Popular Mechanics articles from June 2007

Popular Mechanics archives from June 2007

Guru of the great outdoors.(EDITOR'S NOTES)(Editorial)
June 1, 2007... CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Jim Gorman has climbed Ecuador s 20,561-ft.-high Mount Chimborazo and Washington state's glacier-shrouded Mount Rainier. He has backpacked in Alaska and biked across the United States. That's what you'd expect from a guy...

Unmanned flights: a predator B sits on the runway, poised for takeoff.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2007... I really enjoyed the article in the April issue about the Predator UAV ("No pilot, no problem"). I fly UAVs in the military and am currently overseas using them for what they do best--finding bad guys. I am a Mexican national, living...

Nascar nostalgia.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2007... Regarding your piece on the new car of NASCAR ("Here Today, NASCAR's Controversial Car of Tomorrow," April '07), I have to applaud the organization's effort at making the vehicle safer as well as less costly. But somehow I miss the old days...

Handcrafted.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2007... The article on timber-frame homes ("Timber!" April '07) interested me particularly since I'm in the process of building one in Ontario. I opted to go with a more traditional timber framer who doesn't use computer numerical control technology....

Cool it.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2007... I've been building water-cooled computer systems for several years, and it's nice to see that what was once considered extreme tech is now becoming mainstream ("Water Cooling," April '07). TIM JONES SAN DIEGO, CA

Praise for podcasts.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2007... I've been listening to your podcasts (The Popular Mechanics Show) for a few months. I'm not a subscriber (yet) to the magazine, but listening to the variety of good coverage on different issues has made me want to become one. KYLE NEWCOMER...

Car kudos.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2007... I subscribe to four car publications, but I now look forward to your great reviews and columns--like New Cars, Long-Term Test Cars and Car Clinic--more than some of those other magazines. JAMES MURPHY ORLANDO, FL

Strike zone.(TECHWATCH)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Nitrogen oxides (NOx), which contribute to acid rain, are emitted by cars and coal plants, but NOx is also created by lightning. Helping to isolate the effect of emissions, researchers have made the first direct measurements of...

Live wire.(CAMP BLANDING SPECS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Wired rockets are the best way to trigger strikes, making them a common tool for lightning research. The rocket releases a spark when it hits a thundercloud, which then sends a massive arc down the wire (right). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Lightning alley.(CAMP BLANDING SPECS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Florida is the perfect place for a Lightning lab, thanks to wet winds blowing in from both sides of the peninsula: Hot, humid, rising air often leads to thunderstorms.

Launch cycle.(CAMP BLANDING SPECS)
June 1, 2007... Every year, about 60 wired rockets launch from Camp Blanding, attracting lightning roughly half the time.

Diving ambition.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... An autonomous NASA-funded robot called DEPTHX (Deep Phreatic Thermal Explorer) is preparing to plumb the depths of a sinkhole in Mexico--at more than 1000 ft., the world's deepest. (So far, no one has found the bottom.) Earlier this year,...

Phone-steading.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... With potential customers waiting for cell service in Africa, Motorola isn't about to let a lack of electricity get in the way. The company is rolling out a GSM base station in off-the-grid rural Namibia, powered by a wind turbine and solar...

Head games.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... A new video-game controller uses a cap with EEG sensors to turn your thoughts into virtual action. The controller (left) detects facial expressions such as smiles and winks, emotional states such as anger and, supposedly, even mental...

Smart shades.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Sunglasses developed at the University of Washington allow users to adjust the tint and color of the lenses at the touch of a button (prototype goggles, left). Unlike existing glasses that change tint based on incoming light, the new lenses use...

Pressure from the feds.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... A recent government report found that under-inflated tires lead to about 1.2 billion gal. of excess gas burned every year, as well as to hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries. The solution: Starting in September, all new cars will come...

Flare show.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... This ultraviolet view of the sun shows intense magnetic activity, which produced a series of solar flares a few days after the photo was taken by NASA's STEREO mission. Tracking powerful flares and coronal mass ejections is one of STEREO's...

Driving on thin air: the first air-powered cars could hit showrooms as early as next summer.(Tech Watch)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... INDIA'S LARGEST AUTOMAKER IS SET TO start producing the world's first commercial air-powered vehicle. The Air Car, developed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy Negre for Luxembourg-based MDI, uses compressed air, as opposed to the gas-and-oxygen...

