Popular Mechanics articles from June 2008

Popular Mechanics archives from June 2008

Energy choices.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I first bought POPULAR MECHANICS about two years ago because of a cover story on energy and fuel alternatives--I'm now a regular subscriber. I read your April cover story ("Dispatch From the Oil Frontier") with...

Highway disaster.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2008... As an over-the-road trucker for most of my life, I believe California inadvertently set the scene for the deadly accident in "Inferno on the I-5." By law, trucks pulling a trailer are restricted to 55 mph, while other traffic is limited to 65...

Brilliant beams: when the planet's most powerful laser shoot, the result are explosive.(TECH WATCH)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] What do you do with the world's biggest, highest-intensity laser system? Well, for starters, you could blast the nuclei of hydrogen atoms and transform their mass into energy in a reaction that rivals the force and...

Drone wars.(TECH WATCH)(bidding for contract for small reconnaissance aircraft for the United States Navy and Marines set)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILUSTRATIONS OMITTED] A battle is brewing between unmanned aerial vehicle vendors to supply the Navy and Marines with small reconnaissance aircraft. That job is currently performed by Boeing's ScanEagle (far left), which in 2004 was...

Beach bots.(TECH WATCH)(robots that can walk on sand)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have built a robot that mimics the legs of lizards and crabs to determine why they can travel across sand at high speeds. It's hard to move through wet sand because...

Pyros for safety.(TECH WATCH)(research on fires started by the National Institute of Standards and Technology)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Fire-protection engineers from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology have been starting fires in abandoned buildings to research the spread of flames, smoke and toxic gases through high-rises. In...

Bat signals.(TECH WATCH)(surveillance airplane sensors in development at University of Michigan)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The U.S. Army has awarded University of Michigan engineers $10 million over the next five years to develop sensors for a tiny surveillance airplane. Like a bat, the planned 6-in.-long robot will rely on...

The final, awful options: if the space shuttle loses control, NASA is prepared to ditch it in the Atlantic--or blow it up.(TECH WATCH)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUATRATION OMITTED] Each time the space shuttle rises from its launcnpad at Cape Canaveral, Fla., an Air Force officer waits anxiously for the first 2 minutes to pass safely. If the spaceship were to veer off course and endanger a...

Time machine: August 1959.(TECH WATCH)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In 1959, America's space program lagged behind the Soviet effort--and PM wasn't picking the United States to reach the moon first. "The way things are going at present, the men who emerge to put the first footprints...

The fish whisperers.(TECH WATCH)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It may not be sporting, but researchers at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Mass., are training fish to swim into nets--and doom themselves to the lemon-and-capers treatment. Last summer, 6500 confined...

Supplies for spooks: a retired CIA technician comes in from the cold to reveal how the agency designs gadgets that spies depend on.(TECH WATCH)(Robert Wallace)
June 1, 2008... According to Robert Wallace, real-life spy gear isn't anything like the showy devices we see in the movies. "The equipment is developed for clandestine use, for use that isn't flashy, that isn't noticed," he says. He should know: During his 32...

Little weapons, big impacts: smarter and more deadly, this crop of small military systems brings some Finesse to force.(TECHWATCH)
June 1, 2008... It's the smallest guided missile in the world, but Spike--which weighs just 5.3 pounds and measures 25 in. long--packs a big punch. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division has pulled off four successful demonstrations of the weapon,...

Model cuts.(UPGRADE)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Realistic scale models--as well as tabletop boxes and Other small projects--require delicate, tiny, clean cuts. The Proxxon Table Saw FKS/E ($360, proxxon.com) shrinks features we expect in a full-size table saw into a Lilliputian cutter,...

Lab test: iPhone headphones.(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... As befits a gadget diva, the iPhone is picky about its companions. Most headphone plugs don't fit the phone's recessed jack, and users need a set with a button to switch from music to calls to enjoy all the iPhone's abilities. Until recently,...

Porter-Cable low profile sander ($130).(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Electric sanders are the humpback camels of the tool shed--their bulky tops protrude upward, raising the device's center of gravity to hand-fatiguing heights and producing uneven movements that reduce control....

Test drive: wet/dry hand vacuum.(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(Filter Stream Dirt-Tamer Ultima V2510)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Most wet vacs are closet-filling wheeled shop machines. The battery-powered Filter Stream Dirt-Tamer Ultima V2510 ($70) maybe no bigger than a DustBuster, but it sUcks up spills with surprising speed--in our tests,...

See saw.(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(Craftsman Digital Miter Gauge )(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Any miter gauge lets you angle wood when you slide it through a table saw. But because you typically have to rely on protractorlike guide marks to zero in on the perfect angle, producing precise cuts can be tricky...

