Rowe/AMi R-81 Plays Same Selections Upon Power-Up

Hello fellow tech's and enthusiasts,

Delivered this jukebox a few months ago and it has developed this strange behavior; turn it on and it will go and retrieve #178, play it, trip off and either immediately plays 278 or not, not sure now... hmmm.

I did re-flow solder on the header pins of ALL of the printed circuit boards as I know this is a common issue. As the saying goes, "it worked fine here at my shop", I wish it would have shown it's true colours beforehand!! I do have the manual on hand and I suspect "noise" on the communication buss somewhere in the chain of command. It does select normally after it's initial brain fart.

My client is a two hour drive away and I'm hoping it's something someone on the forum has experienced with the same model or similar one with the same electronics.

Has anyone seen this behavior in these beasts before and if so, what did it take to resolve the problem?

Thank you for any input!

Cheers, Steve

Hi Steve,
Rowe "beasts"of that era, and newer, suffer from the round peg in a square hole syndrome !
Look at all of the "headers" that you re-flowed--they are round, while the pins are flat (aka "square").
Look carefully at the headers--any that have dis-colored will either need to be "cleaned", or replaced--also the mating pin in the wired plug, will need to be removed cleaned/"reformed"/replaced--especially the "grounds". This usually cures any "strange problems" like this--Ron Rich
Added edit: Check ALL lamp starters--MUST be correct for the lamp AND, MUST be, a "condenser type." Do not use "Universal" starters on a 36 inch lamp !

Hi Steve,

On the R-80S to R-83 if the jukebox selects the same record on every revolution assuming it has not been selected and the Autoplay is switched off, then the fault is within the memory unit, it can not be repaired other than replacing the LSI custom chip that was deleted by Rowe Ami & the manufacturer of the chip Motorola in 1981.
Basically the selection has been burned into the LSI memory and it will play this selection for ever, usually it shows up when making a selection of a number prior to this number, it plays the selected record and then goes onto play the burned in selection, scans and plays it yet again untill the service switch is turned.

If all of the above is the same as your issues then you need a replacement memory unit (601-07666 R-80S & R-81, 301-07855 R-82/83, the units are interchangeable).

Regards
Alan

Alan Hood
ami-man
UK

Ron, Alan, thank you both for the suggestions! I will go forth now with renewed confidence and a spare memory unit as well. As soon as is possible, I will post results.

Cheers, Steve