Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2016 i Popular Mechanics South Africa

IS IT A BIRD? IS IT A PLANE? NO, IT’S AN ANTENNA “I must confess that it is our first watercooled antenna,” says Dr Andre Fourie, founder and executive chairman of Poynting Antennas, about the transmitting device his company designed and built for one of their more unconventional clients. Poynting is better known for its work on more familiar transmission territory (see “Busting battery theft”, page 22). “Imagine our first briefing with the team from the Bloodhound Supersonic Car. They were looking for an antenna that could relay the data from thousands of streams of vehicle diagnostics and real-time in-cockpit video, while the vehicle would travel in a right angle to the MTN base station at a speed of 1 000 miles per hour. “Oh, and they were fitting the…

FROM MY POSITION HIGH UP in the passenger seat of the big, growling, bright yellow MAN, things seemed to be pretty much as they had been on the previous pass. Entry speed was a little higher at 30 km/h instead of 25, so the sharp right-left jink may have moved my backside in the seat a fraction more. I couldn’t really tell. Of course, if I could have seen the action behind, I would have been slightly less relaxed. It was rock ’n roll, big time. Our trailer tipped to the left and then, in the blink of an eye, flipped to the right. Its next move: become a giant sliding Lego block, wipe out everything in its path and trash a valuable load. Thank goodness for training wheels. Rollovers,…

WITH Pluto rapidly shrinking from view, NASA’s New Horizons probe is slipping further into a vast unexplored wilderness known as the Kuiper belt. This great frigid expanse beyond the gas giant Neptune is home to millions of icy bodies, known as Kuiper belt objects, many of which are thought to be pristine remnants from the birth of our planetary neighbourhood some 4,6 billion years ago. As the world continues to gawp at breathtaking images of the Kuiper belt’s most famous inhabitant, Pluto, the plucky little probe that snapped them is about to embark on one last fly-by. It won’t be easy: New Horizons’ latest target is much smaller than the dwarf planet and there is uncertainty about its exact position. But if all goes to plan, this valedictory mission could…

Perhaps one of the most eagerly awaited launches of 2015 was that of Volvo’s second-generation XC90. Its predecessor served as the brand’s sole SUV offering for more than a decade and, needless to say, it was time for something new. Volvo definitely got it right with the styling. The new XC90 casts an imposing shadow without managing to look overly bulky. There are swanky touches inside and out, including those “Thor’s hammer” headlamps and the large touchscreen infotainment system. But one of the most controversial decisions regarding the new Scandinavian SUV was that it would be available with Volvo’s new range of four-cylinder engines only. The original boasted a range that included engines with five, six and eight cylinders. So it was with some enthusiasm – and not a little…

One of the finishes offered lately by Mercedes-Benz is a natural wood grain. No deep, glossy coat, just the unvarnished (if you’ll excuse the expression) truth of the timber. Of course, what the company calls openpore wood finish is a lot more than just a plank, which explains the slightly pained look that crossed the face of design, colour and trim specialist Stefan Böhler at the mere suggestion. Böhler was one of a small army of Mercedes-Benz interior design experts trotted out by Daimler as the company hosted Popular Mechanics, along with other global media, at a special tech briefing on the E-Class in Stuttgart, its home city. We got to sit in the cabin in four individual “experience” zones, each showcasing a particular aspect – but were not allowed…

“Try what you want, it won’t drift,” says my co-driver. I try my best to perform a Scandinavian flick with the ESP off, but to no avail. Nothing that I can conjure will unsettle the vehicle. I have to accept that maybe this guy knows what he is talking about. Of course, I should not have doubted the guy in question, because he is none other than Thed Björk – star driver of the Polestar Cyan Racing team and Swedish Touring Car Champion for the third consecutive year (a national record, mind you). I suppose I was trying to replicate the conditions of the S60 Polestar’s natural habitat of snow-paced and ice-lined roads, especially because the local media launch of the newcomer at Red Star Raceway in November was marred…

Daybeds can be a lot more than just a compromise between the traditional couch and a bed. Of course, by design they’re capable of being used for sleeping, lounging and seating. Where they score is in having a lighter framework that is – from the aesthetic point of view – as well suited to formal settings such as a lounge or informal settings outdoors or in the garden. THE PROJECT FEATURED HERE was a runner-up in our Popular Mechanics DIY Challenge Number 3, which was based on the theme of load shedding. The idea was to either build something related to load shedding, or to devise a project using only hand tools or battery-operated tools. Says Tu, “I had a cheap pine single box bed sitting around taking up space…