Natural drone killer: a new Israeli combat drone looks like a toy, but fights like a pint-size commando.(TECH WATCH)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... VERY FEW DRONES ARE BUILT TO KILL. Even the missile-firing Predator UAV was originally designed for aerial reconnaissance, with some units later modified for combat duty. But for the Israeli-manufactured VIPeR (Versatile, Intelligent, Portable...

Time machine: June 1949.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... WHEN THE SAN Francisco Bay Bridge was opened in 1936 it was one of the world's longest. "No one dreamed that it... would become choked with traffic in little more than a decade," PM wrote in 1949, reporting on plans to erect a parallel bridge....

The dirt on moon dust: colonizing the moon will mean conquering a stealthy, indigenous threat--the lunar surface itself.(Tech Watch)
June 1, 2007... NASA IS PLANNING TO BUILD A lunar outpost by 2024, but the agency has a nitty-gritty problem to tackle first: jagged, ultraclingy moon dust, which could threaten the entire mission. Apollo astronauts discovered that the dust, with grains...

Re-engineering the planet: as the war on global warming heats up, some scientists argue that meddling with the environment might be the only way to save it.(Tech Watch)
June 1, 2007... THE RESEARCHERS SAILING aboard Weatherbird II aren't studying global warming--they're trying to end it. The ship's three-year mission, funded by for-profit eco-renewal firm Planktos, is to seed oceans with iron-rich dust, which should trigger...

Gamers for life: forget the console war. Sony's Playstation 3 is set to save the world, one disease at a time.(Tech Watch)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... IF THE PLAYSTATION 3 CURES CANCER, maybe it won't seem so overpriced. Sony recently released software that lets garners connect their PS3s to Stanford University's Folding@Home program, which borrows processing power from thousands of PCs to...

Hi-def double take.(Upgrade)(PowerShot TX1)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... It's the law of the digital-imaging jungle--still cameras take, choppy, low-resolution movies, while camcorders produce hazy, low-resolution stills. But a new species of sleek, hybrid devices is prowling the already blurry line between cameras...

SeeSnake micro.(mini camera)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Whether you're hunting for frayed wiring or, in our case, marauding mice, the SeeSnake micro ($239) lets you look inside walls without tearing the apart. The scene, lit by LEDs, shows up on a 2.5-in. screen; in addition to the camera, the 3-ft....

Finger-swiping secure.(d2 SAFE Hard Drive)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... It's debatable whether PC fingertip scanners are common-sense devices or just another way to exploit the paranoid. But as pure tech, the d2 SAFE Hard Drive ($320) from LaCie is a robust way to protect specific files. This 500GB external drive...

Test drive: Black & Decker InfraWave Speed Oven.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... It's hard to talk about the InfraWave Speed Oven ($150) from Black & Decker without sounding like an infomercial, but here it goes: The InfraWave uses infrared-emitting bulbs to quickly--not instantly--cook or reheat food. The pitch is that,...

Test drive: Archos 704 WiFi.(Upgrade: Wish List)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... In theory, the Archos 704 WiFi ($550) is a tantalizingly capable device. It has an 80GB hard drive and a 7-in. touchscreen, plays movies and music, surfs the Web with integrated Wi-Fi, and records TV using an optional DVR attachment. It...

Jawbone.(Upgrade: Wish List)(bluetooth)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... The Jawbone ($120) has one humble goal--to stop people from shouting into their Bluetooth headsets. When you talk, a rubber sensor resting against your jawbone picks up vibrations, and turns up the mic. When you stop talking, the mic turns back...

Self-shifting bicycle.(Upgrade: Wish List)(Trek's three-speed Lime)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Purists may sneer, but nearly 60 years after being introduced in cars, automatic gearshifting is coming to bicycles. Built by components mega-company Shimano, the technology can be found in several bikes, including Trek's three-speed Lime...

The mower you need.(Upgrade: Abusive Lab Test)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2007... The growth of exurbs means that more guys have more grass to cut. The question is: What kind of mower to buy? Not which brand or model, but which style? For 2 acres, a ride-on seems like a no-brainer. For a quarter-acre, the same model would be...

Songs of my cell.(Upgrade: Wish List)(Samsung's UpStage)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... If the iPhone weren't looming so large, this would be the only music phone worth caring about. Samsung's slim, innovative UpStage ($150 with a two-year Sprint contract) is a standard phone on one side, and a full-fledged MP3 player on the...

