Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2017 i Popular Mechanics South Africa

“PERFECT SOUND FOREVER” has passed into legend as the slogan of a 1982 Sony/Philips advertising campaign celebrating their invention of the compact disc. The starstruck world welcomed the demise of vinyl, with its fragility, its inconsistency and above all its irritating snap, crackle and pop. Or did it? In 2017, the liquorice pizza appears to be in remarkably good shape for a corpse. This year, according to an annual predictor of tech trends in media, vinyl is expected to aproach US$1 billion globally in revenues. Yes, we’ll be spending around 15 billion ZAR on a technology 35 years after we were dancing on its grave. What happened? Deloitte Africa’s annual TMT Predictions provides an outlook on key trends over the course of the next 1-5 years in the technology, media…

THE STORY BEHIND BOXCHAMP’S inception is as simple as it is brilliant: “My logbook got wet in my bag,” explains Boxchamp founder Mark Fawzy. Recording accurate data is a common problem in gyms around the world, but more so in a CrossFit box because the founders leverage the human competitive spirit as one of its drawcards. Scores go on a whiteboard after each workout. It’s gamification at its most simple, and it’s very effective. “We launched with WOD (workout of the day) and slowly built the management as gym owners requested functions.” In the initial stages Boxchamp was nothing more than a glorified spreadsheet. I know, because I’m a member of the first CrossFit box to adopt it, CrossFit DurBell. We didn’t like it because the old system was brilliant.…

(lindsey.schutters@ramsaymedia.co.za) COMING IN HOT CONSTANT COMPANION Artificial intelligence is making your gadgets more personable Kuri Robot Nanny Bosch startup Mayfield Robotics took the idea of the smart assistant from static speaker to mobile droid. Kuri will busy itself with the complex task of learning the rhythm of your home, eventually reaching a point where it can wake you at an appropriate time and then track your movements while playing your chosen playlist via Bluetooth. The company claims to set itself apart by adding genuine personality to tech, expressed in a range of eye and head gestures alongside beeps and chirps. It’s essentially a Bluetooth speaker that is connected to the internet and is equipped with wheels and sensors so that it doesn’t go tumbling down the stairs or crashing into…

Learn to grow and preserve your own food. There’s no takeout in the middle of the woods. Lehman’s opened in 1955 as a hardware store in Kidron, Ohio, selling equipment to northeast Ohio’s Amish community. Today, Lehman’s has expanded to sell products through, uncharacteristically, the Internet. Here are a few to pick up for your off-grid kitchen. DIAMANT GRAIN MILL A cast-iron flywheel turns iron and steel burrs to grind grains into flour or cereal. Use with the corn sheller to make cornmeal. R13 000 CAST-IRON CORN SHELLER Use this to remove the kernels from dried corn so they can be fed to livestock. You can use the cobs as firewood (firecorn?). R4 000 OVEN/SUN FOOD-DRYING RACK These solid oak and glass fibre drying screens separate fruit and vegetable slices…

We can teach you how to procure water for your family. For whisky, you’re on your own. When I was one, my family moved from a large farmhouse in northwestern Vermont into a small cabin my parents had built at the edge of a nearby hardwood forest. The cabin featured neither electricity nor indoor plumbing. It was lit by smoky paraffin lanterns, and we bathed in a metal washtub filled with water heated atop an old wood-fired stove. At first, my parents hauled containers of water to the cabin in the back seat of their rust-bitten Volkswagen Beetle. When they tired of this, my father rigged up a hand pump and managed to pull water from a stream nearly a kilometre distant and at least 30 vertical metres below the…

ACRE DESIGNS  Best for: Design enthusiasts  Comparable to: A four-star resort  Coolest feature: It combines all your utilities into a single appliance, the ZeroBox, which includes an electrical panel, a distribution panel, a 7,2-kilowatt inverter, an energy recovery ventilator, and a whole-home water-filtration system and emergency shut-off.  Cost: R5 million to R7 million; available at acredesigns.com ZEROHOUSE  Best for: People who wish the Jetsons were real  Comparable to: A motel in Japan  Coolest feature: High-efficiency solar panels produce all of the zeroHouse’s electrical power, storing it in battery banks that can operate for up to a week without sunlight. A 10 000- litre cistern collects rainwater from the roof, while a digester unit under the house processes organic waste into dry compost.  Cost: Approximately R5 million; available at zerohouse.net ECOCAPSULE…

On HBO’s Silicon Valley (returning in April), Matt Ross plays smug, frivolous technology executive Gavin Belson, a man given to such statements as “I don’t know about you people, but I don’t want to live in a world where someone else makes the world a better place better than we do.” Ross himself is less wealthy, more sensible. He lives with his wife and two children in a duplex in Berkeley, California, and often worries about how much time his kids spend in contact with nature. It’s an outgrowth of the way he himself was raised: in a series of communal societies deep in the woods of northern California and Oregon, where he learnt to hunt, make fire, build shelter, track animals, and read stars. “At one point we lived…