THE CHICKEN NEEDS TO DIE BEFORE it can get to your plate. That’s the first mental hurdle to clear when visiting an abattoir. The next thing to consider is that blood needs to leave the body so the meat doesn’t spoil easily and the best way to do that is with a still-beating heart pumping out blood. JF Equipment specialises in stainless steel for processing poultry. All the machinery needed to stun, scald, pluck and eviscerate under one roof, if you will. But there’s a quality problem. The equipment it kits out industries with lasts a ridiculously long time and doesn’t do much in the way of community upliftment, besides the factory jobs the poultry industry offers. The portable abattoir is an entire poultry processing factory distilled into a container.…

The future made me queasy. I’ll admit that I’ve had limited experience with virtual reality, but there was something shaky about this Minecraft-derived world I was walking through that was different to the roller coaster ride and theatre show I’ve previously been immersed in. Another difference is that I’ve never experienced VR while seated at the desk of the person who designed the virtual world. There are some environmental considerations to take into account as well. One is that I’m pretty much pinned in the chair between a wall and the desk (because my host is a lot more svelte than me). Two is that though I can look around by moving my head, walking is done via keyboard controls. It’s like the unholy union between a computer game and…

kyle.kock@ramsaymedia.co.za “Motor racing improves the breed” is an age-old slogan. But it’s one that has become particularly relevant through the increasing use of hybrid technology – an internal combustion engine combined with electric motors – to save fuel. After all, improving fuel economy is the ongoing quest of armies of techies in the R&D departments of global vehicle manufacturers. Admittedly, vehicle manufacturers have massive and highly sophisticated R&D resources these days that can simulate a variety of driving conditions. Motor sport has one priceless advantage, though: the ability to accelerate the development of new technologies and improve old ones. That’s because it is on a public stage and very important in brand-building. Motor sport teams also have the benefit of being comparatively small and staffed by highly qualified and innovative…

You probably heard it before. French vehicles are eccentric, left field even. I, however, find that certain models are very innovative and quite functional, in their simplicity. Like Citroën’s C4 Cactus – which offers a different take on the traditional C segment hatchback. Visually, the C4 Cactus represents a massive styling departure from the norm. The first thing you notice has to be the collection of bubbles that cover half of the sheetmetal along the side. They’re what Citroën calls the Airbump – basically a protective panel made of thermoplastic polyurethane and filled with air. Finished in black as standard (options include grey, dune beige and chocolate brown) the Airbump design juts out from the bodywork in line with the black wheelarch trim to provide the first layer of defence…

THE DETAILS WHAT: BSR Evasive Driving Course WHERE: Summit Point, West Virginia COST: R25 000 (two days) FOR ARRANGEMENTS: bsr-inc.com I’m riding shotgun in a Ford Crown Victoria when the driver, Greg Haas, pulls alongside the car in front of us. We’re doing about 50. “Excuse me!” Haas calls over to the other driver, “Where is Walmart? You know Walmart? We’re looking for values!” Then he abruptly pulls out a pistol and starts firing. His gun isn’t real, any more than the bright-red Glock that I’m holding just beneath the window, but damn if the adrenaline doesn’t start ripping once I raise my piece and join in the ambush. The driver beside us slams on the brakes and we blow past, our attack foiled. For now. I’m at the BSR Evasive…

THE CULPRIT: ALL FOUR ALLOY WHEELS ON A 1997 HONDA BALLADE, AND SOME OF THE NASTIEST KERBS IN CAPE TOWN The product: Rimskins wheel protector Price: Set below costs R599 Claim: Durable protection for your rims It’s happened to the best among us. While concentrating on squeezing into the last available parking bay – the one next to a kerb that everyone else has avoided – the nasty sound of metal against concrete halts your parking progress. Drat. Inspecting the origin of the sounds confirms your fear. Now your beautiful alloy wheel has been scarred for life – well, at least until your budget allows for a costly repair. Now you can prevent or cover up the damage entirely relatively cheaply… Step 1a Clean the wheels properly. Use a degreasing…

