Popular Mechanics articles from October 2002

Popular Mechanics archives from October 2002

Editors afield. (Editor's Notes).(Editorial)
October 1, 2002... * When technology editor Tobey Grumet walked into my office and told me she was going to Pocono Raceway for a press event, I said, "Why? You're the technology editor, not the auto editor." She told me about electronics giant Panasonic's...

Tough trucks. (Letters).
October 1, 2002... What can the car companies be thinking of? I never saw an uglier bunch of trucks in my life. I understand that GM's car czar, Bob Lutz, took one look at GM's future trucks and canceled the whole lot of them, declaring that they resembled a...

Cowboy guns. (Letters).
October 1, 2002... U.S. Fire Arms Manufacturing Co. was conspicuously absent from your article on guns of the Old West. Located in the original Colt building in Hartford, Conn., we produce the finest Single Action Army revolver ever made--or so the real gun...

Insides out. (Letters).
October 1, 2002... Your article "Insides Out" was excellent. I am a nuclear medicine technologist who works with positron emission tomography (PET). Your article gave a clear explanation of what I do--from injecting the radio-pharmaceutical to the processing of...

Fusion illusion? (Letters).
October 1, 2002... I was thrilled to read about nuclear fusion's comeback as a research priority. However, at the end of the article we read that a fusion reactor should be on line in 30 or 40 years. You have to wonder if nuclear fusion is, indeed, the energy...

Reader Project Of The Month. (Letters).
October 1, 2002... I built this 2-seater Van's RV-6A plane from a kit, with my close friend Ed Bates. It took us over two years to complete. It has a 180-hp Lycoming fuel-injected engine. The plane can climb at 2200 ft. per minute with a constant-speed propeller,...

"Good merchandise. Fair play. A square deal." The very American saga of Cooper Tire & Rubber Company.(Advertisement)
October 1, 2002... The celebrated history of the Cooper Tire & Rubber Company commenced in 1914, when John F. Schaefer and Claude E. Hart, brothers-in-law, purchased the M and M Manufacturing Company in Akron, Ohio, a maker of tire repair products. Little did...

Time machine.
October 1, 2002... 100 Years Ago: October 1902 Great Balls Of Fire The Beaumont oilfields had enriched the state of Texas and placed the United States second only to Russia as an oil-producing country. When the oilfields caught fire, it appeared all...

Reader stories. (Letters).(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2002... Editor's Note--On the occasion of our 100th birthday, we're ever more aware that POPULAR MECHANICS has not only become an American cultural icon but also touched the lives of many of our readers. As part of our salute to you, we'll be running...

Longtime subscribers. (Letters).
October 1, 2002... I have been a continuous subscriber since December 1946. The first 24 years of issues are stored in my home in a custom-made cabinet. GLENN GEHRING MENOMONIE, WI My father started our POPULAR MECHANICS subscription in 1948. He was...

Hybrid combat aircraft. (Technology Watch).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Wars often turn back burner ideas, such as jet engines, into technologies that revolutionize aviation. The next example could be the heliplane, variations of which enjoyed limited success in the 1950s before being eclipsed by helicopters....

Sports fan TV. (Technology Watch).(handheld television receivers from Immersion Entertainment)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Avid sports fans won't have to lug portable TVs to stadiums or rush home to see key replays on the news anymore. Instead, they will be able to see game action by spending about $20 to rent a handheld television receiver. Created just for...

Bacteria take on grease traps. (Technology Watch).(Environmental Biotech)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Fast food is taking its toll on the nation's sewer lines. The problem is an accelerating accumulation of grease (inset). To keep wastewater flowing, health officials have stepped up surprise grease trap inspections, and increased fines. This...

Inflatable armor. (Technology Watch).(Zodiac)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Zodiac has provided the ultimate upgrade for the high-speed inflatable boats that carry special operations teams into combat--bullet-proofing. Tightly stored until needed, bullet-resistant Armorflate inflates in about 40 seconds. Once deployed,...

