Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2017 i Popular Mechanics South Africa

South Africa can’t necessarily claim to have more certified geniuses per head of population than anyone else. But at times this country seems to have an impact on the way the world works that’s out of proportion to our size – or at least the size of our economy. It’s a point that two readers make quite forcefully on our letters pages. The first proudly lists the achievements of our armaments and defence industry. Now, love it or hate it (an acquaintance of mine recently blamed an attack of conscience for turning down a position with a serious industry player), there’s no denying the impact of the arms business. Another of our correspondents lustily adds his voice to the chorus, though largely as the build-up to a complaint. We’re smart…

 WHEN SHOWMAX LAUCHED IN AUGUST OF 2015, the first item on the agenda was to build a customer base. The iOS app went live in that September which then gave the fledgling service access to the high end of the market and a potential foothold among Apple device-toting influencers. A year later the streaming video on demand service reached the 20 million views milestone on the back of the voucher roll out and deals with Samsung, Standard Bank, Absa, MultiChoice, Vodacom and Telkom. The focus now turns to further expansion and improving the quality of service to its existing customers in 65 countries, and that means data. “Streaming video over the internet isn’t difficult, but maintaining a consistently high quality service can be,” explains Mike Raath, head of distribution for…

Cleaning, at its best, is restoring a thing to its virgin state. The white shirt, the wood floor, the sparkling car. It’s reversing entropy, turning back time. One of the reasons a clean home feels so good is that it’s a stronghold of human effort against the disorder of the universe. Here’s everything you need to know to create yours. A-B AIR FILTERS CAR Don’t bother. Just replace it. And if you have a K&N cone filter, don’t even do that. Being dirty doesn’t necessarily hurt it. LAWN MOWER Paper filters can be blown out with compressed air. For a primary foam filter, blow it out, then wash it with degreaser and water. Moisten with clean engine oil before reinstalling. VACUUM See “Dishwasher.” WINDOW A/C UNIT Go over it with…

 MIKE BEACHY HEAD IS NO STRANGER TO POWER. He’s a man probably better known for his involvement with Thunder City, a privately owned fleet of fighter jets based at Cape Town airport. But even as the Thunder City era now seems to have passed, a new chapter is starting on the water. In late October, as CEO of Caudwell Marine, Beachy Head unveiled the world’s first 300-horsepower V6 outboard diesel alongside the company’s unique Axis Drive marine propulsion system. Described as the first fundamental change in marine drives in two decades, the Caudwell Marine development is seen as heralding a progression towards full global penetration of the commercial, recreational and military marine markets. The Axis Drive designs, conceived and developed in Cape Town, with international supply and technology input, have…

A STRONG CASE I’ve been recommending Hondas to people since the first-generation Jazz, but I’ve never entertained the idea of actually owning one until now. The new Civic sedan is brilliant. It’s big, too: about the size of an Accord. But that’s not what makes it brilliant. Not even the cavernous boot space is enough to push it into memorable territory. No, the true genius of the new Civic is the wide array of safety features that includes a blindspot camera feed that takes over the 7-inch infotainment system display when you hit the left indicator (or when you press the button to engage it). You can turn this function off, but I can’t imagine why. Truly brilliant innovations change the way you interact with the world. Since driving the…

 That outlet below and to the right of your steering column is called an OBD-II (onboard diagnostic) port, standard on any car made after 1996. Plug in one of these and you can mine your car’s brain for useful information. OBD dongles are a recent invention made possible by smartphone proliferation, but I’ve always doubted their usefulness. They can tell you tons of specifics, not all of it helpful. I’ve never been broken down by the side of the road with an out-of-spec oxygen sensor. But new models have more abilities, such as coaching you to use less fuel, displaying performance stats on your phone, and, of course, giving you a prognosis when that Check Engine light besmirches your instrument cluster. I tried three OBD dongles on a 2017 Ford…

WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND? WINNING LETTER WHERE DID WE PARK OUR CAR?  WE ARE A HIGHLY industrialised and well-resourced, well-equipped state with enough resources, investors and wealth; so, saying that we are a third-world country in this day and age is incorrect. Secondly, we are home to one of the world’s and Africa’s biggest research institutions (CSIR). Finally, we had (and still do possess) some of the brightest, yet most underrated, minds in the world of engineering and innovation. With only those few points mentioned: why is it that we, as a country (or continent for that matter) do not have a car brand we can be proud of? If a somewhat poor country like India can manufacture homemade automobiles in the name of Tata, what then has been stopping…