IF THIS RUSBANK COULD only talk… it would tell tales of the little boy who spent hours lounging in it, poring over the books in his grandfather’s collection. In the world that the young me inhabited, Pa Doman had that rarest of things: a study. Crammed into its dark wood shelves were the kinds of great works of literature that you’d expect to find in a retired headmaster’s home. There was a desk, of course, filled with interesting stuff like fountain pens and staples and pins with little coloured balls for heads. And, against the window that overlooked the stoep and the garden that was his pride and joy, the rusbank. My grandparents are long gone, but here and there in our home today you’ll find the heirlooms that Granny…

WITH A HOTSHOT VIDEOGRAPHER on your tail, you know, as you’re carving your way through a gnarly barrel, that you’ll be able to relive this moment in its entirety thanks to the lens capturing your every movement on the board. But who exactly is responsible for immortalising your technique in glorious high-definition? There’s a lensman all right, but he’s 100 metres away on the beach! And next to him is a pilot who has just flown a drone into a barrel to capture your glory. This is the vision of Mike Upham, from Amaquondo, a Cape Town-based design brand. At least that’s what he officially does during the day, because for the last year he’s been planning, designing and building prototypes of a proudly South African waterproof drone called Otterman…

lindsey.schutters@ramsaymedia.co.za LIKE ALL FATHERS I hate being embarassed in front of my children. Within two minutes of what was a frantic unboxing experience, my four-year-old daughter’s face contorted into a look I’ve only ever seen from her mother. It was disappointment and confusion rolled up into one, with a sigh of boredom. The Bluetooth wouldn’t connect to Dash, the bigger and motorised of the two robots, and the game wasn’t fun anymore. In my defence, the Dash and Dot set is recommended for children from the age of five and up. You also need to be able to read and have the patience to navigate through the Android or Apple app store to seek out the appropriate app from the plethora of options. All of them requiring some coding nous…

NEED TO KNOW ENGINE: 1,5 four-cylinder turbodiesel OUTPUT: 74 kW/215 N.m ECONOMY (COMBINED): 4,1L/100 km EMISSIONS: 108 g/km PRICE: R199 900 The first Ford Figo was a stripped-down previous-generation Fiesta – but at the same time it was so much more than that. In time, it became one of the most recognisable models on the local market. Backed by a giant network of dealers and service centres, it was also affordable. Those shoes are especially big ones to fill, because the Blue Oval has ushered in a replacement Figo that is more in line with the company’ goal of bringing new technologies to the budget segment as well as offering the reliability and efficiency that the model has become known and loved for. It doesn’t disappoint, either. The looks have…

Thanks to the particular trend in our market of offering strippedout previous-generation vehicles, the Ciaz slots nicely between new C segment sedans and the likes of Toyota’s Corolla Quest. It helps that the Ciaz doesn’t feel flimsy. The doors close reassuringly enough and there’s a weighty feel to the cabin controls. Despite the lack of any soft-touch surfaces, a feature shared by the Swift hatchback, the Ciaz’s perceived quality doesn’t suffer as a result. In GLX guise, as tested by Popular Mechanics, the Ciaz boasts leather upholstery, height adjustment on the driver’s seat, contrasting metallic trim, as well as keyless entry and start over and above the entry-level GL specification with electric windows and mirrors, climate control, and six-speaker sound system with radio/CD player, Bluetooth connectivity and auxiliary and USB…

AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK INSIDE THE BIGGEST KIND OF BIG INDUSTRY IN AMERICA. This is an adventure story. It is an expedition into the heart of a huge and uniquely American industrial enterprise, its sweeping operations and its complex daily mechanics. It is also a rare exploration of what lies beneath and empowers the broad social influence of its owners, David and Charles Koch, the business and political titans who have helped reshape American politics. People who don’t agree with the Koch brothers see them as pernicious, because their views are often extreme and because they have so much money with which to try to further those views. People who agree with them see them as saviours for the same reasons. Both groups care because of the Kochs’ enormous fortune, which…

WINNING TIP SAVE WATER AT SOURCE Saving water starts at the tap! You decide on the volume of water released every time a tap is openended - no more begging the kids and/or guests to save water. Simply fix a stainless steel hose clamp to the tap (see photos). Open the tap and slide the clamp to the volume of water you decide on, and lock it in place. You should save at least 50 per cent water with every shower. JOHAN DE SWARDT DURBANVILLE TIP-TOP TIP I recently bought a very nice auto-polarity/auto-ranging multimeter, which apart from its lack of a current-measuring range is a delight to use. But it had one drawback: it came equipped with only normal pointed probes. This meant that I had to hold the…