This bud's for you.(Upgrade: Wish List)(earphones)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... In a desperate bid to stand out from the ever-growing crowd of earphones, Bose gave its In-Ear Headphones ($100) an entirely different shape. Instead of invading your ear canal, the silicone tips sit in the "bowl" outside the canal. They felt...

11 Piece Job Saw Utility Kit.(Upgrade: Wish List)(Milwaukee tools)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... With one handle and 10 blades, Milwaukee's 11 Piece Job Saw Utility Kit ($75) is more fun than, um, a bagful of knives. It's also cheaper and easier to transport, and it employs the same tool-free rotating collar used on the company's Sawzall...

Topnotch ratchet job.(Upgrade: Wish List)(Ratcheting Hex Key Wrench )(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... If you don't already have a reason to use the Ratcheting Hex Key Wrench ($17), you'll come up with one. It crams nine bits--from 5/64, in. up to 1/4 in.--and a foldout, ratcheting handle into a compact 1 x 4-in. profile. Nothing about this...

Polished brute: the turbodiesel Chevy Silverado wields more torque than any other full-size HD pickup.(New Cars)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... CHEVROLET SILVERADO HD PRICE RANGE: $24,575-$46,275 Heavy-duly pickup trucks are becoming much more than merely the Clydesdales of the automotive world. Extreme torque, towing capacity and oft-road capability are still the cornerstones...

Fraternal twins: Mercedes-Benz C-Class.(New Cars)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... C-Class Luxury models come with wood trim, while Sports adopts a metallic finish. In either case, soft leather seats bust fatigue on long trips. This model year, Mercedes-Benz will offer two distinct versions of the C-Class. Those looking...

Contender: Nissan Sentra SE-R.(New Cars)(Spec V)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... The SE-R has a sporty cockpit with an oil pressure gauge and a cool G-meter that measures acceleration and deceleration forces. The rabid enthusiasm for sport compacts may be waning, but Nissan's street cred in this segment is about to get...

Guilt-free: Lexus LS 600h L.(New Cars)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... For all the smoothness and power V12 sedans deliver, they gulp gasoline at a voracious pace. So Lexus goes a different route. The LS 600h L uses a 5.0-liter V8 mated to a hybrid drive system to deliver a total of 438 hp and mileage in the low...

Soft-roader: Land Rovers LR2.(New Cars)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Land Rover has set the Freelander, ahem, free. In its stead, the all-new LR2 arrives with more room and more power. A 3.2-liter 230-hp inline Six is paired to a six-speed automatic. And because it's a Land Rover, a Terrain Response system lets...

BMW M3 concept.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... BMW officially calls it a concept but this is most certainly how the new M3 will look in production trim. A lightweight 400-hp-plus V8 will link to a choice of manual or SMG transmissions. Performance should rival that of the Porsche 911. ...

Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Shave 220 pounds from the Gallardo through the use of carbon fiber and polycarbonate panels, add 10 hp for a total of 530 and hold on. Lambo claims a 0-to-60 time of 3.8 seconds. (See video at popular mechanics.com/auto.) [ILLUSTRATION...

Maserati Granturismo.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... For a Maserati, the old coupe was downright plain. It looked more like a Toyota Supra than a supercar. No more. The stunning two-door was the star of the Geneva show and with a Ferrari-designed V8 it should go just as fast as it looks. ...

New hybrid faceoff.(New Cars: First Look)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Green technology is grabbing a larger share of the spotlight at just about every auto show we attend. In Detroit, we saw GM and Ford duke it out with the Chevy Volt and Ford Airstream concepts. At the Geneva show, it was Toyota and Honda that...

Oilburner.(Subaru Diesel)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Subaru was mum on technical specifications, but this turbodiesel boxer four-cylinder will launch in several European models soon. If diesel gains popularity in the States, this engine may cross the Atlantic.

10 HDTV myths: we untangle the facts from the fiction about HDTV.(Home Theater)(High definition television)
June 1, 2007... HIGH-DEFINITION TELEVISION (HDTV) has evolved from an early-adopter indulgence to a mainstream technology in less than a decade. Enthusiasm for HD everything is driving the sales of flat-panel TVs and has inspired a next-gen DVD format war....

