Rockola 440 Gripper / Magazine Stuck

So I was installing a new cartridge on my Rockola 440. Went to test it and left the solder roll laying in the turn table by the gripper. The gripper came out and while it was attempting to reach up to grab the record got stuck on the roll. Now the magazine and gripper will not move... stuck. It makes a slight clicking noise when you engage the service scan switch - but nothing moves.

Any ideas on how to reset / un stick it? Thanks... Steve

Try turning the motor backwards, by hand--remove whatever is stuck in the gripper ?
Ron Rich

Thanks - removed everything. The problem appears to be related to the cams and micro switches. Got it to grab a record, but now it's stuck on the return.

Steve, I'm no expert, but I have fixed more than one or two jammed Rock-Ola gripper arms.

Here's the way I would do it, though it's probably not the "text book" way:

Rotate the gripper motor by hand through one full cycle (from the magazine to the turntable, and back). If at any point the motor becomes hard to turn look closely at the mech to see where it is snagging. The motor should never be difficult to turn, as all parts should move freely when lubricated and adjusted correctly.

If there are no snags you may need to adjust the cam, as per the manual.

sread2013 wrote:So I was installing a new cartridge on my Rockola 440. Went to test it and left the solder roll laying in the turn table by the gripper. The gripper came out and while it was attempting to reach up to grab the record got stuck on the roll. Now the magazine and gripper will not move... stuck. It makes a slight clicking noise when you engage the service scan switch - but nothing moves.

Any ideas on how to reset / un stick it? Thanks... Steve

Hello Steve,
Did you ever solve this? I have the same problem with a 404 I just received. I found a blown 1.6a fuse and replaced. Magazine spun up and had me excited. Left it in scan for about 30 seconds and it was spinning away. Then it stuck. I get the same "click and hum" when moving the switch to "scan" but no movement. The motor that spins the magazine can be manually turned easily but the other gripper motor hits a sticking point. In the Service manual it talks about spinning the knob until you feel a jam then adjusting set screws in the cam. As you described it says something about adjusting the cam allen set screws to the proper position. What is the proper position and what tool? I came across something talking about 4 sided allen. Not sure what size. I've tried my metric and Sae allen sets, nothing fits. Thanks for any advice.

Josh

Hi Josh,
First of all, please read ALL of the above posts--especially the "Attn Newbies" post concerning "Adjustments".
After reading that look at the parts manual for you phonograph, and I think you'll find it specifies a "spline screw" there--
EXTREMELY unusual for that to need "adjustment," unless parts have been removed/replaced ! Ron Rich