[Jukebox-list] Cheap Juke Buyer

[THOMAS J. MERTZ]

I also have some basic skills and in the first few years I had my juke 
(Rock~O~La 1495, bought from a friend in non-working condition, though 
I know it has been working a couple of years earlier)got a manual, got 
the juke up and running and did basic maintenance.  Then something 
happened with the power supply and it was betony me.  I got some 
advice from a big parts dealer (used and repro, no names).  The advice 
they gave me was bad and I didn't need the part (transformer) they 
sold me.  The upshot was that acting on their advice, I more or less 
destroyed the power supply.  I was stuck.

I called every jukebox related listing I could find (this was before 
the internet).  Finally a semi-retired route guy agreed to look at 
it.  He saw my "work" and almost walked out the door.  Then he noticed 
am autographed sticker on the side of the juke that said "I'm Carl 
Perkins Fan" and had a change of heart.  He took the power supply and 
the parts and a $100 and week later everything was good.

I guess my point is that without his kindness I would have been sunk.  
I've seen the same kind of good will on this list and for so many of 
us that kind of help and teaching is the only way we can get and keep 
our beloved jukes running.

I worked in retail for a decade and I know about customers being a 
pain, but I also know that if the route guy had asked me for anything 
above $300 or so or insisted on a full overhaul, I wouldn't have been 
able to afford it and my juke would have gathered dust for a while.  
So I hope those of you in the repair biz (and I understand it is a 
biz) dig around a little, scope out the scene, look for Carl Perkins 
stickers or whatever before deciding how hard and business-like you 
are going to be.  I know from reading this list most of you have big 
hearts if not so big bank accounts.  I hope they both continue to grow 
(especially the bank accounts).

TJ

Thomas J. Mertz
Department of History
University of Wisconsin-Madison
tjmertz at wisc.edu