Seeburg AY160 plays more than selected.

I have a seeburg ay160 and no matter what selection I make it always plays n1 and about twenty other random letter and number selections. Any help pointing me in the right direction would be appreciated.

Wayne, the usual suspects are:

-Sparking at the -grounding plate- in the center of the Tormat as the mech scans. this is due to rust spots and/or poor contact with the plungers.

-Poor grounding connection on the jones plugs from either the Tormat or the keyboard.

If one 0A2 regulator goes out the write-in current will be excessive and a number of slots will be flipped. However this will always manifest itself as all of a letter and number group being selected. For example, select "A1" and all A's and all 1's will play. Check the both 0A2 tubes are lit.

If the 12AX7 tube in the pulse amp develops hot spots on it's cathode it can respond erratically to random noise that is generated as the mech scans. Normally the filtering in the P-A keeps this noise below the conduction threshold of the tube, but not in these cases. Simply try a new tube.

The first two are most likely it.

Rob/NYC

Wayne, and all,
I would approach this slightly differently--after checking the tubes, as Rob suggested--
I would attempt to determine if it is a "write-in", or "read-out" problem.
To do so is simple--just start the mechanism scanning using the service switch. Do this several times, and see if it still "picks" random selections, or if it re-picks the same selection, more then once. If it does either, it is a read-out problem, which should be addressed as Rob suggested. If it does NOT do either, it is a "write in" problem, which needs to be addressed, somewhat differently. Ron Rich

Thanks for the info. I noticed that the two black wires on the tormat plungers are broke. I tried to alligator clip the plunger to ground terminal and it still does the same thing. Are all the plungers supposed to make contact with the tormat? Also I noticed this problem after I replaced the all tubes. Possibly a bad tube?

Ron, when I scan the mech with the service switch it will scan twice and stop. Only after I put switch back to play does it pick up a record not selected. I've been try this all with a dime credit and making only one selection and it picks up a bunch instead.

Hi Wayne,
Guess I should have been more explicit--"starting the scan with the service", of course will stop any read-out, if the switch is left in the center, "off," position. You must return it to the "operate" position to test it--
However, your comment about the two broken wires, tells me that at least part of your problem is "right there"--re-attach, or replace, with ONLY the same size wire, and it will probably be "fixed". Ron Rich

I fixed the broken wires from the plunger contact and now it stops picking up random selections. Problem now is it will only play certain selections. It plays maybe 2 out of 10 selection and otherwise scans past selection.

Wayne,
Check the contact plungers that ride under the TMU. They MUST BE, flat, and MUST have, silver left on them.
If OK--check TMU alignment--contact block alignment, as per manual. Also, check detent switch--must not be pitted, oily, and must be adjusted per manual. Ron Rich

Hey Ron the tops of the plungers are flat with a slight curve in the middle. Not much silver left on top of them. And the rivets on bottom of tmu are in good shape. As far as the detention switch I went over it again with the manual and it's still giving me trouble. It now scans without picking up and I made sure k contact is clean. I did the battery test and it picked up most of the records except the first three in the rack.

Wayne,
If an AY fails to pick-up 100 % when using a known good D cell, chances are 99% that one or more of the items I mentioned earlier are NOT up to spec. You could also have"electronics issues" in the TSU, but that's rare in a case like this. If the tops of the two pins have a "slight curve", that along with a slightly mal-adjusted TMU, and/or detent switch, can cause this problem. I don't know what else to tell you --
Ron Rich

Wayne, as Ron mentions the mech should have tripped as soon as it hits the first flipped rivet on the tormat. Sometimes you may get confused because you can not get the service switch back into the operate position quickly enough after using it to start a scan. It kills the readout pulse at any position other then operate-normal.
However if the mech "misses" at any point after the switch in in the proper position, there is a problem.

Has this machine's electronic (selection receiver and amp) been rebuilt? If not you can't expect reliable and safe operation. The components are now 52 years old.

Take a look at this schematic:

http://s1192.photobucket.com/user/Rob-N ... sort=3&o=0

It is the read out circuit for the pre-LPC tormat machines. It is what I use to keep my location machines running and if it makes sense to you and you have some basic skills such as soldering and voltage-impedance testing (a digital multimeter) you can probably rebuild the units yourself thus saving a lot of money and gaining knowledge about the machine you own.

There are matters of weak tubes. worn contacts and misalignment that can cause erratic operation, but at this age rebuilding the electronics is imperative.

Rob/NYC

Rob, Wayne, and all,
When testing with a D cell, one should never use the service switch to start the mechanism scan cycle. A selection should always be made, to start the scan. In my experience, other then when the 2050 tube, itself, is bad, I don't recall ever seeing the electronics be the cause of an intermittent problem such as this, on a "2050 tube type" system. Other then that, it has always been the "mechanical stuff". I, however, whole-hardheartedly agree that it's "about time to re-build" that TSU ! Ron Rich

When I was doing the battery test I always start the mech with selection. At this point I think it's time to rebuild also. Where is the best place to find a rebuild or cap kit available for tsu. Also is there any way to replace the plungers in the contact block or re silver the tops?

Wayne,
Please read "sticky" (informational) posts above--"where to find--"cap kits"--
Yes, I have done that many times--I use a silver dime--punch out the contact and solder it to the old post.
Ron Rich

Do you use any special solder when soldering the silver tip to the brass contact plunger? What kind of punch are you using when doing this?