My Turn To Be A Newbie

Hi Everyone in Phonolnd. I've visited a few times and this is a really impressive site. I've been on the jukeboxlist for a long while.

I developed an interest in jukeboxes after getting home from work one night in 1972. My wife and I would watch Night Gallery. An episode entitled "The Tune In Dan's Café" sparked it all. That story is on youtube and others. Kind of violent but it did the jukebox trick for me. We both came to the conclusion a jukebox for home would be a great idea!

The first day I had off we visited the coin machine companies in search of a jukebox. Some had old wooden ones with discolored, melted plastics etc. They were a mess but very inexpensive. Where would anyone ever find parts for these old clunkers? Passed on them all. Some companies did not sell to private people. We got comments such as "what the heck do you want a jukebox in your house for?" Finally the local AMI dealer had a room full of used machines and the sales person was nice. He kept steering me towards several Seeburgs but I was too smart for that. I wasn't buying anything that played a record in a vertical position (more afraid than smart). He showed us an AMI Continental 2. Their shop had just gone through it and it was nice. It was cool and beautiful, played the record in a "conventional position" but kind of pricey for us at that time. It was $150.00. We bought it anyway. I was admonished about not over oiling or messing with anything. They showed me how to change a needle in the GE cartridge. It was a great machine.

We bought that machine and all was good until I asked the man in the parts department about buying a manual to keep it going. He became angry with the parting words of "you'll never get a manual for that machine". Surprisingly, after that we became friends when he opened a shop of his own selling jukeboxes and equipment to the Public.

Since then we have wandered around in the jukebox world. It was a really good time at the Loose Change Fun Fair in California. We sold some stuff and I bought some stuff. It has been a lot of fun but now machines seem, at least, twice as heavy as they used to. I did just get a Seeburg V so here I am with some questions as I get it taken apart and begin restoration. Ron Rich and others have helped me through the years and most of all I have used Ron's manual that is so well written to keep my Seeburgs singing. Thank You Ron!

David (Geritol Ghetto)

Hi David,
Glad to "see" you here--welcome, my friend ! (BTW--your check IS in the mail !)
Ron Rich