Automatic emergency braking (AEB) has become such a lifesaver that it has the potential to hold back the adoption of fully automous driving, according to one prediction. Deloitte Africa predicts that, in the US alone, fatalities from motor vehicle accidents will have fallen by 6 000, a 16 per cent decline from 2017 – and says the greatest factor in this decline will likely be AEB. That nugget is contained in Deloitte Africa’s 16th edition of Technology, Media & Telecommunications Predictions. AEB will be so widely adopted, affordable and successful at helping to save lives, Deloittes says, that it may even slow down the movement towards full self-driving cars. But that won’t slow our smart cars’ relentless drive to improve their IQ, using machine learning. The Deloittes report showcases how,…

When summer ends, a lot of our gardens close for the winter. But hydroponics keep your garden going year-round. Rather than counting on the soil to provide plants with nutrients, a hydroponic set-up gives them everything they need directly through the water. You don’t even need natural light. There are six basic types of systems: wick, deep-water culture (DWC), ebb-and-flow, drip method, nutrient-film technique (NFT), and aeroponics. At Green Spirit Farms, an indoor vertical-farming company that I run with my father in New Buffalo, Michigan, we use a combination of NFT and ebb-and-flow. [Editors’ note: Read about Dan and his dad in “In the Light Fields”, July 2016.] NFT is probably the most popular system for commercial growers. It’s what most greenhouses use because of the low water requirements, and…

OUR BUILDER: Ten-year-old William Kennedy. Wiring schematic A SOLAR-POWERED night-light may sound counterintuitive, but when the night-light isn’t in use during the day, it captures ambient light. Just leave it near a window and open the blinds. The two AA batteries hold enough power to keep the night-light running until the sun comes up, then the solar panel starts collecting again and the process begins all over. INSTRUCTIONS 1. Crosscut the top panel from the 100 mm board. An 80 mm piece should accommodate most action figures. 2. Using twist-drill bits and a cordless drill, make a 5 mm hole for the LED wire and a 15 mm hole for the switch. Use a spade bit to make the 20 mm hole for the leads from the solar panel. 3.…

I broke two bits drilling holes in my garage floor with a rented hammer drill. What did I do wrong? The most obvious possibility is that you hit a piece of rebar, or reinforcing steel. Or maybe you found a cast-iron drainpipe. If you see a pipe exiting the floor at any point, assume that that’s what you’re hitting and drill elsewhere. You might think that a bit strong enough to drill through concrete could also handle steel, but a masonry bit’s tip and flute geometry are completely different – thicker and blunter, meant to pulverise. Also, the hammer drill was probably in percussion mode, which simultaneously pounds and drills through concrete, stone or asphalt. That percussive action broke the bit when you hit steel. Even if you’d switched to…

FROM THE MEDIA, it seems that Eskom is turning up its nose at renewable energy plants constructed all over South Africa (it seems there is now enough coal power station capacity). Eskom has also stated that its power distribution network has not been designed to accept additional power from power sources all over the country. We all know South Africa is a water-scarce country. Why can’t these renewable energy sources be used to produce clean drinking water by either atmospheric water generators or reverse osmosis? Production of drinking water using renewable energy fits like a glove, as the plants do not have to produce water 24 hours a day. They can operate when the power is available. Atmospheric water generators can operate in reasonably low relative humidity. The water produced…

Lalla, we understand that you have a very busy life; where do you get the time to work out? Q It’s true, I’m always on the go, dashing to appointments and shoots, but that’s exactly why I have to make time to exercise and keep my body in shape. Fitness is extremely important to me and I follow an intense workout schedule to make sure I maintain progress and keep pushing my limits. A How do the TomTom Cardio Spark and Music Watch make your life (and workout) easier? For me, a workout device really has to fit into your lifestyle so the TomTom Cardio Spark was an easy choice. It tracks my sleep, heart rate and movements and with a built-in GPS my workout whereabouts are easy to monitor.…

ACCORDING TO MYTHOLOGY, the Greek god Hephaestus crafted a bronze palace atop Mount Olympus for his fellow deities. Here he also had his own palace, with a workshop where he created mechanical servants, each with its own strength, thought and voice. Sounds like a real Popular Mechanics kind of a guy. Traces of fantastical mechanical creations can be found throughout history. The latest of a very specific example of the breed that has captured the imagination of millions for over half a century, the mecha, has taken its first gigantic clumping strides in Korea. Mecha, an abbreviation of the word “mechanical” and first used to describe both scientific ideas and science fictional creations, is believed to have been used in Japan. It refers to robots or machines controlled and often…

