Phonoland

Was working on my 100r and the total meter reads 76,000. Got me wondering... What's considered a lot of plays? Is there any way to k ow true numbers or have machine counters already "rolled over?"

Hi Karl,
I can answer that only if you can tell me "which came first--the chicken, or the egg"--
IF, that meter is still operating, I would guess it has not turned over more then once. However, it also may have been replaced, more then once ? I have operated Seeburgs which have documented well over a million plays, in the 20 or so years that we owned them. We tended to replace that total play meter anytime the phono came back to the shop for rebuilding, or anytime a meter failed, while on location. We always had a "log" in each phono, that tracked "service", and any "work done", on the machine, by the meter reading.
I can not even pretend to be able to guess you phono's "history"---
Ron Rich

Hey Ron,
Was not curious about my particular machine, per se, just the concensus on the definition of a lot of plays. More than a million is absolutely incredible engineering on the things is amazing for the time.

Hi Carl,
Yea--in one respect, there was always the "argument" at the factory, that we built them "too well".
The "marketing types" wanted a five year lifetime, so that they could sell new, replacement product.
The "QA" guy's, were always striving to improve them---so there was always this "internal war".
I still have one phono in commercial use. It runs 7 days a week, for about 5 hours. It's an "original" (early production) model B, that I "resurrected", after at least 25 years, of "sitting in a shed". It has been out and running for the last 12 + years, with no service calls, other then "coin problems", usually caused by "children" inserting foreign objects into the coin slot. All I have done to it, since rebuilding, is change needles, and of course, I oil it about every six months. The play meter on this one was missing, and I did not replace it-- Ron Rich

Thanks for this post as it is something I had not considered ...I have just checked mine
84536 plays - and the counter is working
4511 is the number of my 468 - so I presume it is the 4,511th one made ??...is this a year ? or total in all ?...is there anywhere which will tell me the year it was made ??
thanks
allan
ADDED....well I got that wrong ...it was made in 1977 and only 3,750 were made ...so how is the number 4511 ?...lol...the number 4511 is written in biro and states "this phonograph 4511 was inspected and passed by "then there are 5 sets of initials ...one initial DB is written twice -

Funny you should mention build quality. When it comes to 70's jukes, Rowe may not spring to mind as the best of the best, but even back then they had a 5 year service guarantee, which said their jukes didn't need service, oil, nothing for the first five years - that is quit a bold statement for a machine operating in an environment such as a jukebox. On newer machines I have seen Rowe CD jukeboxes, which have the bigger counters, with over 300,000 plays on them.

Keith,
You just "hit a sore spot", with me---
I once attempted to get them to honor that "5 year guarantee", on a gripper motor that had "hogged-out bearings".
The O & O Distrib. here insisted on the phono model number, the phono serial number, the mechanism model/serial number, and a "proof of purchase, from an authorized distributor". Then they wanted $25.00, for "factory FOB charges". Then they had the "nerve" to axk me if we had "oiled it, as we should have". I pointed out the sentence in the SM which said "no oil", and was told, "well, naturally, that does not include the motors". I was so "Ped", I walked out the door, contacted the motor maker, and they rebuilt the whole thing for around $20.00 including return shipping-- ( The distrib. closed it's doors very shortly after this happened) Ron Rich

I understand, I have come across many companies who seem to operate that way, and not just in the cion-op business.
Also, I wasn't implying that Rowe were any good, just that it was a brave statement to be making considering the abuse a lot of jukeboxes got on a regular basis.

Hi Keith,
I am not implying that Rowe wasn't any good--just stating my opinion that the statement in the service manual was PURE, marketing, B.S. Ron Rich