DIRECTORS KNOW WE REMEMBER the audacious shots: swinging between rooftops with Spider-Man. Following a speeding car off a cliff. In the case of Assassin’s Creed, starring Michael Fassbender as the modern scion of a long line of warriors fighting the Knights Templar, director Justin Kurzel wanted to tour a medieval battle scene through the eyes of a hawk. But directors with such ambitions often find themselves ticking down a list of limited options for getting the shot they want. Crane-mounted cameras can capture extreme detail, but are generally stuck in a 15-metre radius and are slow. Helicopters can’t fly within 150 metres of buildings, let alone people, and work only for long shots with little action. Drones lack finesse. So directors end up calling Todd “Hammer” Semmes. Semmes’s company, Spydercam,…

 HEALTHCARE ISN’T JUST ABOUT ensuring you take your meds on time or managing your self payment gap. On a big scale, it involves keeping communities – even nations – healthy in practical ways. For Africa, that’s a particularly thorny task, given a population projected to double to 2,5 billion by 2050, with all the signs indicating that, by the end of this century, 45 per cent of humanity will be African. Worldwide, rapid urbanisation has resulted in a highly developed private healthcare environment while governments struggle to deliver healthcare to the broader populace. How we’ll house and feed everyone will force a radical rethink of healthcare; and, by the way, we’ll be living longer, exposing ourselves to more risk of chronic diseases. “The thing that should be worrying all of…

 Solid contender What is it? It’s a ThinkPad and draws on a proud tradition of raw power, over-engineering and phenomenal typing experience (thanks to the award-winning scissors lift key switch). Lenovo bought the brand from IBM in 2005 and only improved on the idea of a portable solution that didn’t compromise too much on desktop power and ergonomics. I was sent the 3rd generation 14-inch X1 Carbon for review, which lacks the 180° screen articulation and touch fingerprint sensor of the latest X1 Yoga, but retains the carbon fibre construction and extreme temperature tolerances. ThinkPads were the first laptops certified for use on the ISS, so it’s kind of a big deal. What’s bad about it? For something this expensive and supposedly class-leading, integrated Intel graphics are a let-down. I…

The discovery of an extremely precise, cheap and easy-to-use genome editing tool is causing a revolution in the field of genetic modification. It has the potential to cure thousands of diseases, to massively boost food security and will almost certainly herald the dawn of the era of genetically enhanced humans, changing the human genome forever. It’s a very big deal that has scientists equally excited and concerned. In the 1997 science fiction film Gattaca, normal human beings are deemed as inferior to an upper class of genetically engineered “valid” humans, all with 20/20 vision, perfect skin and teeth, superior athleticism and intelligence and no genetic predisposition to genetic disease. Fast-forward about 20 years: Chinese scientists have just announced (in November) that they were the first to use a revolutionary gene-editing…

Towards the end of last year, I bought a solar array: 24 LG panels up on my roof paired with Enphase microinverters, transforming sunlight into 7,4 kilowatts of electricity. The company that installed them produced a fancy chart that showed my projected break-even point, the moment when I’ll have saved as much on my electric bill as I spent on the system. Saving on utilities is fine, but I had a more radical purpose in mind. Modern electric cars are so good that they transformed the way I thought about solar. Those panels could be more than just a straightforward supplement to grid power. They could be a private filling station, a bottomless well of electrons to fuel my trips to the grocery store, to the kids’ ballgames,…

 You don’t need much more car than this. Maybe a little bit more boot space and bigger wheels, but not too much more car. Mahindra have a knack of delivering comparable features at a far lower price. They’re kind of like the Hisense of the car world. Measured against the well-considered Ford Ecosport (which is quite clearly the model the KUV’s designers penned it to compete against), the vehicle holds up quite well. I didn't take it on a recent family trip to Robertson because it was quite windy that day and the high centre of gravity and tiny wheels would’ve been a chore in a stiff crosswind. Even in top spec, the KUV100 doesn’t break R200 000 and still manages to bundle in corner braking control as well as…

You watched your fragile, complicated, expensive flying camera bounce between tree branches like a pachinko machine, then thud against the ground. Or maybe you hit the throttle, then let off on the throttle, only to have the drone refuse to listen and shoot out of sight into the sky. It happens to everyone. Everyone we know, at least. But what no one seemed to know was what do you do about it? We kamikazeed a drone and found out. OPTION 1 FIND A REPAIR CENTRE Even if the damage looks minor, pay for an authorised shop. The crash may have knocked circuit boards loose, affecting much more than you see. Call the manufacturer or check its website to see if there’s an authorised repair centre anywhere near you. WeFix stores…