World's cheapest truck. (Technology Watch).
October 1, 2002... Student engineers hope to eliminate Third World poverty by designing low-cost trucks for rural residents. The Institute for Affordable Transportation sponsors an annual Basic Utility Vehicle design competition, then gives engineering drawings...

Sounding out hiding places. (Technology Watch).(Acoustic Inspection Device)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Coke and Diet Coke may taste alike, but they sound different. Dissimilarities in their molecular structure alter the way they propagate high-frequency sound. Building on this idea, Aaron Diaz, of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in...

New approach to snakebites. (Technology Watch).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Traditional first aid for snakebites does more harm than good, say scientists who conducted the first major study of venomous bites. Applying a tourniquet, icing the wound, or cutting into the punctures to suck out venom increases the risk of...

Stitchfree tendon repair. (Technology Watch).(with Teno Fix)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... When a patient with severed finger tendons should begin rehabilitation is a critical question. Starting too soon can rupture sutures. Beginning rehab too late can cause scarring, which may require corrective surgery. A promising solution comes...

Fast fire helmets. (Technology Watch).(from GB Solocc)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... These Darth Vader-like fire helmets can get emergency crews into action more than 2 minutes faster than regular head protection. Developed by GB Solo of North Lincolnshire, England, the helmets offer heat and impact protection and connect to...

Private disaster cleanup. (Technology Watch).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Anticipating that future terrorist activity will include the release of toxic chemicals, kitchen and bath product maker Kohler has introduced a mobile decontamination center. A 2200-gal. water tank and on-board power supply allow it to operate...

Internet water watcher. (Technology Watch).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Scientists can measure the health of a waterway by making a series of physical and chemical measurements from the bottom to the surface. A new type of remote-control buoy developed by Canada's federal Institute of Ocean Sciences will make the...

Planet watch. (Technology Watch).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... * BANGLADESH Monsoon rains killed 20 children in late July after swollen rivers broke through mud embankments. International aid agencies report that the deaths occurred in several villages 120 miles north of the capital city of Dhaka. The...

Look into the future. (Technology Watch).(Actuality Systems)
October 1, 2002... This crystal ball really can look into the future. The Perspecta is a three-dimensional display that creates a 360[degrees] view of an object that can be viewed without goofy 3D glasses. "The Army has been extremely encouraging during the...

Unexpected radiation monitor. (Technology Watch).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Robert L. Fleischer, a physicist at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., has hit upon a novel solution for measuring radiation exposure. Radiation is known to break molecular chains in plastic. Fleischer found that these breaks sufficiently...

Lights for the blind. (Technology Watch).(Talking Lights)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... The imperceptible flicker of fluorescent lighting can help the blind find their way. Roderick Hinman and Steven Leeb of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have discovered that they can transmit information by altering the frequency of...

Making PDAs safe from prying eyes. (Technology Watch).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... PDAs are great for working on subways and in the cramped cheap seats of commercial airliners. The downside is that you have to be careful when working with credit card numbers or other information that strangers should not see. Ttools of...

Nuclear weapons cleanup. (Technology Watch).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Workers at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Site near Richland, Wash., are preparing to begin one of the most environmentally critical cleanup projects in the nation's history. Working atop a full-size replica of an 800,000-gal. storage...

Will foes become friends? (Following Up ...).(United States and North Korea)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Since PM visited U.S. forces manning the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea in 1997, the relationship between the United States and the secretive communist country has rapidly shifted from friendly to hostile and back again. As...

A mission to Europa. (Following Up ...).(Jupiter's moon)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... A mission aimed at confirming the existence of an ocean beneath the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa, a possibility that we first reported in our March 1997 issue, has captured the imagination of the nation's most influential space science...

Shooting safe and smart. (Firearms).
October 1, 2002... * I'm not a gun nut, but I'm also not an antigun nut. Strip away the emotions, passions and politics surrounding sporting handguns and long guns and you simply have a machine made for throwing round balls or pointy bullets. A lot of folks...

