOIOS the pattern is only up and down and not cross wise as shown above. On second thought what good does that if you have more than one room? One more feature I miss from the Nigel bot is the scheduling of the cleaning, KOIOS does not have that, it is a 24/7 operation. If I have a machine like that I would like to be able to program it to my needs. I don't really care for somebody else to think that this is what I need or that this is the right way to do things. To answer the invisible question: "yes, I can return it", "yes, I should have read their thoughts behind the machine" ...

Rethinking the concept here