IT MADE PERFECT SENSE AT THE TIME 1973 ATMs are so entrenched in our everyday lives, it seems like they have always been around. Actually, “money machines” started to gain popularity in 1973 and the ATM was just one of the machines people used at the time. The TV teller was a device created to foil bank robberies. Clients would not interact with tellers face to face, but instead through a TV interface. 2004 Remember DVDs? Remember portable players? Entertainment on the go now means a laptop or a cellphone, but before streaming services (and illegal downloads) the coolest gadget to have was a sleek portable DVD, so a scant dozen years ago, we rounded up the best portable DVD players for you. Big screen size, long battery life and…

 GREY WATER IS USED WATER from the bath, shower, bathroom sinks and laundry. This fairly clean water is ideal for irrigating the garden, but does have its dos and don’ts. “Installing a grey water system is the best way to save water,” says Joubert. “A grey water system should be connected only to pipes that run from the bath, shower and laundry,” Joubert warns potential clients. “Water from the kitchen sink and toilets is referred to as black water or sullage and must never be used in a grey water system.” Kitchen water often contains animal and vegetable matter, which could affect your garden soil negatively, forming a fat layer in your soil that prevents your water penetration. Chemicals used in your dishwasher are also very alkaline and, this too,…

 Back in business What is it? The Windows equivalent of Apples MacBook, with all the same drawbacks but a few key advantages. The 12,5-inch device isn’t touch-enabled, but there isn’t much you can squeeze inside an 11,9 mm (when closed) body. It’s light, too, weighing in at only 900 grams. This test unit is the flagship Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM model with the 1 TB solid-state drive, fingerprint sensor and solitary Thunderbolt 3/USB type-C port. What’s bad about it? I’m not yet convinced that dongle life is the kind I want to live. With the current absence of USB type-C or Thunderbolt 3 external drives and peripherals, I’m not comfortable with the idea of using an accessory for an accessory. All blame should be laid squarely at the…

 Let’s face it. The electric transportation revolution is making all our sci-fi dreams come true. The latest in the recent slew of incredible electric vehicles is a submarine from Dutch company Ortega Submersibles. Aimed at underwater explorers and biologists, these compact multi-person submarines are fitted with enough tech to make even an early-adopter envious. The tech includes magnetometers, sonar for navigation and FLIR thermal imaging cameras. The company’s submarines are also fitted with two high-power electric motors capable of accelerating to up to 10 knots. To power these motors, the company has developed its own battery solution, called the Hancell 378i Battery Pack. The submarines are available in two models. The Mk. 1B seats two divers and the Mk. 1C seats three. They are capable of travelling above or underwater,…

 But this is exactly what’s happening. The expedition is called Polar Nova, and it’s set for the end of this year. The thread connecting these seemingly disparate elements is ZaiLab, a company bent on using technology to bring warmth and humanity back to the contact centre industry. (Yes, really.) Joining forces with celebrity chef Jenny Morris, ZaiLab will fly the NASA-like vehicle it designed and built to the southernmost continent on Earth. In hand with 21 fellow adventurers, the team will spend five days there, culminating in a lavish New Year’s Eve dinner orchestrated by Morris herself. Designing and building a truck more fit for orbit than Earth might seem an odd choice for such an organisation. Taking a truck like this to Antarctica for New Year’s might seem odder…

It’s been 50 years since the first 124 convertible made its debut – and with perfect timing, the 2016 version is now available to order locally. The gulf between the Swinging Sixties original and the current version is more than just decades, though: the new car is based on Mazda’s hugely popular MX-5 roadster. Which is, we’d say, a good thing… THE OLD Launched at the Turin Motor Show, the 124 Sport Spider capped a long line of post-war convertibles from Fiat: the 1100 Spider of 1954, the 1200 and the twin-shaft 1500 Bialbero of 1958, the 1500 S and the 1600 S in 1961. Based on the mechanicals of the 124 saloon, the convertible was designed by Pininfarina. Its 1 438 cm3 inline Four, with dual overhead camshafts and…

REPORT 1 HYUNDAI TUCSON DIESEL Local fans of Hyundai’s massively popular SUV have been eagerly awaiting a diesel option; and now they’ve been given two: a new, efficient low-emission 85 kW 1,7-litre and a powerful 131 kW 2,0-litre Euro 2. Interestingly, in addition to being efficient, the 1,7, which conforms to Euro 6 emissions requirements, has 30 000-km service intervals. Both diesels are front-wheel drive only; the 1,7 delivers its 280 N.m of torque (between 1 250 and 2 750 r/min) via a six-speed manual gearbox whereas the 2,0 has a six-speed automatic and develops 400 N.m. Our launch drive route wasn’t particularly demanding – a mix of urban, country roads and freeways with a brief foray on gravel – but it illustrated well the typical use scenario for vehicles…