Pulling tricks.(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(Ronix Zariel Wakeskate )(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Unlike wakeboards, the Ronix Zariel Wakeskate ($330) has no bindings. Sure, this lack of straps means balancing takes some practice (although the textured deck helps), but it also allows riders to pull skateboardlike tricks on the water, with...

GPS road and lab test.(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2008... Just a few years ago, slow and nonintuitive was the norm for GPS navigators. These days, we expect nav devices to be fast, accurate and simple enough to figure out without a manual. (Who reads those things, anyway?) We took five models with...

Juicing strip.(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(Belkin Mini Surge Protector )(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Traveling with a bevy of USB-powered gadgets typically means either lugging extra power cords or starting up your laptop anytime your iPod needs to refuel. The Belkin Mini Surge Protector ($25) is a pocket-size surge...

Perfect pour.(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(Jackson EZ Pour Spout Wheelbarrow )(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The wheelbarrow has remained fundamentally unchanged in the centuries since its invention. This isn't a bad thing--much of its value is in its simplicity. But just as wheels make it easier to move things, funnels...

Test drive: Mac tablet.(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(Axiotron Modbook )(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mac users who have been clamoring for a tablet finally have one--but it wasn't made by Apple. The Axiotron Modbook ($2290), built by a small startup, is literally a MacBook affixed to a third-party touchscreen. While...

Drum machine.(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(Synesthesia Mandala USB Drum Pad)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Co-created by Tool drummer Danny Carey, the Synesthesia Mandala USB Drum Pad ($350) hooks up to a computer with a USB cord. The promise: the ability to assign different sounds and effects to different parts of the...

Demo model.(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(Stanley FuBar Forcible Entry Tool)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Stanley's FuBar line of crowbar/hammer hybrid demolition tools includes some of the most frightening pieces of metal at the hardware store, but previous models seem like toys next to the latest entry: the tempered...

Deft punk: the original FX was a muscle ute. Built from the same bones as the Nissan 350Z, it had sport-sedan moves. The new FX50 is more athletic and refined--and it puts 390 HP under your right foot.(NEW CARS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Most crossovers just aren't hip or fun to drive. But the FX always was, and still is, an exception. Even with an evolutionary makeover, the design looks more like a concept than a production car. Base FX35s get a...

Dressed for success: 1 2009 Subaru Forester.(NEW CARS: TEST DRIVES)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Forester owners are outdoorsy types. They hunger for that 3-hour mountain-biking mud slog. Granola? Sure, and proud of it. As solid as the previous Forester was for toting kayaks, it wasn't a looker. Well; Subaru has...

Locked and loaded: 2 2009 Hummer H3T.(NEW CARS: TEST DRIVES)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When we heard the H3T comes with optional electronic locking differentials in each axle, we got excited. Then we packed our bags for Moab, Utah. After airing down the 33-in. tires at the trailhead for Hell's Revenge,...

Track muscle: 1 2008 Chevy Cobalts.(NEW CARS: TEST DRIVES)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] It's hard to accept a Cobalt as a real performance car--even when it's wearing a bold rear wing. But swing the $22,995 Cobalt SS into a 100-mph sweeper at Buttonwillow Raceway in California and preconceptions blow...

Quiet evolution: 2 2009 Honda Pilot.(NEW CARS: TEST DRIVES)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The understated lines of the first Pilot now look, well, a little dated. This new version is a stylistic evolution, rather than revolution. The 250-hp 3.5-liter V6 has a host of new tech, including a two-stage intake...

Smart traction: Saab 9-3 Turbo X.(NEW CARS: TECH BREAKOUT)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The 1977 Saab 99 Turbo was the first mass-market turbocharged car from the Swedish automaker. And that revolutionary hatchback inspired Saab design for decades. The new $42,510 limited-edition Turbo X is an homage to...

Plug-in micro EVs.(NEW YORK: AUTO SHOW SPECIAL)(electric vehicles)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... The electric car hype seems to focus a rather narrow spotlight on plug-in hybrids these days. Besides Tesla, pure EVs are yestertech, right? Wrong. At the New York show, three automakers showed pure EVs in very tight, efficient packages. None...

Who owns the moon? Could allowing lunar property rights lead to a "moon rush"? Sure. But that's a good thing.(THINKING AHEAD)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The moon has been in plain view for all of human history, but it's only within the past few decades that it's been possible to travel there. And for just about as long as the moon has been within reach, people have...

