Popular Mechanics articles from December 2004

Popular Mechanics archives from December 2004

Standing tall.(Editor's Notes)(Editorial)
December 1, 2004... AS a magazine editor, sometimes you encounter a story that humbles you. Recently, we sent longtime POPULAR MECHANICS contributor Leslie Sabbagh to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., to interview soldiers who had been...

Mining the moon.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... Like it or not, these minibikes are motorized vehicles and should require a license to operate [Gentlemen, Start Your Tiny Engines, Oct.]. Giving one of the $200 Chinese knockoffs to a kid is irresponsible parenting, and puts them on the street...

Mining the moon.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... Three cheers for Harrison Schmitt's article on mining the moon for helium-3. What will make space habitable is infrastructure. For infrastructure to develop, there first must be a compelling economic reason for substantial numbers of people to...

It worked for me.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... Your suggestion for preventing lock jams using oil applied to a key [It Worked For Us, Oct.] is poor advice. Petroleum-based lubricants attract dust, which builds up and congeals in the lock cylinder, causing the tumblers to stick, and...

Reader project of the month.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... I built my storage building based on the plans in the March 2004 issue of POPULAR MECHANICS. Your plans were concise, simple and easy for me to follow. My building is 10 x 12 ft., and is set on six 4 x 4 pressure-treated posts planted 18 in....

Impact resistance.(100 Years Ago (December 1904))
December 1, 2004... The field of orthopedics received a minor setback in 1904 when this protective football suit came out. "Padded with felt at all points where protection is needed most," the outfit looks more like a pair of bicycle shorts than body armor, at...

Virtual banality.(25 Years Ago (December 1979))
December 1, 2004... The era that gave rise to eight-track cassettes and "Saturday Night Fever" also provided this insight: Amusement-park-goers would prefer a lame, Captain EO-type simulation ride to an old-fashioned roller coaster. In fact, the SR2 from Doron...

Before Howard Stern.(75 years ago (December 1929))
December 1, 2004... In 1929, PM explained the bells and whistles of the technology behind, well, annoying bells and whistles. Radio announcers used large cabinets housing automated noisemakers such as horns and sand-filled cylinders to imitate footsteps or crowd...

Cold comfort.(50 Years Ago (December 1954))
December 1, 2004... Back in 1954, air conditioning in cars was about as standard as DVD players. But luckily for desert road trippers, some gas stations in the Southwest were offering "spot air-conditioning," in which a hose from a 3-ton a/c unit was inserted...

Chamber of secrets.(Techwatch)(Anechoic chambers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... THIS F/A-18-Hornet recently dangled from a 40-ton hoist inside a massive anechoic (without echo) chamber at the Navy's Air Combat Environmental Test and Evaluations Facility in Patuxent River, Md. Built to accommodate planes up to the size of a...

What's coming in December: 12/04.(Advances)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... TITAN, Saturn's largest moon, has a dense atmosphere that is unique in the solar system, and the Cassini-Huygens Saturn mission is about to peek beneath the clouds. On the 24th, the Huygens probe will detach from the Cassini orbiter to begin...

Daylight fades.(Advances)
December 1, 2004... From the U.S. Naval Observatory: The winter solstice will occur at precisely 12:42 (GMT) on Dec. 21... St. Louis will receive 9 hours, 28 minutes of daytime... The average year has 365.2425 days (astronomers use a 400-year cycle to fix the...

More caviar, dale?(Advances)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... THE third of the month will bring a cultural exchange when Nextel Cup drivers and their crews belly up to the most stiffly starched tablecloths in the land. It's time for NASCAR's annual black-tie awards banquet at New York City's ultrafancy...

Dec. 14 sees the release of Gran Turismo 4 for Sony PlayStation 2.(Advances)
December 1, 2004... Dec. 14 sees the release of Gran Turismo 4 for Sony PlayStation 2. With more than 650 cars (the most ever available in a video game), you can skid a 19th-century Daimler steam engine through the streets of medieval Italy or go cliff-diving in a...

Malls: 1 mouse: 0.(Advances)
December 1, 2004... LATE this month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will consider removing the Preble's meadow jumping mouse from the endangered species list. A conservation success story? Not realty. It turns out that the Preble's mouse may never have even...

Ready to blow?(Early Warning)
December 1, 2004... MOUNT St. Helens isn't the only volcano that's come to life recently. After 20 years of silence. Hawaii's Manna Loa, the most massive bit of geological ache on Earth, has also been stirring. Since July more than 500 quakes have rumbled deep...

