The Major BBS Forums (Archive)

Even if Nostalgia BBS is not running any more, I still feel nostalgic most of the time, not just for BBSes but many things. Hell, I even feel nostalgic for the days when people actually knew what to do without a cell phone, because they were usually out of the reach of affordability for most people. Now days, you see 8 year old kids walking around and talking on those damned things. Until I was probably 12, we didn't even have a home phone.

Project #1



Meet my newest project: a 1982 Rowe 'Gold Magic' jukebox. I run across jukeboxes every once in awhile, but most are in terrible condition or just were never 'pretty' to begin with. This bad boy is a 200 selection (100 45 records) system, with lots of disco lights that dance around when it's on.

We didn't have CDs when I was born, but I used reel to reel systems, records, 8 tracks, and cassette tapes, and I've collected records (mostly LPs) ever since I can remember. There was a time when practically every restaurant or diner had a jukebox, even places like pizza hut. Bowling alleys had them, pool halls, and of course, bars. I have always had fond memories in my youth of going out with family and friends and having a good time.

Of course, I couldn't have a bowling alley in my own home, and pinball machines are a bitch to work on. However, jukeboxes were meant to be worked on by whoever owned them. Each one new came with its own technician and repair manual, with parts list and information on setup, adjustments, and calibration.

When CD jukeboxes came out, they were so expensive that most bars and restaurants just kept their 45 jukeboxes for many years, at least until cd jukeboxes came down in price. This specific jukebox was in use probably between 1983 and 2010. It has had over $23,000 worth of quarters put in it and over 90,000 songs played on it. Yes, there are counters for this stuff inside the unit.

It's hard telling if the unit made a lot of money, if any, because they were notorious for having lots of repairs and maintenance on them, but jukeboxes actually payed for themselves in other ways. Some people are going to associate drinking beer and dancing with jukeboxes, while others may associate pool tables with jukeboxes. So, if you have a jukebox, pool table, and beer, you're making money in one area or another. Add some arcades and a pinball machine, and you're making more.

Of course, I would have had it converted to .50 cents per play in the last 10 years and added a bill acceptor (which was available even back then.)

Now days, Internet jukeboxes are the thing in bars. They are smaller, lighter, and basically just use a PC and touchscreen monitor, along with the Internet and a contract with AMI or something to get an endless supply of songs. Like arcades, many people also DIY their own, with mp3s they download off the internet (or convert from their cd or lp collection.) - Those USB Ion turntables seem to be popping up a lot lately, even saw some at walmart the other day. There are a lot of older 45 and cd jukeboxes, that have been converted to internet or mp3 or ipod jukeboxes, through various kits, even converting old wallboxes into standalone units.

Yes, 'project' means that it didn't work correctly when I got it, and I'm working on getting it working again. It weighs probably a little less than 400 lbs. More pics and info:


Power supply, lighting control box, crossover, and 125 watt amplifier.


CCC (Central Control Computer)


Turntable Assembly, Magazine/Carousel, and Mech Control - As you can see, this thing is shock mounted. You don't want the tone arm to jump up while the records are playing, because of some drunk kicking the machine (or in an earthquake) and you don't want the machine to shake or anything while the gripper arm is grabbing or putting back a record.


The CCC - taken apart, cleaned with electronics cleaner, and fixed 9 cold solder joints. This series of Rowe jukeboxes were famous for bad solder connections. This board will probably need a complete restoration in the near future, because the backup battery has leaked acid on several of the resistors and will probably continue to corrode them over time. For now, it's working.


My little makeshift workstations (on a washing machine) - resoldered one connection on the mech control board that was corroded.


Two new relays - one controls the carousel and the other controls the gripper arm (which grabs a record, puts it on the turntable, and then takes it off and places it back onto the carousel).


The keypad wasn't working correctly. So, I took it off out and thoroughly cleaned the keys. The #8 button may need to be replaced eventually, because it appears as though someone cleaned it previously with a solvent that was too powerful and partially melted some of the plastic (although you can't see it when the keypad is installed) - all of the keys work fine now however.