Technology at speed. (Electronics).
October 1, 2002... * NASCAR stock car racing is arguably the lowest-tech type of motorsport on the planet. The cars run with big V8 engines that use pushrods and carburetors. The suspensions are still live rear axles. Even some of the safety equipment is...

The laptop shell game. (Computers).
October 1, 2002... * If you're looking for that special laptop, beware of sales clerks at your friendly neighborhood computer store. They'll always try to get you to buy what's on their shelves. Unfortunately, it's not always what you need. To help you...

Life by the numbers. (Medicine).(bioinformatics)
October 1, 2002... * In the early 1940s, the best and brightest began disappearing from the physics departments of the nation's top universities, leaving as their forwarding address a post office box in New Mexico. Years later, when the veil of secrecy was lifted...

Great stuff: from home improvement to outdoors, automotive to electronics, here's the newest gear you'll want to own.
October 1, 2002... 1. Candid Camera X10, maker of those coy hidden-camera products, has taken home security to a new level with the FloodCam. It consists of a built-in motion sensor, floodlights and a wireless camera. The camera, in conjunction with the...

Carry the load. (Great Stuff).
October 1, 2002... Whether you drive a street rod, motorhome, van or truck, in many cases the only thing between you and suspension damage when riding over severe bumps is the small rubber jounce bumpers in the front and rear. Rod Ride Plus is a rubber helper...

Drive it home. (Great Stuff).(Iomega)(Advertisement)
October 1, 2002... Iomega's engineers have always been imaginative when it comes to external drives. They've done it again with the new line of HDD Portable Hard Drives. Flexible, fast and stylish, these 30GB hard drives can be purchased with either a USB 2.0 or...

Hot idea. (Great Stuff).
October 1, 2002... This stuff is a good idea--commercial-quality hot-melt crack filler for repairing cracks in asphalt pavement. Scrape the crack clean with a putty knife, press the filler rod into the crack, then melt it into place with a propane torch. Two...

Wild horses. (Great Stuff).(Dyno-Proven Products' supercharger)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... The supercharged 2002 Cadillac XS-500 Escalade packs 500-plus ponies under its hood for 6.6-second 0-to-60-mph times and a top speed of more than 150 mph. The CoolCharger supercharger system in the XS-500 is also available for the GM 5.7-liter...

Hang in there. (Great Stuff).(Simonton Windows' vinyl patio door)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Simonton's vinyl patio door is a study in durability, its full-length hinge is rated at 1.5 million cycles. Each half of the hinge is a heavy aluminum strip with gear teeth machined lengthwise along its edge. The two geared edges rotate past...

Drive it home. (Great Stuff).(Cobra Slim FireWire Hard Drive )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Need more storage but don't want another big storage drive? Here's your answer. EZQuest's 60GB Cobra Slim FireWire Hard Drive for Macs and PCs is a slim, fast and roomy 5400-rpm external hard drive. It has a transfer rate of 28MB per second and...

Spinning on air. (Great Stuff).(Advertisement)
October 1, 2002... Don't waste your time searching the skies for flying saucers. Fly your own. The Vectron remote-control flying saucer lifts off its base, hovers and flies with full directional control. It operates on AC/DC transformer batteries or with two...

Classic cruiser. (Great Stuff).(Wellcraft 2400 Martinique)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Wellcraft's new 2400 Martinique sleeps four and will hit 40.9 mph. Cruising speed is 27 mph at 3500 rpm. The 24-ft. 4-in. boat has a beam of 8 1/2 ft. for a stable ride. A new Step Lift II deep-V hull is said to improve performance and fuel...

Bug out. (Great Stuff).
October 1, 2002... The great outdoors is greater when you're not baking in the hot sun, getting soaked to the skin in heavy rain or being eaten alive by voracious insects. Coleman's Screen Lodge has you covered on all counts. The 14 x 12-ft. shelter is 7 ft. high...

Up on the roof. (Great Stuff).(roof racks from Premier Molded Products)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... If your SUV, wagon or minivan did not come with a roof rack, or it was shaved off by a low bridge, consider the Activa and Premium steel racks from Premier Molded Products. Both racks are adjustable, can carry up to 100 pounds, and offer...

