[Jukebox-list] Rockola 1438 Slug Ejector Problem

[Jay Hennigan]

The Jukebox Junkyard wrote:
>    Jay, from your comments about my message about performance, you are 
> inferring that for the sake of reliability I would replace the original 
> amplifier with some junk from Radio Shack. You are misconstruing 
> unconventional methods of increasing performance with 'butchering'. 

No, I'm just pointing out the different philosophy.  Coin operation is 
an elemental part of a jukebox.  Disabling it detracts from the fun of 
jukebox ownership.  Would you also disable coin operation if restoring a 
vintage Coke machine?  If you do so, you turn it into a common 
refrigerator.

> I 
> believe performance was an ever changing evolution in the state of the 
> art. Witness the fact early juke amplifiers had no ALC, but later was 
> incorporated as standard circuitry that was accepted by all 
> manufacturers and customers.

So was the ability to play compact disks, but there are limits...

> I consider it a dis-service to your 
> customers not to provide all such improvements in old obsolete 
> equipment. Our customers bask in the knowledge of having a piece of 
> equipment that has no compromises for the sake of purity and originality.

I would not be pleased to find an original Wurlitzer 1015 or 1100 
amplifier modified with extra holes for tube sockets to accommodate 
aftermarket home-brewed ALC.

>    I daresay you have never been on a call where the coin box was 
> neglected and the compartment, money bag, coin switches and slug 
> rejector had chock full of coins and had jammed all the coin switches 
> and smoked all the add credit coins.

I've dealt with burned-out credit coils, but don't consider such to be a 
very common problem.  A slow-blow fuse or PTC resistor is a quick fix. 
On location, the coin box is probably the least neglected part of any 
jukebox.

>    I have no quarrel for originality in its place. Think museums only. I 
> believe you will find these pieces roped off and not exposed to the 
> whims of the viewing public. Wes

Funny, I see coin-operated vending machines in some pretty rough outdoor 
environments a lot more often than roped off in museums.  I've also 
noticed plenty of coin-operated video games and the like in rather 
non-museum-like locations.  Many of them still use a variant of the same 
National rejectors found on vintage jukeboxes.

I don't think that the coin and credit system is by any means more 
fragile than the rest of the working parts of any jukebox, and consider 
coin operation to be an essential part of the jukebox experience.

Having the box on coin also slows down the problem of visitors punching 
dozens of selections when they aren't going to be around to listen to 
them, and helps with issues of latch bar solenoids being permanently 
energized as is often the case with simple free-play mods.  (Yes, I know 
you make a box to time out the latch solenoid, but not everyone does it 
this way.)

Again, for convenience, a hidden credit button is a good compromise.

--
Jay Hennigan - CCIE #7880 - Network Engineering - jay at impulse.net
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