The main culprit causing the jukebox not to function correctly. This is called an Opto Switch. It actually is two sensors, a 'HOME' sensor and an 'INDEX' sensor. The home sensor tells the computer which position slot #99 (record 100) is in, while the index sensor counts each slot, to tell the computer which slot(s) have records, which don't, and possibly if a record is too warped to use. The home sensor is working, while the index sensor is not. Without the index sensor, the jukebox can't complete its bootup sequence.

I've been able to bypass the opto sensor and test out the amp, turntable, gripper arm, and everything else. I was initially concerned that the speakers were going to be too worn out and would need replaced, but the system sounds awesome.

I'll probably have it in 'working' order, complete with 100 45 records, for a total price of around $300, since I'm doing all of the repairs myself. The closest jukebox repairman is at least an hour away, in Jacksonville.

In 'working' order, these systems are worth about $500, but in completely restored condition, it would be worth over $900, up to $1400, depending on the market and who's looking and how much they're willing to spend on it. A complete restoration would cost so much money that you'd have no room for any profit, however.

A lot of collectors don't like buying jukeboxes that have a lot of flashing lights or complex machinery, because of the costs of repair. You not only have a light control box, but power supplies, starters, and ballasts to tend with, not to mention probably 50+ lights, the circuit boards that they're on, and two different types of fluorescent tube lights, one of which lights up the song selections from behind. I've got the lighting system repaired as well, although there still are about 4 bulbs that need replaced. You always need spares!

This specific series of jukeboxes also uses several custom ICs, including the main CPU, which were only made in a limited run. If you buy a replacement IC from a dealer, you're most likely going to get it from a salvaged unit, or pay a huge price for a NOS unit.

This unit was also made to be compatible with a Wallbox unit. Some diners may have had the jukebox on the other side of the room (or in another room) and then they'd put a wallbox in another area, with its own coin mech, song selection menu, and speakers. Basically, they are remote control units with speakers.

Although you can occasionally find the wallboxes themselves (a lot of people convert them to standalone mp3 or ipod jukeboxes) it's hard to find the transformers for them, because the transformers were actually mounted in the main jukebox. So, you either have to buy a complete setup or need to know someone who gets a lot of jukeboxes in you can salvage parts from. It would be awesome if I could setup a wallbox in my dining room in the future, while the jukebox stays in the addition.

Once I get the opto switch (ordering next payday) and make sure everything is working, I'm going to buy a new set of gas springs (shocks basically) which hold up the door while servicing the unit and will also be looking to customize the record selection in the box. There was a lot of country music that I don't care for in this jukebox, but it also had some good stuff too. Between what's in the unit and what I already have in my collection, there probably are less than 20 45s I'm going to be on the look for, to purchase:

Guns N Roses: welcome to the jungle and paradise city
Joan Jett: Crimson and Clover, I love Rock N Roll, Bad Reputation
Runaways: Cherry Bomb
Huey Lewis: Power of Love
Queen: Fat Bottom Girls
Corey Hart: Sunglasses at Night
Pretenders: Brass in Pocket/I'm Special
Robert Palmer: addicted to love
Various stuff from AC/DC, Ozzy, Sabbath, Chili Peppers, Led Zeppelin, Everly Brothers, Johnny Cash, Nancy Sinatra, Charlie Daniels, Poison, Mountain, Free, Hendrix, Fats Domino, etc...

Some of the stuff I already have: beach boys, beatles, jerry lee lewis, ccr, free, ventures, chuck berry, roy orbison, chubby checker, genesis, nirvana, beastie boys, foreigner, cher, bobby darin, chantays, louis armstrong, ricki nelson, chaka khan, three dog night, kool and the gang, chicago, survivor, madonna, fat boys, U2, the knack, fleetwood mac, bananarama, bangles, cyndi lauper, ben e king, kenny rogers, whitesnake, hall and oats, sheena easton, zz top, starship, young rascals, tremeloes, kc and the sunshine band, doors, looking glass, phil collins, coasters, bill haley, tom petty, linda rondstat, mary wells, robert palmer, devo, belinda carlisle, eagles, ringo starr, paul mccartney, melissa etheridge, billy idol, paula abdul, kansas, rolling stones, hank williams jr, clarence carter, van morrison, jackson brown, jim croce, blues traveler, marty robins, and others.