Multi-juicer. (Great Stuff).(RediPulse Pro-10 Charge/Maintenance System)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... If you own a lot of toys--ATVs, collector cars, motorcycles, PWCs--that sit for extended periods, consider the RediPulse Pro-10 Charge/Maintenance System. It maintains up to 10 12-volt batteries. The unit delivers a pulsed DC current that...

Receiving notes. (Great Stuff).
October 1, 2002... Integra has upgraded its AV receiver line to include the DTR-6.3, which has a 6-channel amplifier and 50-MHz high-definition componentvideo switching. The DTR-6.3 also has 6.1-channel Dolby Digital EX and DTS-ES processing to provide...

That's the brakes.(StopTech's Big Brake Kit)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... If you want to stop a big, heavy SUV or full-size pickup fast, you need big brakes. StopTech's Big Brake Kit reduces 60-to-0-mph stopping distances by as much as 8 ft. on 2000 and later GM SUVs and CK-series trucks. The system uses 4-piston...

Chain reaction. (Great Stuff).
October 1, 2002... It's a fact of life. Your motorcycle chain breaks and your bike becomes a doorstop. Castrol has come up with Chain Wax--a synthetic lubricant for racing chains with and without O-rings. The lube dries to a highly adhesive antifling film that...

Earthmover. (Great Stuff).(V and B Manufacturing Co.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... It takes a big, tough tool to cut through rocky, clay soil. The EdgeAll should be up to the task. It's designed to act like a gigantic chisel. The 13-pound tool is equipped with an 8-in.-wide ductile cast-iron blade welded to a 53-in.-long...

Shine it on. (Great Stuff).
October 1, 2002... Here's an alternative to holding one of those mini flashlights in your mouth as you work under the hood or beneath the dash of your car. The Bil-lite Sport/Utility Light clips to the bill of your cap. Its bright LED, powered by two 3-volt...

Drive-thru. (Great Stuff).(Auto Twist trailer from Tongue Twister)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... The new Auto Twist trailer design eliminates the need to back cars onto ramps. It uses a swivel system that allows you to pivot the front of the trailer away from the tow vehicle without unhitching it. You can drive directly onto and off the...

Smaller but bigger. (Great Stuff).
October 1, 2002... The first thing we noticed about DeWalt's newly redesigned 12-, 14.4- and 18-volt cordless drills is that they are more compact but noticeably more powerful than earlier models. The T-handled tools are 7/8 in. shorter, measured from the chuck...

Dial-a-ride. (Great Stuff).
October 1, 2002... The more you can fine-tune your suspension, the more you can maximize on- and off-road performance. Rancho's new RS9000X shocks feature nine settings for compression and rebound. The shocks can be adjusted while mounted on the vehicle. An...

Calling Mr. Haven. (Great Stuff).
October 1, 2002... When "the King" calls, you answer. At least when it comes to Midway Games, which has combined a plethora of game-play features and a kickin' story line into its new action and fantasy console video game--Haven: Call Of The King. Haven is a...

Tape record. (Great Stuff).
October 1, 2002... Stanley's redesigned 25-ft.-long Leverlock tape rule has outside dimensions 20 percent smaller than its predecessor. We like many things about the tool other than its compactness. When you press its blade-override button, you lock the blade in...

Sleep slab. (Great Stuff).(air and foam mattresses)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Here's an air mattress with a twist. It is surrounded by a removable, close-fitting pocket of closed-cell foam. Providing added warmth and comfort, the foam also slightly reduces the chance of punctures. The two components can be used...

Shadow of a doubt. (Great Stuff).
October 1, 2002... Remember those bodybuilding ads showing a 97-pound weakling getting sand kicked in his face by a beach bully? Now anyone can turn that bully into a mass of quaking Jell-O without wasting the time and effort to work out. Solarscreens, selective...