Can this ship be saved? After 40 years, the world's fastest superliner awaits rebirth--or maybe the breakers.(OCEAN LINERS)(SS United States)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When I remember the great ocean liner, we're steaming into the wind, east across the Atlantic. I'm at the bow. I let go of a balloon and run aft, trying to keep pace with the floating object. But it rises too high...

Precision medicine.(HEALTH TECH)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Health care has come a long way since whole-body bloodletting. But medicine of the future will make even today's broad-based therapies obsolete. Breakthroughs such as cancer-hunting nanoparticles, virus-busting...

The blues highway: the road between Chicago and the Mississippi Delta is a pathway to great music, food and adventure--if you know where to look for them.(Chicago, Illinois)(Travel narrative)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] It's 6 am on the fifth day of our journey down the Blues Highway. and the roar of cotton-picking machines warming up for the day's harvest rouses us from a deep slumber. Spending the night at the Shack Up Inn on...

How to win the Lunar X Prize. It's easy: form team, build a rover, rent a rocket, land softly and collect the jackpot.(Cover story)
June 1, 2008... The year is 2012. A quarter-million miles from Earth, a small spacecraft is nearing the surface of the moon. When the unmanned craft touches down in a cloud of rocket-blown dust, it becomes the first man-made object to arrive intact on the...

Go-kart hacking: to test the advantages of gas versus electric propulsion, the MythBusters tear apart a perfectly good gasoline-powered go-kart and transform,it into a tire-smoking machine that's fast--and clean.(mythbusters WORKSHOP)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ON OUR SHOW, WE LIKE EXTREME TECH. And, as far as we're concerned, racing go-karts at 90 mph with your butt half an inch off the ground certainly qualifies as extreme. With scary acceleration and speed,...

Home on the road: for some modern vagabonds, the best RV isn't the one you buy from the factory--it's the one you build from a secondhand bus.(recreational vehicle)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There is something about o bus that is tied intrinsically to the romance of the American road--the sleek Greyhound humming through the night, the yellow school bus rattling with lunchboxes and children. But it takes...

Coastal ferry tragedy: for half a century British Columbia ferries had safely navigated the province's ragged coast. All it took to sink a ship was a 14-minute distraction.(What Went Wrong)(Queen of the North)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WRIGHT SOUND, BRITISH COLUMBIA MARCH 21, 2006 At 8 pm, the Queen of the North departed Prince Rupert, British Columbia, near the southern tip of the Alaska Panhandle, on its regularly scheduled service to Port...

The stock solution: hone your woodworking skills with this rough-and-ready backyard project.(DIY HOME)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I come by my nickname, "the 2-by-Guy," honestly. Whenever I'm scoping out new tools as an editor for HGTVPro, in the back of my mind I'm imagining how they will advance my first interest: building projects with 2 x...

Second life for trash.(Homeowners Clinic: Q + A)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Q We're building a new home, and we want to design the ideal recycling storage units for the kitchen. In our existing house, this area is a mess. Any tips? A It makes sense to find convenient and attractive ways...

Eclectic fence.(Homeowners Clinic: Q + A)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... My wood fence has posts that are sinking and leaning. They're not rotten, so they may be worth reusing, along with the rails and gates. Can I just take the posts out, reset them and reassemble the fence? Good question. The answer depends...

Running interference.(Homeowners Clinic: Q + A)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... I installed 10 8-ft. fluorescent light fixtures when I overhauled my downstairs workshop. It's nice and bright in there now, but the lights cause terrible static on my radios, both FM and AM, upstairs and down. Now what? "Bad wiring, loose...

Father's time.(BUILDING BLOCKS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... One of my earliest memories is of my father's watch, on his wrist, as he mixed concrete in a wheelbarrow. We were building a backyard goldfish pond in Long Island, N.Y.--it was a typical 1960s project. I stood not much taller than the side of...

Rumble removal.(Homeowners Clinic: Q + A)(quieting washing machine noise)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... The noise from the new front-load washing machine upstairs gets transferred through the floor and into the rest of the house. What can I do to quiet things down? Anyone undertaking a laundry upgrade would do well to beef up the floor under...

Old stove rescue.(Homeowners Clinic: Q + A)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... My old stove needs assorted parts--it's missing knobs and at least one gas valve--but I hate to throw it out. What's your take on the value of these old appliances? The demand for old stoves is so high today that many companies that...

Unleashing the ponies: does your performance car sound like a ups truck? The exhausf is the first upgrade for an improved soundtrack--and more power.(DIY AUTO)
June 1, 2008... Something is missing in your life. An u it's probabty not a heawer workload on the job. Nope, you need something fun for your ear--like the snorty growl from dual exhaust pipes. Okay, it's not like anybody really wants an exhaust system that...