While I am not as passionate for music as I once was, I still am passionate about my records.

Another passion of mine is film and movies. The above picture is actually the drive-in I use to go to as a child. While you didn't really get high fidelity with those window hanging mono speakers and were at the mercy of the weather and mosquitoes sometimes, there was just something about the drive-in that was special. That drive in has been closed since the late 90s, and it's now a car dealership.

By the time the mid 90s come around, people I suppose quit going to drive-in theaters. Better sound systems and controlled environments kept them at the walk-in theaters, and bigger televisions available at a more affordable price were available to consumers, keeping them away from theaters altogether. However, for $2 a carload vs $10-$20 per person in most walk-in theaters now days, it was a bargain.

By the time 2000 rolled in, most drive-in theaters were closed or on the verge of closing. Now, according to some reports from other drive-in owners that are still open, they have another huge hurdle that will close the majority of the rest of them: 35mm film will not be available after December 2012, if those theater owners know what they were talking about, that is unless theater owner backlash sets in and the date is postponed. It cost at least $170,000 or more to upgrade to digital projection, according to some, and a few drive-in theaters actually have upgraded to digital, but most of them can't afford the costs.

Many walk-in theaters (like the 2-screen theater near my city) are still using 35mm film projectors and don't even have surround sound. They'll definitely be going out of business too, if something doesn't change.

Unfortunately, 35mm feature films were never available to the general public, and they are usually destroyed when theaters sent them back. It's not like everyone would have went out and bought a $60,000 35mm kit and have room for many 12,000' films, but they didn't think consumers needed such high (4k) resolution copies of their work. That's probably going to change soon, because consumer 4k televisions are being released, 8k televisions are being made, and dual 4k red laser 3d projectors are going to be hitting the consumer markets eventually.

Right now, all we have are 1k resolution feature films, but when all of these 4k and eventually 8k television come out, someone will have to provide content in that resolution, and not just 'upscale' 1k content.

While there probably won't be many 35mm treasures found in warehouses or anything, there actually were 8mm and 16mm features that made their way into living rooms, libraries, schools, and other institutions.

The problem with film in general is that it is fragile and becomes more brittle over time, even warp. Many chemical film-creation processes actually didn't preserve the colors over time. Although there are a few higher-quality processes, only one was made to preserve color for a 'lifetime,' IB Tech.

There are many feature films available at places like ebay, but it's not like you can pick and choose the feature you want. The selection is limited, and when you choose only IB Tech prints, it limits the selection even more, not to mention that they usually cost more.



So, I got a pair of 16mm projectors to work on. They are in overall good shape, just need new belts. I'm considering actually getting a cinemascope lens attachment as well. The main films I'll be getting for this will probably be black and white features.


This isn't my mod, but I am planning to do something like this. What this does is allows a portable 16mm projector to take 6,000' reels. 16MM films usually come on 1,600', 2,000', and 2,300' rolls, and feature films take up an average of 6,000' (vs 12,000' for 35MM.)



92" 16:9 projection screen. This is actually the screen I've installed for my mother, at her house. I already had a viewsonic VP3D1 3D adapter/converter and am in the process of getting her a 3D DLP-Link projection system setup. In my new addition, I'm leaning toward putting up a 2.35:1 screen, with a CIH system.

CIH = Constant Image Height. What that means is that no matter the aspect ratio, the height of the image stays the same, even if the width doesn't. In most setups, you'll get a reduced video size, in terms of height and width when you change from 16:9 to 4:3 or 2.35:1 to 16:9.

Because my screen will be around 120-135", I can't use a pull down screen like this. Anything at around 100" or more needs to be tensioned, or it will crease and cause the screen to be permanently 'wavy' all of the time. Going with a fixed frame screen isn't what I initially wanted, but I think it's going to be the better option. It's also very hard to find a pull-down 2.35:1 screen.