Robo-prop.(Techwatch)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... SAY hello to the FR-II, a showpiece of miniaturization from Seiko Epson of Japan. This 3.35-in.-tall, 0.43-ounce flying micro-robot carries its own battery, two 32-bit RISC microcontrollers, two ultrasonic motors, a digital camera and one of...

Image consultants.(Techwatch)
December 1, 2004... RESEARCHERS at Caltech and the Doheny Eye Institute at USC are developing a new way to help the blind using a palmtop computer and a camera mounted on sunglasses. Dubbed DORA (Digital Object Recognition Audio), the system identifies objects in...

The walls have earplugs.(Ticker Tech)
December 1, 2004... * It turns out that Grandma's floral print isn't the most stifling wallpaper ever made. BAE Systems in England has developed a wall covering that can turn an enclosed space into an electronic "safe room," protecting wireless computer networks...

Word of the month.(Ticker Tech)
December 1, 2004... Clutch Pirate (n,) Opportunistic male frog that dupes natural selection by refertilizing the eggs left behind by other mating pairs.

The stink that stays.(Ticker Tech)
December 1, 2004... The Israeli army has developed a crowd clearing nonlethal "skunk bomb" with a synthetic, horrible-smelling odor that is modeled on actual skunk spray. The pungent stench is designed to permeate victims' clothing for up to five years. (No word...

Record holders.(Ticker Tech)
December 1, 2004... * Historic musical recordings in danger of fading away forever are being rescued at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Using an optical measuring technique usually reserved for studying subatomic particles, researchers scan aging wax...

In-flight phoning.(Ticker Tech)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Reach out and touch someone--from 40,000 ft, European airplane manufacturer Airbus announced this fall that it had successful[y placed a midair cellphone call from an A320 over Toulouse, France. The call was routed through a miniature...

360 teraflops.(Ticker Tech)
December 1, 2004... Proposed speed of IBM's BlueGene/L, which will be the world's fastest supercomputer when it is finished next year.

Sure shot.(Ticker Tech)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Anyone who is on the receiving end of a needle wants the nurse to get it right the first time. UK Haptics has developed a virtual reality training system that promises to help students perfect their venipuncture skills. The system uses a 3D...

Drill ride.(Techwatch)(Interview)
December 1, 2004... IN late August, some 150 miles from the North Pole, a team of scientist bored into the Lomonosov Ridge, a massive underwater mountain range that once was part of Siberia. The Arctic Coring Expedition required three ice-breakers, a crew of 150,...

Broadband on the go.(Up Next)(WiMAX)
December 1, 2004... IN the world of broadband Internet access, a sweeping change is about to arrive our of thin air--literally. The airwaves will soon begin carrying the signals of WiMAX, a long-range wireless technology poised to blow open the doors to high-speed...

Unlocked.(Engineering Fiasco)(bicycle locks )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... This past fall, word spread that many Kryptonite bicycle locks, some retailing for as much as $90, could be picked in around 7 seconds with a 7-cent Bic pen. Was it really that easy? We gave it a shot and made quick work of this Kryptonite...

High-definition smack-down.(Cheat Sheet)
December 1, 2004... So you've updated your VHS to DVD, and upgraded your TV to HDTV. Unfortunately, DVDs don't hold nearly enough data to contain a feature-length high-def movie. So what will you be renting in the years to come? Here's the lowdown on the format...

The X factors: how backyard engineering won the private space race.(Post-Flight)
December 1, 2004... THE recent epochal flights of SpaceShipOne may or may not herald a new age of space tourism. Indisputably, though, they were a dazzling triumph for aerospace designer and maverick genius Burt Rutan. Twice in five days his crude yet innovative...

Sat radio: take a satellite radio tour on our Southern road trip.(Technology)(Product/Service Evaluation)
December 1, 2004... PHYSICALLY, the long stretch of country between New Orleans and the Florida Panhandle is mainly swampland, but when it comes to the radio, it's a desert. This is an insult to musical history: You expect--and deserve--a large helping of the...

Logging into Linux: free software? Here's the scoop.(Computers)
December 1, 2004... WITH a personal computer operating system (OS) market share over 90 percent, Microsoft Windows dominates the world's home computers. It is the Coke, Kleenex and Heinz ketchup of computing. Apple's operating system comes in a distant but...

King of the load: we put a Ford Super Duty to work hauling some serious cargo.(Road Trip)
December 1, 2004... BRAGGING rights are important because we all want to tell the world--or at least the immediate vicinity--how fast, or quick, or strong or long lasting our truck is. Bragging rights in the pickup field right now center not on horsepower or...

