Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 56, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 March 1917 — “Sick” Pump Doctored at Long Distance by the Aid of Record Made on Phonograph [ARTICLE]

“Sick” Pump Doctored at Long Distance by the Aid of Record Made on Phonograph

It is related that one of the big pumps at the Elk River XCal.) pumping station got ouit of order. Just what caused the difficulty no one at the station could teM. It had been made years before by a New York company. Now the question was, how to get it repaired. To call a man across the continent for the purpose would be expensive, and happily a better device was thought of. , A phonograph was called into requisition. The manager spoke into the receiver, describing the symptoms of the ailing pump, and further to indicate the case, he placed the-receiver so that the pulsations of the pump could be recorded. ~ ” Just as a physician listens to the action of. the heart or lungs in the human body tty means of a stethoscope, so the pump doctor listened by means of & phonograph to the throbs and pulsations of the pump thousands of miles away, and was enabled by that mean* to diagnose the disease. A number of persons listened to th« strange combination at the ??#Vv York office of the company. The voice of the Californian from the phonograph was heard first, giving in a clear, precise and distinct way, the symptoms of the pump. Then was heard the b-r-r-hang! b-r-r-r-bang! of the pump, and an occasional wheezing sound which might be made by escaping steam. . The engineer to whom the phonograph was submitted said that the whole record was so perfect that "he felt tempted to ask additional questions. The experiment proved absolutely successful. The proper remedy was suggested, and the pump was soon running “as good as new.”