Water Well Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/767379
to study in depth about all the aspects of engineering and sci- ence, but mostly the water well and pump business topics. Along with some badly needed assistance from the local library and the various courses offered by the then–National Water Well Association, I spent untold hours studying every- thing I could lay my hands on about electrical theory, hy- draulics, water wells, and well pump technology. All this study would ultimately prove beneficial to me 10 years later when it was time to take my PE exams. So what's this have to do with music? A lot. As I worked daily in the well and pump business and studied the same in the evenings, I soon realized both efforts would be much eas- ier and more enjoyable if I could listen to some music at the same time. So a trip to a local flea market during the summer of 1974 resulted in the buried find of just what I was looking for—a portable and lightweight, battery powered AM/FM radio equipped with several marine bands. As I picked up the radio and gave it the visual once-over, I tried to find a manufacturer's name, all the while expecting to find a reputable and well-known name such as RCA, Pana- sonic, or even Radio Shack. Imagine my shock when I finally found the manufacturer's name: "Blaupunkt" in bold, black letters Now what is a Blaupunkt? Although I was quite leery, I purchased the radio without batteries and untested since the price was so low, as I remember, about $5. Following my purchase and the addition of six D-cell bat- teries, I pressed the on button and switched over to the FM band, half expecting to hear nothing more than static. What came out of this 9- by 12-inch rectangular contraption, how- ever, was a pleasant surprise. A nondescript FM station re- sponded with a call sign and the radio sprang to life, the tone was rich, there was little if any static, and the FM reception was excellent. As I adjusted the tuner, I was amazed as each frequency re- sponded with a different station, each with a range of diverse subjects, from talk radio to pop to country music. With a slight trepidation, I then flipped the radio over to AM. The AM band and stations responded in the same fashion, the re- ception was still excellent, the radio was able to pull in virtu- ally every station from a hundred miles out or less, and the volume and tone adjustability was good. Soon, this new find was like a new best friend. I took it everywhere, I listened to it while studying and working in our shop, and it went with me on almost every field project. Not only did I listen to many now forgotten one-hit wonder groups, like Poco and Firefall, I was also able to tune in many stations and frequencies on the few marine bands, although that was far down on my priority list. A Man and His Radio My new radio and I became almost inseparable the next few years. Discounting the small fortune I eventually invested in batteries, the compactness and portability of my Blaupunkt allowed me to easily transport it to job site after site and well repairs, plus the reception was so good I could even use it in our pump rig or service truck while driving between sites or cities. Yes, life was good for me. Not only did I think the music was worth listening to, I had a way to listen to it throughout the entire day. But before you begin to think I turned into a candidate for a looney-bin, hold on. Within a few months I had a new girl- friend, who unfortunately did not share my admiration for my Blaupunkt radio. In fact, whenever we traveled in my car, she insisted the radio either stay home or occupy the back seat or trunk of my 1969 Chevrolet Impala! It wasn't as if there wasn't a source of music in my car, though. My car not only had a full-span dialable AM radio, it also had one of those new-fangled 8-track tape players. For the first time, I could actually sort through and pick the music and the exact time I wanted to listen to it. Save for the occa- sional jamming, eating, and ultimate destruction of a tape plus the inconvenience of having that special song pausing while the tape switched tracks, this was "dyno-mite!" With the radio, as I drove our pump hoist to new well sites I was able to tune in songs as different as "Hotel California" by the Eagles to "Muskrat Love" by the Captain and Tennille. Upon arrival at the site itself, moving my Blaupunkt from the cab to the back of the rig and reacquiring the station gen- erally required no more than a slight adjustment of the extend- able antenna. Fortunately, I was able to gain some reception to the radio throughout most of the Willamette Valley, particu- larly on hilltops, so tuning in a station was usually a simple task. Over the next five years, my Blaupunkt played flaw- lessly in virtually every environment where it was called on to perform. My Radio Dies One particular day in late November 1979, I was assigned to install a new house pump for a family in Estacada, Oregon. Estacada is a small city in the foothills of the Cascade Range about 50 miles northeast of Salem. Upon my arrival at the site, the weather was a fall type of crisp, but the sky was clear with temperatures in the 40s. This was to be a relatively deep pump set, somewhere around 500 feet as I remember, and I had to install it by my- self since I had no help during this pre-OSHA Saturday. At the homeowner's request, we had arranged in advance to install the pump on the weekend so the homeowner could be home from work and watch the installation. Before I began the tedious tasks associated with any domestic submersible pump installation, I performed the same initial act I had previ- ously conducted scores of times before. Namely, I unloaded and transferred my reliable Blaupunkt radio from the cab, turned it on, and set it on the back of the truck for some light pump installation music. Although the homeowner had willingly offered his assis- tance, for the next few hours I performed the routine rituals common to the procedures needed before the pump was even suspended over the well. I aligned and set up the pump hoist; performed the hour-long wire splice; unloaded the pipe onto the ground and tightened the couplings on the drop pipe; set up the wire spool for unreeling drop cable as the pump descended the well; measured and recorded the well and ENGINEERING continues on page 46 Twitter @WaterWellJournl WWJ January 2017 45