Hot-rod hybrid: Honda builds a hybrid with moxie.(New Car Reports)
December 1, 2004... Until recently the hybrid's mission was to get better fuel economy than a vehicle with a gasoline engine while delivering a cruising range well beyond that of a pure electric. Not anymore. Carmakers have realized that instead of replacing some...

Pick up more.(New Car Reports)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... FOR those who simply have to have the biggest, meanest, most capable pickup truck on the block--okay, in four counties here's the International CXT. Those letters stand for Commercial Extreme Truck and they're appropriate. The CXT is built on...

More than a nip and a tuck.(Detroit: spy report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... CADILLAC is planning a bit more than the usual minor facelift for the 2006 edition of its DeVille. There will be a new nose--complete with a different look to the grille and retrimmed headlights--some bulking up of the fenders and a...

Command central.(Detroit: spy report)
December 1, 2004... AS the arrival of the 2007 Jeep Commander draws closer, more prototypes are running the public roads. Despite the number of test vehicles out there, Jeep engineers are still keeping their creation under thick wraps. Even with the heavy...

Naked street fighter: Buell crosses over and bears it all.(New Car Reports)
December 1, 2004... BUILDING on its Lightning platform, Buell unleashes the CityX (say "city cross") XB9SX for 2005. A stoplight warrior, the CityX is small, light and torquey, making it ideal for zipping safely past taxicabs and buses in the urbanjungle. Flashy...

Happy anniversary.(Asia: spy report)
December 1, 2004... LOYAL Z fanatics have been waiting patiently for a higher-horsepower version of the Nissan 350 Z. And rumors of a turbocharged Z have been floating around since the current car was introduced. Well, next year we will get more power--but without...

Grand scheme.(Asia: spy report)
December 1, 2004... FOR 2006 Suzuki will introduce an an-new Grand Vitara SUV. Our sources tell us the new model will finally lose its body-on-frame design and move to a unibody chassis. This should help the Grand Vitara compete more directly with less expensive...

The big gets bigger.(Asia: spy report)
December 1, 2004... THE developmental engineers for Toyota's all-new flagship sedan, the Avalon, were performing final hot-weather validation when our spies caught up with them. Though the Avalon is cloaked in massive amounts of camouflage, one thing is for...

Sportier, sexier, smarter.(Asia: spy report)
December 1, 2004... THE Lexus GS 300 and GS 430 will be replaced in 2006 by this all-new car. Meant to be sportier than the outgoing model, the six-cylinder GS 300 will beast a 245-hp 3.0-liter engine good for 228 lb.-ft. of torque. The new GS 430 will keep the...

Here Rover, here sport.(Europe: spy report)
December 1, 2004... WITH serious dual exhausts, a lowered suspension stance, and fat, aggressive low-profile tires on large wheels, this is not your jungles-of-Borneo Range Rover. Obviously, somebody at Land Rover headquarters figured out that there's a...

Pretty darn smart.(Europe: spy report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... IT looks like we will finally be getting a version of Mercedes's I diminutive Smart here in the States. Dubbed the Smart Formore, this is a small SUV, complete with awd, as any self-respecting SUV must be. Due here for the 2007 model year, the...

It's been awhile.(Europe: spy report)
December 1, 2004... ALFA Romeo has not sold ears here for a few years now. That might change in '06 with the new GTV. Available as both Coupe and Spyder, the new car goes on sale in Europe in '05. We may get it a year or so later, hopefully with a V6 and an...

Passages.(Europe: spy report)
December 1, 2004... DUE for introduction at the Geneva Motor Show this spring, the sixth-generation VW Passat will first be available as a sedan. A wagon months--and none too soon, as three-quarters of the Passats sold in Europe are wagons. Still a front-driver,...

Wish list '05: a smarter ski. A perfect hammer. A sleeker cellphone. And a supercar for the ages. These are some of the things that dreams are made of. Time to stop dreaming. Here are our picks for the gear of the year.(Cover Story)
December 1, 2004... WHEEL CRAZY Not ready to buy a new car? Pimp your ride with CUSTOM WHEELS AND TIRES from TIRE RACK. Pick from a huge selection of rimsand matching tires on the company Web site. Your choices will be mounted, inflated and shipped to your door....

