Phonoland

Thinking about purchasing a Rockola CD8 from craigslist. Being new to the jukebox hobby any information on this unit would be greatly appreciated. What should I look out for when buying, how expensive to repair, how problematic are they? If I should make a purchase whats a fair price for a working unit? How should the unit be moved, empty, upright or can it be layer flat on it's back? I know it's a lot of questions but any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Bill

Bill,
Unfortunately, "CD-8" tells nothing about the electronics/mechanics of that phono--
It only confirms the cabinet style.
They were made with Rowe/AMI components at first, by Antique Apparatus(AA). AA then purchased the RockOla (RO) corp jukebox rights and began producing them using RO parts.
There were many "systems" used in these--the last one I am aware of was the CD8D. ALL of the "systems" have "problems--but they tend to differ,from system to system. Also, If an early CD Player was used--is the one you are looking at "up-dated" ? See if you can get the seller to either post close-ups of the player, and electronics used therein, so we can determine what is there---??
Or--does the ID tag on the cabinet rear say "more" then CD-8 ?
Ron Rich

If the jukebox gas the thumb wheel just above the title pages to turn them, it more than likely has the older CDM4 CD player which us no longer supported and costly to upgrade ($1000+). I would look for the orange (CD8B) or yellow (CD8C) components inside. These machines have the Cd Pro players and you can have them repaired if they fail. Remove all of the CD's when you move it, and secure the mech with the two hold down bolts. Also if you find one that was home use only it will be a much nicer box cosmetically. Also see if it has the remote control and/ or remote sensor. Does it have the manuals inside? There were two remotes, and the deluxe remote with the numeric keypad is the slickest one for home use. Expect to pay $2500 to $4500 for a decent box.make sure all of the bubble tubes work and no broken plastics. They have to be trimmed, and the arch plastics are not fun to cut down.

Thanks guys, great information! I'll be doing more research before making the purchase.

Bill

If it has the "thumb wheel"--OIL the lower portion of the "long shaft", where it's "metal to metal". These tend to wear out, and are NLA. Once "worn out" it will cause the nylon belt to jam, and need replacement. You might also think about adding a "nylon" bearing there-- worked well for me-- Ron Rich