Long-term test cars: one veteran comes home, and we add fresh talent to the fleet.(Automotive)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2007... first report The G35 Sport is a driver's car--think BMW, not Buick. INFINITI G35 SPORT When you get knocked down--even by an armored car--you have to get back up. So after the premature demise of our previous PM Infiniti (totaled...

Kicking up dust: one mythic Western landscape, two trail-tough pickups, four restless off-roaders, plenty of cool gear--the key ingredients for a classic backcountry camping trip.(Freedom of the Road)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2007... SOMETHING IS UP WITH PEET. The minivan-driving corporate marketer I know from back home in suburban Philadelphia has gone cowboy. He's hotfooting our sport ute/pickup along a dirt track in the San Rafael Valley of southeast Arizona, straw...

Off the beaten path: gear to go: whether you're hauling a boat or packing some saddlebags, this is the only hardware you'll need to conquer the great outdoors.(camping equipment)(Buyers guide)
June 1, 2007... THE ADVANTAGE OF PISTON-POWERED CAMPING can be summarized with a few simple facts. The amount of gear, food and supplies the average adult male can transport on his back comfortably for a few days: maybe 50 pounds. In a 16-ft. canoe: 500...

Know your footprint: energy: smart strategies and new tech for boosting home efficiency.
June 1, 2007... AFTER BUYING AN 80-YEAR-OLD FARMHOUSE in Berlin, Vt., in August 2005, first-time homeowners Mark Keffer and Sharon Plumb wanted to keep their heating costs down. "We spent most of the winter in jackets and hats," Plumb says. But no matter how...

Mega engineering projects: big challenges demand innovative solutions. Using new designs and techniques, builders worldwide are pushing the limits of the possible.(Cover story)
June 1, 2007... TOUGHEST BRIDGE NEW BAY BRIDGE LOCATION: SAN FRANCISCO PRICE TAG: $6B COMPLETION DATE: 2013 HEIGHT OF TOWER: 525 FT. TRAFFIC LANES: 10 TONS OF STEEL REQUIRED: 100,000 >> FOR 15 SECONDS ON OCT. 17, 1989, a...

The mini-jet revolution: a new breed of smaller, cheaper jet planes, powered by compact engines, could change the face of aviation. Or it might just be a dot-com with wings.(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2007... As the snowcapped peaks of the Colorado Rockies pirouette in the windshield, the g-forces begin to build. I am strapped into the left seat of an Adam A700, a snappy six-seat, twin-engine experimental jet, cranking it into a series of steep...

Anatomy of a swing: in less time than it takes to blink an eye, pro hitters routinely achieve the extraordinary.
June 1, 2007... When Ryan Zimmerman stands at the plate, there's no time to analyze physics. "I'm thinking about what the pitcher might throw in that situation," says the 22-year-old rising star with the Washington Nationals. "I have to eliminate as many...

Making an entrance: a classic garden gateway that you can build in a weekend.(DIY Home)
June 1, 2007... The obvious way to define your yard is to put up a fence. "I he cool way is to forget the fence and just build a gateway a portal from here to there that implies a change of space without presenting a physical barrier. Materials are readily...

Balance of power: a no-holds-barred test reveals the best stick drivers.(DIY Home: Stick Driver Test)(Buyers guide)
June 1, 2007... When it comes to drills, we like power as much as the next guy. But the bigger and stronger the tool, the heavier and more expensive it is. That's why a full-on drill isn't always best. For many jobs--boring 1/4-in.-dia. holes and driving small...

Footing drains.(Homeowners Clinic Q and A)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Q Are the holes in a footing drainpipe supposed to face up or down? We have basement water problems and when we dug down to the footing, we found a drainpipe with its perforations facing up. I'm suspicious that the house's drainage system was...

Don't lose your edge.(Tool News: Edgers)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Surely as grass grows, it eventually overgrows the lawn-pavement boundary. You can try to sever this overgrowth with a string trimmer, but a better idea is to equip the trimmer with a retrofit head or buy one of the new breed of lightweight and...

Removing roof moss.(Homeowners Clinic Q and A)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Q I live in the Pacific Northwest where many homes, including mine, have moss growing on the roof. Is there a chemical I can spray to remove the moss? A Your best bet is to follow a three-step moss-control process: kill it; remove it;...