Oil crisis.(Car Clinic: Q+A)
June 1, 2008... Q The mechanics at the dealership where I get my truck serviced always add too much oil when they change it. The dipstick reads more than a quart too high when I check it at home. I've complained to the service manager, but he says the mechanic...

Better to light a single candle ...(Car Clinic: Q+A)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... I have a 2007 Hyundai Sonata. The headlights dim substantially upon deceleration, mostly at the 5 to 4 transmission shift. The lights are normal at idle and at cruise, it has been back to the dealer three times for this; each time the grounds...

Funky sweeping.(Car Clinic: Q+A)(gauge needle sweeping)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... I have a 2001 Ford F150 XLT SuperCab with the 4.6-liter V8. Lately, when I start it, the needles on all the gauges sweep all the way over, come back to zero, and then go where they should. Is this anything to be concerned about? They're...

Obsolete additive.(Car Clinic: Q+A)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Most gas now contains some ethanol. This is a form of alcohol. Alcohol absorbs water. Does this mean we no longer need to use dry-gas additives to prevent water in the fuel lines from freezing up? Pretty much. Those of you who live in...

Time out.(Car Clinic: Q+A)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... I own a 2001 Chevrolet 1500 2wd pickup with a 4.3-liter V6 engine. I removed the distributor for some repair work. Now I can't figure out how to set it, or even how to check the ignition timing. If you are looking for instructions on how to...

Pass the key.(Car Clinic: Q+A)
June 1, 2008... We have a 1990 Cadillac Eldorado that used to sometimes make us wait 3 minutes before it would start. It's part of the antitheft system. But eventually the time grew to two 3-minute sequences. Now it's five, 10 or 20 3-minute sequences. The...

Water works.(Car Clinic: Q+A)(automotive coolants)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... I have a 2004 Toyota with the carmaker's proprietary Super Long Life Coolant. Do I mix this with regular water or distilled water? Almost any type of contaminant in water will compromise the coolant's anticorrosion additives. Distilled or...

Broken brake.(Car Clinic: Q+A)(antilock braking systems)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Our 2004 Chevy Tahoe's ABS light came on. My wife went in to work and when she came out the battery was dead. She jumped it, and now the truck makes a noise like something underneath is running, so I pulled the ABS fuse. To me it looks like a...

Measure your oil: the only way to check your oil's actual condition has been spectroscopic oil analysis--until now.(CAR CARE tech)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] We've always advocated changing the oil in your car or truck more often than the manufacturer recommends, depending on your driving cycle. How to know if your oil has depleted its additives and lost its correct...

Turn your PS3 into a PC: the Sony PlayStation 3 has the guts to do double duty as a computer. Here's how to hack your PS3 ... or just win ours.(DIY TECH)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Cell processor inside Sony's PtayStation 3 s a powerhouse that lets the gaming console render highly detailed graphics at blistering speed. "That same chip gives the PS3 all the processing muscle it needs to...

Leaky gadgets.(Digital Clinic: Q+A)
June 1, 2008... Q I leave most of my electronics plugged in all day, even when they're not turned on or in use. How much energy do these idling appliances consume, and is there anything I can do to reduce it? A Power switches can only do so much. Even if...

Blu profiles.(Digital Clinic: Q+A)(Blu-ray 2.0)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... I am considering purchasing a Blu-ray player but have heard that a new Blu-ray 2.0 spec is coming out. What's the difference, and if I buy a player now, is there a chance it won't play future releases? Older Blu-ray players should be able...

Reruns.(Digital Clinic: Q+A)(Comcast DVR )(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... I set my Comcast DVR to record only new episodes, but frequently I find its drive filled with reruns. What could be the problem? Due to a database error earlier this year, Comcast DVRs lost the ability to ascertain a show's original air...

Fire files.(Digital Clinic: Q+A)(FireWire cables)
June 1, 2008... I used a friend's FireWire cable to connect my iPhone to my computer. While it charged the phone, my computer didn't recognize the device, What gives? None of Apple's current iPod and iPhone products support FireWire connections--an odd...

Digital shadow.(tech term)(The Transportation Safety Board of Canada report on the Queen of the North )
June 1, 2008... (your online footprint, cast by others) According to the research firm IDC, the amount of digital data created about you--financial records, search histories, surveillance shots taken in public places--by various organizations now exceeds...

This is my job: parachute tester.(Rickster Powell )(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] > RICKSTER POWELL > DELAND, FLA. > YEARS ON JOB: 21 Jumping out of an airplane is one thing; doing it with an unproven parachute is something else entirely. But for sport canopy companies like Performance...