Flying on the knife-edge: welcome to the scary new sport of aerobatic air racing.(Red Bull Air Race, Nevada)
December 1, 2004... A GLINTING BLUE SPECK of airplane comes roaring out of the western sky and then dives toward the ground at a jaw-droppingly way-too-steep rate of descent. It whirs past 40,000 sets of astonished eyeballs at 252 mph--just 20 ft. off the...

Grime scene investigation (solving the mystery of your garage floor).(garage, keep it clean)
December 1, 2004... You've a new stain on your garage floor, smack in the middle of where your car is usually parked overnight. Aside from the aesthetic, there's the danger of running your engine out of oil or coolant, or worse yet, brake fluid. You don't need to...

Courage after fire: guardsman Kevin Pannell was on a routine foot patrol in Baghdad when an insurgent's grenade tore apart his world. After enduring 13 operations the young soldier from Arkansas now begins his next epic battle: learning to walk all over again.
December 1, 2004... ALONG THE PERIMETER of a physical therapy clinic the size of a basketball court, a man moves slowly, relentlessly, one rocking step at a time. His concentration is ferocious: Push the walker; hop-step on the left prosthesis; swing the right...

How it works: the drive train.
December 1, 2004... WHETHER YOU DRIVE a 500-hp sports car or a 96-hp economy hatchback, all that potency under your car's or truck's hood is useless if the engine's torque doesn't get to the drivewheels through a complex maze of gears. In fact, the drivetrain...

True grit: cutting-edge bench grinders in a wheel-to-wheel test.(Comparison Test)(Product/Service Evaluation)
December 1, 2004... Most woodworkers don't want to spend time sharpening their tools--they want to cut and fit wood. And with a shop full of power tools and carbide-tipped blades, bits and cutters, it may almost seem like sharpening is a thing of the past. The...

Sunshine in a box: this easy-to-install skylight tube brightens dark hallways.(Home Improvement)
December 1, 2004... A traditional skylight has lots of advantages, such as good looks and the fact that it admits plentiful daylight. But it has one major disadvantage. Installing one is a complex project that involves cutting rafters, reframing the ceiling below,...

Using a circular saw: how to get the most out of this basic tool.(Tools)
December 1, 2004... A portable circular saw is one of the basic tools that should be in any homeowner's toolbox. With it you can cut any kind of wood or plywood quickly and accurately. Circular saws are available in various sizes, with different features, and in a...

Attic problems.(Homeowners Clinic)
December 1, 2004... Every winter we have severe ice dams at the edge of our roof and parallel dark lines form on the upstairs ceiling that indicate the position of the roof trusses. We also get cracks around some of the upstairs ceiling and wall joints. The house...

Kitchen remodeling.(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... FEW rooms are as difficult to remodel as a kitchen. This critical space has large electric or combustion appliances, built-in cabinets, counters, plumbing connections and ventilation. Sometimes it even has complex color schemes, elaborate wood...

Electric vs. gas water heater.(Homeowners Clinic)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... I am thinking about replacing my gas-fired water heater in my vacation home with an electric water heater. Are there advantages of an electric water heater over a gas water heater? Is there an electronic pilot for a gas-fired heater? Since I'm...

Foam home.(Service tip maintenance)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... WHEN cold weather arrives, your first instinct is to button up--your house, that is. If you've spotted a number of daylight-admitting gaps in the basement or attic, or found drafty cold spots, you may be thinking about using some of that neat...

Snow day.(Toolbox)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... SOMETIMES dexterity is as important as brute force in outdoor power equipment. Toro designed its 11-hp 1128 OXE Power Max snowthrower with a bit of both. The machine drives forward with power to both wheels, but when you squeeze the trigger on...

Winter air care.(Toolbox)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... PEOPLE tend to associate indoor air quality problems with summer's hot and humid conditions, but a well-sealed house in winter is liable to have air that's pretty dirty, too. Dust, mildew, smoke and pet dander are every bit as present in the...

The drive way.(Toolbox)(Craftsman)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... THE iXO may look funny but the little cordless driver/drill means business. All 10.3 ounces of it. The palm-size tool is powered by a lithium-ion battery, which Skil says delivers the same performance as a nickel-cadmium battery but is half the...

Roof shingle discoloration.(Homeowners Clinic)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... What causes streaks on roof shingles? FRED ALTIER New Philadelphia, OH The discoloration is caused by microscopic algae spores carried on the wind. The algae stains can be removed by washing the roof shingles with a commercial...

Oilburner problem.(Homeowners Clinic)
December 1, 2004... I have an oil-fired forced-air furnace. Its oilburner works until it gets cold (zero degrees), then it won't start automatically unless I hit the reset button, It then starts right away and goes through its cycle until it's time for it to start...