Although it's possible to setup a passive 3D projection, using light polarizing filters, a reflective silver screen, and a video splitting system, like a pair of Optoma 3DXL (or a PC with dual output hdcp capable dvi/vga connections would probably be able to do the conversion, with special software of course) it is an expensive initial investment.

The good of a passive system: It doesn't require 3D projectors. No active glasses or batteries to deal with. If you have large parties or get togethers, to watch 3D movies, it'll probably save you money on glasses.

The bad: It requires 2 projectors, which means wear and tear on two projection bulbs, which sometimes aren't cheap. You'll probably need matching projectors and bulbs of about the same age, to get all of the settings from the Left eye image and right eye image to look correctly. The silver screen is needed for 3D, because the brightness is cut in half through the filters, but during 2D mode, the silver screen may be too reflective, even causing hot spots or even a mirror effect. The two projectors would have to be aligned perfectly for it to work. Passive projection also usually has more crosstalk, because there is no way to separate left eye image light and right eye image light from 'mingling' a little bit. More expensive to setup - the filters are pretty expensive.

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For my setup, I'm experimenting with HTPC software. Since I stream a lot of stuff, do emulation and a little bit of gaming, and will be playing DVDs, Field-Sequential DVDs, HD-DVDs, Blu-Ray, and Blu-Ray 3Ds, I'll be getting a super blu player PC BD-HD-DVD-ROM. I have hundreds of DVDs, about 100 HD-DVDs, around 75-80 blu-rays, and like 77 blu-ray 3D movies. I initially thought that I'd just replace all of the HD-DVDs with blu-rays, but why? If I can get an HTPC setup to play them too, that saves me $1,000+.

I'll probably use stereoscopic player, cyberlink powerdvd, total media theater platinum5, and anydvd HD, to make it region-free.


In my current (older) PC, I had an XBOX 360 HD-DVD drive connected to it.


Let's try Transformers!


Transformers in Cyberlink PowerDVD 8 - But version 8 doesn't support HD-DVD, right? Right! It was disabled, but it still had the code inside of it. There is a hack that re-enables it, but if you upgrade from version 8 to anything else, it disables it permanently. Considering that blu-rays and such may need various updates as time goes on, this wouldn't be a good 'hack' or option for playing both blu-rays and HD-DVDs.


Transformers intro screen in Total Media Theater Platinum 5. I couldn't take screenshots from the PC, because the HDCP protection doesn't seem to allow them, and all you end up getting is a black screen where the video was. Total Media theater doesn't 'OFFICIALLY' support HD-DVD, but it actually plays them. It takes quite a bit more horsepower to play on this program than it did for cyberlink powerdvd. This was basically unplayable, very laggy, clunky in Vista.

For blu-ray 3D playback, which sends out two separate 1080p streams, you need a pretty powerful cpu, something around 3.2ghz, although if I had to guess, you could probably get by with something a little slower in XP Pro, which doesn't support hd-dvd or blu-ray file structures out of the box but can be updated with software/hacks. It isn't the resource hog that vista is. That doesn't mean my 2ghz amd64x2 PC is capable of doing it at full speed, but the information I've gathered gives me something to work towards building, along with my many other projects.

Project #3:

Restoring this old Fostex 8 track Reel to Reel system. Waiting for some parts to come in. This is probably going to be my re-sale project. These are worth around $500-$650 now days. It uses 1/4" tape, and it's made to use with a mixer and amp, vs having its own amp and mixer.

I would have killed for this thing back in the day, when I was doing music. I now have a 16 track digital recorder with the mixer built in and would have preferred this over that any day when it was actually being used. Digital has its place. It's good for cleaning up audio and mixing down to DAT or a stereo Reel to Reel, but nothing can beat analog effects, like reverb, tremelo, delay, chorus, flangers, phasers, distortion, etc. Then, there's the vacuum tube vs solid state arguments, but I won't get into that. Digital just makes things sound unnatural, computerized, and sometimes too clean, when there is suppose to be a little noise or buzz in your fuzz!

With this 8 track reel to reel, almost every aspect is done externally, via mixers. Basically all you do in this unit is to set each track in either play or record mode, press play, stop, rewind, fast forward, pause, or record. You do your punch in with a foot pedal for recording and your muting and fading in and out at the mixer.