When you’re living far from civilisation, it’s the little things that are the most difficult. 1) SNOW BOARD → Obviously this applies only in areas that get winter snow. Cut a 40-centimetre square out of plywood, paint it white, and place it on even, open ground next to a vertical metre stick. Mark the location with a bright flag. By measuring both snowfall and the water equivalent of snow (use your rain gauge, below), you’ll be able to tell how much water your crops are getting in the winter. 2) THERMOMETER... → Shell out for a thermistor thermometer. These register electrical resistance and are very accurate. Record temperature for a few years to get the average first freeze. … AND HYGROMETER → This will give you dew point, the highest…

SOLAR → Location: North- or west-facing rooftop or unwooded area. → Equipment: At least 24 solar panels, charge controller, breakers, switchgear, inverter and batteries. → Output: 7,5 kW → Cost*: R340 000 to R400 000, depending on whether it’s a rooftop or a ground array. GENERATOR → Location: Level ground near the house. → Equipment: Generator, panel, breakers, and switchgear. A 400-litre or larger liquefied petroleum gas tank. Propane. → Output: 7,5 kW → Cost*: About R130 000, but it can vary based on distance to the house, plumbing, and interconnection to a battery. SMALL WIND TURBINE → Location: Breezy area, high ground. → Equipment: A wind turbine, set atop a 25- to 30-metre tower, turbine disconnect, electronics, inverter and batteries. → Output: 7,5 kW → Cost*: R500 000 on…

PACK WISELY → “At the present day, and in this country, as I find by my own experience, a few implements, a knife, an axe, a spade, a wheelbarrow, etc, and for the studious, lamplight, stationery, and access to a few books, rank next to necessaries, and can all be obtained at a trifling cost.” GET UP EARLY → “I would advise you to do all your work if possible while the dew is on.” REDUCE YOUR RELIANCE ON LUXURIES → “I did not use tea, nor coffee, nor butter, nor milk, nor fresh meat, and so did not have to work to get them.” PLAN AHEAD → “While yet it is cold winter, and snow and ice are thick and solid, the prudent landlord comes from the village to…

IT’S THE AUDIO EQUIVALENT of the cost-no-object Swiss timepiece. Or the ultra-luxurious Maybach automobile. In short, a design that elevates an industrial product to the realm of art. Based in Erlangen, Germany, Clearaudio makes a range of highend audiophile products that includes turntables, tonearms, phono cartridges, phonostages, amplifiers, accessories and audiophile vinyl records. CEO Robert Suchy visited South Africa late last year to introduce locals to the new V2 version of the company’s flagship product. Suchy’s father founded the business 40 years ago and is still involved, as are Suchy Jr’s brother and sister. Launched last year, the current V2 model is said to be even better than the 2006 original. Elements such as speed control circuitry, spindle, motor pulley and drive belt have been redesigned and every part of…

When you’re dicing wheel to wheel with fierce rivals on legendary race circuits, you need massive reserves of skill, reflexes and commitment. You also need to stay focused in the face of increasingly vocal threats to, say, donate your ice-cold supper to the dog. There’s no denying the fun you can have as a virtual racer in Gran Turismo, if you don’t mind the trade-off against domestic harmony. But racing in virtual reality was never really about fun for the supremely focused David Perel. Becoming a professional driver has been this 31-year-old Capetonian’s goal since he was barely old enough to grasp the controls on his PlayStation handset. Today, Perel drives for Kessel Ferrari in one of most competitive leagues in the world, the Blancpain GT Endurance Series. His story…

THE SUBJECT: Michael Parris THE JOB: Ski-maker and designer LOCATION: Jackson Hole, Wyoming IN 1998, Parris left a career designing robots for Carnegie Mellon University. His new gig? The ski business. A friend who ran a ski company hired him as a designer – Parris has a degree in architecture – and today he owns Igneous Skis, handcrafting only 100 pairs each season, each of which sells for about R22 000. This giant green thing helps him do it. 1 / WINTERSTEIGER BELT SANDER AND STONE GRINDER A. I use the belt sander to shape the sidewalls of the ski and to shape out the band-saw cut, to bevel it, round it out at the top a little bit. B. The other side is a round stone cylinder. A diamonddressing…

WINNING TIP BACKWASH BRAINWAVE With summer here and accompanying strict water restrictions, it becomes difficult to backwash your pool filter properly. Here is a tip that works and saves water at the same time. Backwash your pool into a wheelie bin and leave it overnight for sediment to settle. Next day, siphon clear water back into your pool with the garden hose. Clean the wheelie bin with half a bucket of your clear water. You will have to modify your backwash outlet as in the photo and you could buy a dedicated bin (like I did) or use any large 200-litre drum. You could also put an outlet valve in the bottom (50 mm higher than the bottom) to make it easier to get the clean water back into your…