Smoke detector.(Homeowners Clinic)
December 1, 2004... I have FireX Model GC smoke detectors in my house. The detectors are all hard-wired so that if one goes off, it will activate the others. Recently they all were activated because I burned some toast. Now one of the detectors has a red light on...

After the flood (and the fire, and the storm, and ...).(Bulletin)(Association of Specialists in Cleaning and Restoration)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... FIRE, smoke, wind and water have occupied the attention of the human race since the dawn of time. That's no less true today, especially given the damage to thousands of homes in the eastern United States during the summer and fall hurricane...

It's going somewhere.(Auto Clinic)(oil change)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... We have an Olds Alero with the 3400 V6 and 93,000 miles. My wife said the oil light came on when she was driving. I checked--the oil was over 2 quarts low, after only about 4000 miles. I changed the oil and now the oil consumption seems to be...

Dot confusion.(Auto Clinic)(brake fluid)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... I am planning on redoing the brakes on my 1987 Chevy S-10 soon. I noticed that the brake and clutch caps are both labeled "USE ONLY DOT 3 BRAKE FLUID," and I can't say I've ever seen that before. I thought that if DOT 3 were specified, DOT 4...

SAE or metric.(Car Care Tip)
December 1, 2004... THE oil filter had blown clear of the threaded oil filter adapter on the side of the engine a few seconds after the engine had been started. The owner insisted that he had used the correct filter for the Mitsubishi engine in his Chrysler...

Service tips.(Auto Clinic)
December 1, 2004... * Does the 4.7-liter engine in your 2002 Dodge Ram fluctuate at idle? Technical Service Bulletin [TSB] 18-036-03 details how to reprogram the Powertrain Control Module with revised software to correct the fluctuation. * Is there a sloshing...

Turn up your heater.(Saturday Mechanic)
December 1, 2004... IT'S colder than a witch's belt buckle outside, so you gulp down some hot coffee, dash to the car, start the engine and run inside. Although you know engine idling isn't a great way to warm up an engine, comfort counts most on a cold morning....

Mega-pics mastery: the solution to photo overload.(Desktop Organization)
December 1, 2004... IT'S only after scrolling down a list of hundreds of JPEG files with numbers for names that one understands the dark potential of a digital camera to generate chaos. Save money on film? Sure. Delete the worst shots as you go? If you're...

For the best time of your life.(Advertisement)
December 1, 2004... Technology creates greatest advance men t in time keeping since the quartz movement... and jets everyone benefit front United States Government innovation. With the Atomic Digital Watch by La Crosse Technology, all of us have the opportunity...

From Dickies, the leader in workwear, comes the Ultimate in Work Pants.(The goods: great products and promotional offers from PM advertisers)(Advertisement)
December 1, 2004... Dickies "Ultimate Work Pant" comes with all of the features you would expect on a work pant. Made of our heavy weight 8 oz--65% polyester/35% cotton twill, with Scotchgard[R] stain release finish, this pant will stand up in almost any work...

Stanley[R] Professional Grade Tool Set.(The goods: great products and promotional offers from PM advertisers)(Advertisement)
December 1, 2004... The Stanley[R] Professional Grade Mechanics Tool Set consists of over 250 unique items available in six graduated sets, which are designed for the enthusiastic "shade tree" mechanic or home improvement do-it-yourselfer who likes tackling...

SureFire 6P flashlight.(The goods: great products and promotional offers from PM advertisers)(Advertisement)
December 1, 2004... A favorite of law enforcement personnel, the SureFire 6P is just 5.1 inches long but packs the power of a four D-cell flashlight. Precision-machined from aerospace-grade aluminum, it delivers a 65-lumen pre-focused brilliant white beam for 60...

Prestone.(The goods: great products and promotional offers from PM advertisers)(Advertisement)
December 1, 2004... The NEW Prestone[R] Extended Life Antifreeze/Coolant is helping to eliminate antifreeze/ coolant confusion for consumers. Its unique formula is compatible with ANY antifreeze/ coolant--regardless of color--and can be used in ANY make or model...

Harbor master: Brent McLain, commercial diver, years on job: 5.(This Is My Job)
December 1, 2004... A DAY'S WORK for Port of San Francisco diver Brent McLain might entail struggling against a 5-knot current while dragging 200 ft. of hose, using power tools in total blackness, and fending off curious 700-pound harbor seals. Along with two...