These come in 1/4" tape, for 2, 4, and 8 track recording. There would have been a 1/2" tape version for up to 16 tracks, and a 1" version for up to 32 tracks. On 8 tracks, you'd probably have 1 track for bass guitar, 1-2 track for rhythm and lead guitar, at least 1 track for vocals, at least 2 tracks for drums (could do stereo drum tracks or a combination of snare on 1 track, everything else on the other) - That leaves up to two more tracks for a third drum track, backing vocals, or other instruments, like keyboard and sax.

Once you get into 16 tracks, you have a little more flexibility you can experiment with. Many people prefer to mic their amp, sometimes in two places, one close, one further away. With a bass, you would most likely to a line out and then mic the bass speaker. With drums, you can do as little as 2 tracks or really as many as you have available tracks and mics for. When I mixed saxophone, I actually double mic'd it, one slightly further away from the sound hole than the other, and it sounded better at mixing than with a single mic. You can also do similar techniques with acoustic guitars and even vocals. I've noticed that some vocals actually sound better above your head but aimed at a different angle, toward you, than just yelping directly into the mic.

Many people think that analog is bad, because they had hisses, buzzes, and hums in their old tape players, reel to reels, or record players. The key is to get quality equipment that have record and play heads that are in good condition. For cassette decks, you will of course need cassettes that are in good condition, but something like a harmon/kardon player that is in excellent condition will sound wonderfully vs the old sony, jvc, pioneer, kenwood, soundesign, realistic, or other garbage. Until I got a harmon/kardon cassette deck, I didn't ever believe cassette tapes could ever sound good.

With a record player, it's probably more important to have a top quality cartridge than it is to have a top quality player itself. The cartridge and stylus/needle are where the sound comes from. I have a sub-$300 record player, but my cartridge was $300. You wouldn't be able to tell the difference between it and a cd player, unless the record itself was not in good condition.

The same goes with reel to reel. In fact, a good quality reel to reel, with a head that's in good condition and good quality and good condition tape will have no detectable hiss or analog sounds. It won't sound like some of them, which seem to be going at normal speed, then slowing down, and speeding up. The key is to keep the heads and all mechanical aspects of it in great condition at all times, a little more work than 'digital 'stuff' today but well worth it in the end.

nice. I used to collect 16mm film and stuff.
even had a old telecine machine from a tv station once. someone once wanted to sell me a rockola kareoke king and I turned it down.
I went to a Bally school to learn slots and amusement in the 80's but the industry was moving way to fast. look at slots now, WMS use linux for a os and a LCD monitor with transperant video screens for special effects. I do still like pinball machines thou.

Yeah, everything is turning to computers now days. We're probably coming to a point now where legit arcade machines will be using roms downloaded off of a game server or something, just like jukeboxes are doing with music. Not having physical media is what most companies are pushing for anyway.

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I did 16mm in the past before, but no matter how many times I gave it up, I always came back for some reason. I use to have some really nice ray bradbury theater films that I'd setup outside with a large sheet as a screen, along with three stooges and abbot and costello. The problem with 16mm projectors now days, besides the obvious age and deterioration of film, is that they have such a long throw to get a large screen image. Indoors, where people are use to 65" televisions, it's almost impossible to throw a screen over 40" in the average room, and that's even with a zoom lens.

You don't by any chance have any 16mm anamorphic lenses available to sell that are in good shape, do you?

Malakai wrote:Yeah, everything is turning to computers now days. We're probably coming to a point now where legit arcade machines will be using roms downloaded off of a game server or something, just like jukeboxes are doing with music. Not having physical media is what most companies are pushing for anyway.

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I did 16mm in the past before, but no matter how many times I gave it up, I always came back for some reason. I use to have some really nice ray bradbury theater films that I'd setup outside with a large sheet as a screen, along with three stooges and abbot and costello. The problem with 16mm projectors now days, besides the obvious age and deterioration of film, is that they have such a long throw to get a large screen image. Indoors, where people are use to 65" televisions, it's almost impossible to throw a screen over 40" in the average room, and that's even with a zoom lens.