The job: build a planter with pressure-treated lumber.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... USE THIS END USE-GROUND CONTACT *** PRESERVED WOOD PRODUCT GROUND CONTACT .40 PCF ALKALINE COPPER QUARTERNARY Compounds Ground-Contact Rated Pressure-treated lumber is rated by the amount of chemical infused...

Stubborn dehumidifier.(Homeoners Clinic Q and A)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Q I have a basement dehumidifier that ran all the time last summer. Why won't it shut off? A The simplest explanation is that the appliance is working as it should--that it's simply installed in a very humid basement, with a hose affixed...

Fixing pinhole leaks.(HOMEOWNERS CLINIC Q+a)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Q I've discovered a pinhole leak in a copper pipe leading to the bathroom. Right now, I keep it under control by placing a pan beneath it and emptying the pan every couple of days. What's the best temporary fix for such a leak? A The...

Mothballing oil tanks.(Homeowners Clinic Q and A)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Q During the annual summer tuneup of my oil-fired water heater, the technician said that its burner problems were likely caused by sludge in the buried oil tank, He recommended replacing the tank. Can the sludge be pumped or is a new tank the...

Replacing an exhaust crossover pipe.(DIY AUTO: SATURDAY MECHANIC)
June 1, 2007... One day your engine starts to rumble a little more than usual. Or was that just a passing airliner? Over the next few weeks the sound becomes a steady drone--and then you notice a faint smell of exhaust lingering inside your car. Even...

Fuel crisis.(CAR CLINIC Q+a)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Q I was trying to start a siphon with a piece of hose to get some gasoline for the lawnmower. Apparently, I aspirated some gasoline, because I felt so bad I ended up having to spend a night at the hospital. I think you ought to tell your...

All keyed up.(CAR CARE TIP)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Many car keys nowadays use a small RF chip in the key fob to authenticate the key to the car's antitheft computer. It's a big improvement over the earlier system that used a resistor with potentially flaky mechanical contacts. Unfortunately, RF...

Catching a buzz.(CAR CLINIC Q+a)
June 1, 2007... Q I have a 2001 Saab 9-3 with 81,000 miles. Over the past month, it has had a problem restarting after it has been driven for a while and then turned off. The engine will not turn over and the only noise it makes is a buzzing sound. After the...

Oil crisis.(Car Clinic Q and A)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Q I have a '97 Cadillac STS, 172,850 miles, with a slow oil leak. The mechanic at the dealership says it is a high-pressure leak as it is not noticeable. But I lose about a quart of oil every 3000 to 4000 miles. The mechanic tells my wife that...

Out of all proportion.(Car Clinic Q and A)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Q I purchased a new Olds Intrigue in September 1998. The left rear brake rotor had a visible rust scale ring around the exterior about 1/4 in. wide, roughly in the center of the swept area. I figured it would be worn away with brake usage....

Make your own drive-in: using off-the-shelf A/V gear, you can set up a cinema anywhere.(DIYTECH)(audio/video)
June 1, 2007... IN THE 1930s, New Jersey inventor Richard Hollingshead mounted a Kodak projector on the hood of his car and created the drive-in movie theater. To test his concept, he displayed films against a sheet he nailed to some trees in his backyard....

Attack of the net zombies.(DIGITAL CLINIC Q+a)
June 1, 2007... Q I heard recently that some hackers tried to take down the entire Internet. Is that possible? A Hack the entire Internet? Hard to say. But yes, it has been tried. You may have experienced a pronounced sluggishness on the Web on Feb. 6 of...

Mother, May I?(DIGITAL CLINIC Q+a)
June 1, 2007... Q Why does Windows Vista ask my permission every time I want to install software? A Vista, like Windows XP before it, is a multiuser operating system (OS), meaning that each person using a shared PC can customize the experience. But when...

Sotto voce.(DIGITAL CLINIC Q+a)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Q Whenever I watch a DVD on my home theater, I have to turn up the volume to hear dialogue, and then turn it down again whenever music or action scenes come on. Is this fixable? A Movie soundtracks are recorded for the theater, a hushed...

This is my job: food scientist.(Doug Berg)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... > DOUG BERG > FOSTER CITY, CALIF. > YEARS ON JOB: 15 STARBUCKS DIDN'T CONCOCT the Frappuccino--Doug Berg did. As a scientist at Mattson, an independent food development company, Berg turns clients' concepts--say, blended iced...