I went for a run and found that my Nike+ iPod sensor was out of power. Horrors! How can I possibly continue to run without also collecting data? What would be the point?

A quick search of the net showed that many people had succeeded in opening up their sensor to replace the readily-available CR2032 battery inside. Many people had also had great difficulty in so doing. Apparently the thing is glued together very tightly.

I resolved to heat-cut my way through the sensor's case using a razor blade heated by my butane torch. If I'd had no torch, I'd have used a lighter, or a gas burner, and the process would likely have been slower but still a success.

This video isn't really all that clear. I propped my Creative Vado HD against the wall with a salt shaker (visible in that camera's delightfully wide-angle lens) and simply left it in place during the 9 minutes it took me to open the sensor. I post it less as instructional video and more as a bit of inspiration for those who find such a process daunting. If you watch the timecode, you'll note that I probably spend half the time futzing about figuring out how to best hold the sensor, turning on a fan, etc. It really doesn't take long to crack open the sensor if you just go for it.

I often find it helpful to see video evidence that someone has succeeded at a task I'm about to attempt –I figured I'd return the favor here in case others also find such videos motivational.

In this video, my 9 minutes of work are tastefully compressed down to about 1.5 minutes using Final Cut Pro's time remapping function. Enjoy.