All washed up. (Great Stuff).(Eagle One spray wax)(Advertisement)
October 1, 2002... Use the new Wax As-U-Dry 1-step spray wax after the final rinse while your vehicle is still wet. The product uses water-reactive polymers and waxes to give you a just-waxed look after you dry the surface with a chamois or towel. It's said to be...

Something up your sleeve. (Great Stuff).(innovative screwdriver)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Klein's new 10-in-1 screwdriver/nut driver is like a toolbox that you can slip into your back pocket. Sleeves at each end of the tool's barrel hold a pair of double-ended screwdriver bits, one at each end of the sleeve. Swap the bits end for...

Keeping the kids quiet. (Great Stuff).
October 1, 2002... Time for a road trip? Kids and adults alike will enjoy the benefits of Panasonic's latest in-dash DVD player. The CQ-VAD9200U is outfitted with a 7-in., 16:9 widescreen color LCD monitor, TV tuner and antenna, and radio tuner. The unit plays...

Get a grip. (Great Stuff).
October 1, 2002... Bosch has introduced the first top-handle worm-drive circular saw. It's a massive power tool that combines worm gear durability with the handle configuration found on a sidewinder saw. Bosch says the saw is four times more durable than...

Hot drive. (Great Stuff).
October 1, 2002... Making your own personal CDs is only one reason you need a CD-RW. And if you haven't upgraded to USB 2.0, TEAC's 40x/12x/48x USB 2.0 CD-RW may give you the motivation to do so. Offering speeds 40 times faster than USB 1.1 when paired with a USB...

Catch fire. (Great Stuff).(California Firepit/T. G. Shmeiser Co.)(Advertisement)
October 1, 2002... Summer fun shouldn't end with the return of cool weather. The 30-in.-dia. Tahoe fire pit comes with a half barbecue grill, spark screen, kettle hook and fire poker (not shown). Don't worry about burning through the side of it. The 120-pound...

Car tunes. (Great Stuff).
October 1, 2002... Alpine's new in-dash CD/MP3 player, the CDA-7998, has a motorized faceplate that retracts into the dash when turned off. It folds out into a display that's 30 percent larger than those of typical CD players with just the punch of a button. The...

Jump for joy. (Great Stuff).(Healthy-Jump, jump rope and calorie counter)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Calorie counters and rope jumpers rejoice. Healthy-Jump combines both your passions in one product. The translucent blue jump-rope calculates the number of calories you burn per rope-jumping session based on the number of rotations and your...

No ties here. (Great Stuff).
October 1, 2002... Tired of wires? Do you want freedom from your desktop? Microsoft can help with its Wireless Keyboard and ambidextrous Wireless Wheel Mouse. Retailing for $74.95, this hardware set promises to clear your work area of that tangle of cords and...

Speak out. (Great Stuff).
October 1, 2002... Designed for hardcore computer gamers, Telex Communications and Electro-Voice have produced the EVSonicXS series of computer speakers. The satellites incorporate large 4-in. woofers and 1-in. tweeters to deliver clean highs and midrange sound....

Zap to the gap. (Great Stuff).(Autolite's Double Platinum spark plugs)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Platinum-tipped spark plugs last longer than conventional plugs due to platinum's durability in resisting gap erosion. Single-platinum spark plugs use the precious metal tip on the center electrode. Autolite's Double Platinum spark plugs use...

Daily grind. (Great Stuff).(Delta Machinery)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... For home workshop applications, this dual-wheel 6-in. grinder can't be beat. You dial adjust its speed from 2000 to 3450 rpm depending on the metal you are grinding or the surface finish you are trying to produce. You can further fine-tune the...

Backroom deal. (Great Stuff).(Nike's BioKNX backpack)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Nike spent 14 months developing its line of BioKNX backpacks for kids who haul around a day's worth of schoolwork and stuff for after-school activities in their packs. Features include an internal back panel that mirrors the geometry of the...

No air, no problem. (Great Stuff).(Senco Products)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... We took this cordless nail gun for a test drive and found it to be well balanced and easy to use. Its motor spins a flywheel assembly that provides the driving force necessary to fire a brad or finishing nail. At press time, two models were...

