Devil In The Details
Sometimes the devil is in the details. I spent the day taking care of small problems that will keep a juke from working just as well as big problems. Example of a big problem: I broke the idler gear in the HSC1 motor gear box. Irreplaceable unless one is taken from another unit. It’s currently at Sean B’s place hopefully getting 3D’d.
Today I mounted the Gen2 computer in the SMC1. This is the same SMC1 that was at Jeff’s house and now brought home. When I was working on the SMC2 I robbed a lot of parts out of the SMC1 because of all the trouble I was having with the SMC2. So, for the SMC1 I already have a good mechanism, PCC, Gen2 computer and an amp that looks like it was gone through recently enough that the electrolytic capacitors are a modern style. I mounted the Gen2 and kept getting an Error 80. It took awhile but I found the paperwork for this wunderkind computer and the error code translates to Left Reset. What???? Never heard of that switch. I started researching and was actually at the point of emailing Ed the Inventor when it dawned on me that the error code meant the left reset button on the selector buttons was stuck down. There are two resets-left and right. I can remove the computer and the code goes away. I dis-assembled the button faceplate and selector buttons and their springs and tossed the lot into a bucket of soapy water for a soak.
While fiddling around I did get the juke to make a selection and play a record. The bass speakers are out. They’ve been reconed but I’m waiting to put them back in until I’m done crawling around the juke to lessen the chance of putting a knee through one of them again. Yes, I are super tech. Knees and all. The sound I had coming out of the horns was small and tinny. I also had no left channel presence. Out came the amp and onto the bench. No output at all. I broke out the O’scope and set it up. I unpegged the upper driver board and left it hanging to be able to get at the pre-amp board to look for inputs. With a scope one can work forwards or back. I prefer to go from input to output. I fired up the amp and now had sound ! I lifted the driver board and the sound went away. OK, been here, done that. I immediately unplugged the amp knowing something was wrong with the edge connectors. If you have various edge connectors making and breaking contact it can do weird smoky things to the amp. Costly things.
I went inside and washed the soaking buttons and faceplate and put them in the sun to dry and called timeout. Time to relax a bit and catch up on the internet and perhaps get a bit of writing done.
Most evenings I’ll work at the bench about 9pm until 10-10:30. Tonight I started on eight pulse amps I had picked up from the Operator’s Stash. These pulse amps are used from 1959 to 1964 I think and are all the same internally. They mount a 12AX7 tube and have an RCA input from the tormat. These pick up and amplify the pulse from a charged selection and trip the mechanism into Play. I thought to go through them testing resistors and replacing the one .05uf cap in them, get them tested in a juke and offer them up for sale. This is interesting work, something different. Most of them had one to five out of tolerance resistors and these were replaced. I did about five of them and called it a night.
My Seeburg Life 