You don't by any chance have any 16mm anamorphic lenses available to sell that are in good shape, do you?

my stuff has been gone for over 20 years now.
I got tired of looking for a projector tech ever time it broke down. my favorite projector thou was klart-victor. I wish I had the bucks to by a 35mm setup now. still would be rough finding a tech when I needed one thou. I even was a projectionist for UA for a few years. loved those century projectors. got into film when someone gave me a cion operted kiddie theatre. it was called Movie Hut. for a quarter someone could watch a minute or two of a cartoon. I had a load of Terrytoons in super8 carts which played on a modded technicolor salesman friend briefcase projector. even back then only 2 companys could repairs the projector or fix a film cart. if Movie Hut was around today it would be a little monitor and a modded dvd player.

I have seen a few portable 35mm projection systems, with everything built in, and I've even seen some people do 110v conversions on a few setups that use to be in big theaters. I personally don't see why you would run dual 110v lines vs running a single 220v line.

With the conversion to digital in December 2012, if there are no delays, I think you will be able to find 35mm setups for a lot cheaper. If you know of any drive-in or walk-in theaters using them now, go ahead and get with them and see if they will keep you in mind when the digital 'upgrades' have completed and their projectors become 'obsolete'. You may even see a few scrapped and put into junk yards.

Malakai wrote:I have seen a few portable 35mm projection systems, with everything built in, and I've even seen some people do 110v conversions on a few setups that use to be in big theaters. I personally don't see why you would run dual 110v lines vs running a single 220v line.

With the conversion to digital in December 2012, if there are no delays, I think you will be able to find 35mm setups for a lot cheaper. If you know of any drive-in or walk-in theaters using them now, go ahead and get with them and see if they will keep you in mind when the digital 'upgrades' have completed and their projectors become 'obsolete'. You may even see a few scrapped and put into junk yards.

I see parital 110/120 converts on ebay now. lamps, projectors, reel towers on small platforms. but most are not plus and play setups, you still need to do finishing yourslef. and they atart at around 2 or 3 grand. and most I see are the ones with the seperate soundtrack reels. the only 35mm systems I operated were for the prints with the soundtracks on the film. like 16mm does/did. I did look at the 16mm stuff on ebay too. almost makes me wish I had the bucks to start again. nothing like the chatter of a 16mm unit chugging along. plus 35mm has to cost you like 10 times more then 16mm does.
I cant wait untill those 350g imax units are outdated. MOM! Can I remodel the whole left side of the house??

Yeah, there's a 16mm scope release of conan the destroyer on ebay right now I think.

How do you get your hands on a 6000' 16mm reel? Are they 6,000' 35mm reels that have the width cut to half their size and welded back together, for a custom rig?

Malakai wrote:Yeah, there's a 16mm scope release of conan the destroyer on ebay right now I think.

How do you get your hands on a 6000' 16mm reel? Are they 6,000' 35mm reels that have the width cut to half their size and welded back together, for a custom rig?

beat me. when I worked for UA we had christy alpha platters. the whole movie was spliced together and on it's side. and for transport between theatres we used a sleeve like thing that held the whole film as one roll. if a film was going back to a distributor we cut it back down to normal reels for the cans. I dont remember what size a normal reel was. most systems that used switched projectors still used these reels. I dont think anyone is using multi projectors to show one movie anymore. you should see a IMAX reel. that 70mm film wieghs a few hundred lbs.
Out he we have some of those 4d theatres, you sit in a rig and watch a film and the chair/bench moves with the film. one of the systems out here is called Showscan and it's crazy. IMAX type movie with moving seats. I rode it once, it was a runaway mine train sim, and I thought I was going to ralph.

The technicians manual came in today for the jukebox. I've got several parts ordered: new opto switch, a piston support system (for the gas springs) a new stylus,


Wallbox interface kit, - this is basically a hub for wallboxes. I think you can have 5 or 6 wallboxes connected to this interface, and it may even be possible to have multiple hubs for more wallboxes. Some of the old restaurants or diners use to have a wallbox at every table. So, who knows how many can be hooked up?