Keep quiet. (Great Stuff).
October 1, 2002... One of the things that makes gardening attractive is the peace and quiet that comes from working in a vegetable patch or flowerbed. Mantis's 110-volt electric tiller is a quieter alternative to a gas-engine tiller. The 3-speed machine weighs 21...

Strap it on. (Great Stuff).
October 1, 2002... In offering the new VAIO PCG-VX88, Sony aims for the uncompromising road warrior. Combining a big screen with a full-size keyboard and a host of features, this portable is perfect for power on the road. Sporting a 14.1-in. LCD screen, 256MB of...

Brightness falls. (Great Stuff).
October 1, 2002... Looking for a great home theater setup? To give you an even better reason to buy that front-projection TV you've always wanted, Epson has produced the lightest 3-LCD projector ever in the PowerLite 730c. It weighs only 4.3 pounds, but offers a...

Water works. (Great Stuff).
October 1, 2002... Craftsman's 16-gal. wet/dry vacuum is one of the best home-improvement products we've seen recently. Why? It has a pump that allows you to discharge water from its tank easily and efficiently. Hook a 5/8-in.-dia. garden hose to the fitting at...

Tiny nukes: America's first-strike nuclear weapons: how they work. Who's in the crosshairs. (Science)(Cover Story).
October 1, 2002... * As a horrified nation watched the twin towers and Pentagon dissolve in flames, a realization more chilling than the audacity of the attack gripped the nation's defense planners. The Saudi and Egyptian terrorists who turned hijacked airliners...

The fast and the fabulous: fast is definitely in fashion. (Automotive).
October 1, 2002... * Remember when 85 was the highest number on your car's speedometer? Now you'll find it somewhere in the middle. And 85 mph is also not too far away from the speed limit on many of the nation's highways--a far cry from the old 55-mph ceiling....

Beyond 2003: the best is yet to come. (Automotive).
October 1, 2002... * It may not be jet powered or have wings like the Benz shown here, but the car or truck you buy five years from now will be very different from the one you're driving today. Obviously, some current trends will continue, but you'll see...

Wired for wireless: home networking takes on a different face. (Wireless).
October 1, 2002... * Dad always said good connections are everything. That goes for home networking too. Currently, networking is about linking PCs in your home. Once connected, PCs can share a broadband Internet connection, printers, scanners and other...

Color my world: from cows to combat, paintball has evolved into a high-tech sport. (Games).
October 1, 2002... * Like other extreme sports, paintball started in the '80s. The story goes that farm kids in the Midwest who were supposed to be marking their family dairy herds with identifying color splotches decided it was more fun to mark each other with...

King of all digital cameras: shoot like the pros with this Nikon dream cam. (Photography).(Nikon D1X camera and attachments)
October 1, 2002... * You've scraped together enough cash and are now ready to get with the times and buy that shiny new point-and-shoot digital camera. Ever wonder which camera the pros buy? There's a good chance that it's the sturdy Nikon D1X. At $5999, the...

In the driver's seat: in 100 years, there have been only nine editors of Popular Mechanics. And each one has left an indelible mark.
October 1, 2002... * Who can fly with the Blue Angels, pilot an oceangoing fishing boat, run a printing press, play drums on a hit record, build a spinning wheel and teach a chicken to turn the pages of a magazine? The editors-in-chief of POPULAR MECHANICS,...

Centennial tour update: where we've been and where we're going.
October 1, 2002... * No, PM's centennial tourmeister, Gordon Collins, hasn't picked up a side job using the Coachmen Cross Country motorhome as a school bus. Collins was mugged by this first-grade class at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Fairborn, Ohio....

Shower showcase: create this attractive curved-wall shower from an easy-to-build glass-block kit. (Home Improvement).
October 1, 2002... * This beautiful bath-improvement project is dedicated to the millions of do-it-yourselfers who've always dreamed of building with glass block, but didn't have the foggiest idea of where to start. That's right. You can build a gorgeous...