A VIKING BOAT MAY NOT have been able to make it to Montana, but that doesn’t mean the Scandinavians couldn’t. Along with the US Homestead Act of 1862, which gave settlers 160 acres of land for a small fee and a commitment to live there for five years, the extension of the transcontinental railroad across North America helped Scandinavians migrate to the agricultural frontier of Montana. Today their Nordic heritage remains embedded in the folkways of the Northern Great Plains, so much that it demanded a familiar and hard-to-find drink: “We started making aquavit on request from the local fraternal order of the Sons of Norway,” says Ryan Montgomery, co-founder of Montgomery Distillery in Missoula. “And we continue making it not only because we sell out, but because aquavit has…

A / ASUS ZenBeam E1 MAX IMAGE SIZE: 120" PORTABLE BATTERY: Yes, 5 hours LIKES: Despite weighing less than a kilogram and having a footprint the size of a smartphone, the E1 is bright enough to use even in some ambient light. The speakers can also get quite loud. Adjustments are intuitive, and the metal shell looks more elegant than the plastic on many other projectors. DISLIKES: Doesn’t project in HD. The keystone correction sometimes inexplicably and annoyingly readjusts the image. PRICE: R4 500 B / Sony LSPX-P1 MAX IMAGE SIZE: 80" PORTABLE BATTERY: Yes, 2 hours LIKES: Beautiful design, good colour, and passable built-in sound. We really liked the wireless aspect: plug the hub into a source – your cable box or computer – or connect via Wi-Fi and…

Climb to the highest point on your land, in your house, even in your apartment situation – just get up high – and look down at your life as a kind of map. The perspective is military; the distance makes your attachment to your possessions dispassionate. From your promontory, the edges are clear. This is the world you created. How’d you do? Can what you’ve made provide beyond the next grocery run? Sure it’s a place you can live, but is it a place where you could survive? I live in Indiana, at a great remove. On the far end of an empty country road, in a little house on a broad creek. I don’t grow any food. I don’t own any livestock. I used up all my firewood last…

The problem with being a cook and also a gearhead who believes in having the right tool for the job is that somehow I’ve ended up with 47 pots and pans. I could justify each of them, but when I start homesteading, I’m going to pack just one: my Le Creuset enamelled cast-iron 30-centimetre skillet. Unlike traditional cast-iron pans, this one has shallow, slightly sloped sides, making it more like a sautée pan. Once the thing heats up (this takes a while – it’s a Btu hog), the cast iron holds a consistent temperature, which allows for uniform cooking. I’ve used it to make pancakes, fry eggs, and even roast whole chickens. I have half a mind to throw it on top of our fire pit and sear some steaks…

12-GAUGE SHOTGUN Off-grid means on your own. Use this to scare off potential mischief-makers, or to dispatch rabbits digging up your vegetable patch and eat ’em for dinner. CANT HOOK If you’re gonna be lighting fires, you’re gonna be moving logs. Your back will last twice as long if you use one of these grabbers to do it. SIDE CUTTERS Also called for linesman pliers, this tool can make electrical repairs, cut fence wire, and chop through nails and small screws. LONG-HANDLE NO. 2 ROUND-POINT SHOVEL Dig a ditch, put out a brush fire, chop through ice and snow. It’s all in a day’s work for old No. 2. Get one with a deep socket – the metal cup at the top of the blade into which the handle fits.…

Now that you have the basics taken care of, what is there to do out here? 1 “PROCURE” MOVIES The legal way: Buy movie files from iTunes, Google, or Amazon. The… legally complicated way: Travel back to the early 2000s and find DVDs. On a laptop with a CD drive, download an app called HandBrake (free) to turn those discs into video files and save them to your laptop. 2 SYNC MOVIES TO A BIG SMARTPHONE OR A TABLET A 256-gig iPhone 7 Plus (R17 500) is ideal, but a 128-gig Google Pixel (R10 000) or iPad Air (R11 500) will also work. FYI: Most Android phones will need Google Chromecast to play video, which requires extra power to run. 3 CREATE POWER During the day, connect two 20-watt Goal…

IT’S EASY to take your coffee for granted. Mix hot water with grounds, and within minutes you’re warmed and awake. But there’s science in that process; science that can be tweaked and perfected. Changing your beans, grind size, filter, brew time and water temperature all shape how your coffee tastes and feels, says David Donde, Truth Coffee owner and self-proclaimed coffeeevangelist. For example, allowing coffee beans to sit for a week after roasting can create a more appetising flavour. Donde took us on a tour of Truth and introduced us to every grinder, brewer and pour-over contraption we would need to make a perfect cup of coffee. We consulted baristas. And we really drank a lot of coffee. We’re excited to show you the results. Maybe even a little jittery.…