Wallbox transformer,


Two wallbox systems, - maybe I can make at least one out of the two.... Two out of two would be better though! Wallboxes use a port 'remote' serial port to the system. Most of the inner workings are just mechanical buttons. Even if I get two working, I'll probably just use one. These things are pretty hot items, because they're a lot smaller than a whole jukebox, and people convert them to stand-alone jukeboxes, either with a diy setup with a PC, or with a kit you can buy.


and a dual 33/45 turntable. As you can see, this has both a small hole, for 7" 33s, as well as the larger hole, for 7" 45s. The larger hole is also a bottom, and when the weight of the records (the 33s, with smaller holes) pushes it down, it slows down to 33RPMs. - It's not as simple as that though. It still requires what is called an automix kit. It doesn't make sense that the automix it and turntable for it, which has to be changed out in order to use it, were sold separately. If I can't find an automix kit (because they are hard as hell to find,) I would like to try to actually make it work with European 45s, which have the smaller holes in them. There are also some newer/novelty American 45s with the small holes too.


Of course, everyone needs a 2000 promo release of Ozzy's 'Gets me Through' with a jukebox title strip!


And who could do without Joan Jett's Crimson and Clover?

I've been able to test out the 'attraction' mode, which is really cool. It can be set to continuous play, which plays song at random all of the time, or at various timed intervals.

Some of the songs I want aren't on a 45 apparently, like Joan Jett's Bad Reputation. I'm sure it was on promo 45s, given to radio stations, but I can't find a copy anywhere. So, I'm going to have a custom lathed 45 with it on one side, Runaway's Cherry Bomb on the B-side. If they turn out well, I'll probably do some more, with Korn, Orgy (blue monday), and maybe Geto Boys' 'mind's playing tricks on me'...

The problem with 45s is the 4 minute limit on each side. The songs can occasionally be pushed longer, because at 45rpms, you can get slightly closer to the core. At 33RPMs (7") you'll get 5 mins or so per side. If they still made 16rpm records, you'd get around 15 mins per side. Songs like American Pie actually had half of the song one side-a, the other half on side-b. Inna gadda da vida was a 17 minute song, although they edited it for jukeboxes and radio, just like 'No More Tears' by Ozzy, and I think there were some doors stuff that was edited for length. The reason I mention the time limit is because 'mind's playing tricks on me' will have to be edited to fit a 45 as well. The idea of having a one of a kind 45 edited by me is a pretty cool novelty. Another cool idea is making medleys!

Now, I just need to get a good camera so I can record/post videos when the parts are in.

New needle just came in today. The shure brand needles are super expensive, but thankfully, third-parties make cheaper ones that are compatible. If I had to pay $60+ for a needle, I wouldn't be messing with this jukebox at all!













And I'm customizing some jukebox title strips. I didn't go through the trouble of putting studio abbreviations or catalog numbers on them, because it's not like you can re-order them at most places any more.

Although this isn't all of the strips I'm going to make, you can still see the very eclectic selection of stuff I listen to. There's no doubt going to be something here for everyone and probably a few things some people would hate, but oh well! :/ - Also misspelled Cyndi Lauper and made another error (That was later fixed) on the last sheet.

My new opto switch is suppose to come in on the 18th, along with the two wallboxes, wallbox power supply, some replacement lamps, and piston supports. It may be awhile before the wallboxes get worked on, because of having to get custom keys made to open them up, but we will finally get to fully test everything on the jukebox out then.

It's possible that I would convert this to a dual 45/Digital player later on, but the conversion kit is pretty damned expensive. The main two reasons to do that is to #1: get newer songs that weren't released on 45s and to not have to have one-off custom lathed 45s made and #2: break the 4-5 minute limit of most 45s, because many were edited/cut for time. You don't have that limit on a digital conversion kit.

It would allow me to copy 33RPM versions when available, to give it those authentic analog/record popping sounds and such!

The opto switch and some #73 bulbs came in today, installed and calibrated the opto switch, and I was able to get everything up and running. It's been a really cool journey, going from someone that didn't know shit about jukeboxes to being basically a jukebox 'tech' over the period of two weeks or so. The only issue now is that there is a loose connection between the power supply and magazine/carousel and mech control unit. It could just need tightening or possibly a cold solder joint that needs fixed, but it shouldn't be more than a five minute job.

