[BC] Ed Burkhardt

[Edwin Bukont]

Chip,
 
there are so many good Burkhardt stories.  Some are even proper to repeat.  I have a few...
 
I called Harris with a problem, this would have been around 1989 or so.  I believe list member Bob Groome was whom I got forwarded to.  The receptionist confused Ed Bukont and Ed Burkhardt.  Bob answered the phone is a guarded manner,,,and when I said who I was,,,his reply was something like,,,'oh its bukont, i thought she said burkhardt,,,you are the Ed I like talking to".  Burkhardt had a way of leaving quite an impression on people from just one meeting.
 
Ed was however very very sharp on his service.  He got me out of  bed at 2AM because my exciter did not return to stable carrier fast enough when he asked the jock for silence.  It wasn't off freq, is just didnt behave as he expected when modulation was REMOVED.  He could pick apart a signal better than anyone I have ever talked to since.  He was adamant that I had an AFC problem. And for folks who have talked with him, you know how persistent Ed could be.  But how  could I have an AFC issue on silence?  The exciter was a THE-1..not even a year old.  So off to the Tx I go.  We determined that the problem was originating in the not even a year old STL.  So back to the studio I go.  Ed is patiently working with me over multiple fone calls over the  wee hours of the morning.  We soon found out that the wonderful bass response of the DigiMod cards was too much for the THE-1, which was a variable speed, rather dual speed exciter.  Ed was right, I had an AFC issue! The exciter did not unlock under the heavy bass, it seemed however to take longer to recover from heavy bass, it wandered on silence, so removing modulation did not achieve quiet fast enough.  When he said you had a problem, you usually did.
 
There is a story about the first time Ed talked with a certain engineer named Anthony,,,and then when he met Tony.  That one I won't repeat since some might be offended,,,but at least one list member was in the room when they met.  If you knew Ed's political leanings, you can guess what happened.
 
I believe I was one of the last people to talk with Ed.  We were working on a problem in the DC market. I had talked to him, and when I called the next day, he was in the hospital.  A day later he was dead from pneumonia.  In spite of his politics, he was a good friend to this business, he kept the back of many engineers and always encourged the highest accountability on technical issues.  He knew that the engineer's problems usually began with management directives.  He would put little notes, good or bad, on his reports to help you explain to the GM or owner what the significance of the report was.  If he said 'very good' on that post it note, you knew you had done real good. I kinda miss the crusty old guy. 

Edwin Bukont CSRE, DRB, CBNT 
V- 240.417.2475; F- 240.368.1265 
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