When the rest of the supplies come in, I'm doing a complete restoration of the computer board. Not much else will be done with the jukebox until I get it moved to my addition.

I got to play quite a few selections tonight, like under the bridge, like a rock, centerfold, come as you are, drain you, i can't dance, heartbreak hotel, boys of the summer, and others.

Once the jukebox is moved, I'm going to replace a small bottom/side piece of wood, where it had gotten wet over the years and had rotted and sand down a few other small areas and either bondo or fiberglass them, do a color match on the original, and paint it, to keep the color authentic.

I'm currently negotiating an offer to get another similar model, for spare parts.

New OBA Bill Acceptor computer installed


OBA bill stacker unit - not installed yet. I'm still in need of the actual bill acceptor/validator. One good thing about this stacker is that it came with a cam lock with the same numbering as on my jukebox cab, along with a key. I didn't have a key for the jukebox cab at all, and it cost about $12 or so to have one made.


Wallbox interface installed. I had this imported from the UK.


Wallbox power supply, mounted. I've run the power cord underneath the mech/magazine unit and still need use a hole-saw to drill the cord into the amp/power supply cab. This will be plugged into the 'service' plug, and the OBA bill acceptor will plug in to this unit, since it has a spare service plug.


I had to clean these plugs several times for them not to be shorting out. This goes from the amp and power supply, to supply power to the mech unit and magazine/carousel.

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It's hard to tell exactly how many things are wrong with a unit until you fix the wrong things in order and figure out what issues come up next. Right now, the service switch is giving me some problems. I've cleaned it but haven't really taken it apart yet and done a deep cleaning on it. That's next. Other than that, I'm still waiting on two more parts before the computer restoration is done, and it'll be 100% as far as the electronics and functionality.

The 33/45 turntable I bought wouldn't work on this unit. It ended up being for an R-80 model, which actually didn't use a belt at all for the turntable. I could probably have the original turntable machined to work with European 45s, or I could just see if a 33/45 turntable pops up on ebay. I'll also be on the lookout for a new or used but good condition 6" mid-range speaker, since someone replaced one of the originals with a 'quam' speaker. It's no emergency, since it still sounds good.

I'm also going to try to change out the quarter acceptor with a token acceptor and just have a basket of tokens setting near the machine. It'll give it a more authentic 'feel' to put tokens in the machine vs being in free play. I'll still keep the original coin mech, just in case the system is sold in the future to someone who wants to keep the original parts with the system.


I was able to pick the coin door cam lock, with a couple paperclips and a small flathead screwdriver. Since I didn't have a key for it (different than the cab) I'll end up putting a new lock on it. Once the physical restoration has started, this door will be painted and will look better.

Did a complete restoration on the central control computer and changed out the data sentry memorec battery with a dual AAA slot and two 1.2v (non-standard) AAA rechargeable batteries. Easy to change out and no more leaking battery acid.


Received my new wallbox translator module - This converts the 1967 analog wallbox to digital/serial pulses that my 1982 jukebox supports.


Translator module installed


Testing out the new translator module with the wallbox.




Printed out some custom (black and white) jukebox title strips for the wallbox.


One of the issues I've had with getting the speakers to come on, on the wallboxes, was that the relay wasn't working. So, I modified the relay to turn the speakers on all of the time, at least on while the jukebox is on. In a commercial environment, this may not be ideal, because diners usually had the relay come on only when people at that specific table inserted money and made a selection. Although there is a volume control (high, med, low) there's no way to turn it completely off. Since it was the relay itself that was modified and not the actual unit, it would not be an issue to just replace it with a new one and setup the wallbox back up to 'factory' settings.


1967 wallbox, pretty much ready to go. I've cleaned it up, polished it, modified the k3 relay, set the motors, cleaned the credit assembly, and fixed a short in the keypad area.

The only issue is that there doesn't seem to be a way to put this into freeplay mode, not without doing some modifications to the credit assembly unit.