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Coin Acceptance on Rock-Ola - 3 switches?
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 10:28 am
by markymarkuk
Just spent the evening stripping the coin entry checking mech on my Rockola. Its the standard NRI (National Rejectors Inc.), luckily it has a model number and a sticker that states for UK/England. So I'm guessing pre-deciamal coingae is gonna work!
I've tried the pre-decimal 10p and 5p (think they were called shillings!!!), and they appear to work good, with other size coins not working!
However, my question is (I knew I'd get there eventually!), why are there 3 switch levers fitted to the bottom of the coin entry. there are 3 exit slots for the coins to drop out. I can guess that the 5p would give 1 play, maybe the 10p would allow 3 plays?? but whats the third switch for?????
Any help would be great.
Re: Coin Acceptance on Rock-Ola - 3 switches?
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 11:47 am
by clones
Hi
Any of the UK coin mechs i come accross either take 50p and 10p or else 10p and 5p(shillings), not sure about 2p, i suppose the sure of finding out is to get some pre decimalisation currency and see if it works
clones
Re: Coin Acceptance on Rock-Ola - 3 switches?
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 5:26 pm
by Ron Rich
I don't know UK coinage, but the standard US coin unit was set up as Nickel, Dime, and Quarter(dollar), units (pre WW-2 ?)--thus the three switches--that's commonly called a "NDQ", " slug rejector" or, "coin accepter" (depending on brand). Later ( about mid-1950's), US units added a fourth switch for the Half-Dollar. For some years, this was an added unit on top of the NDQ unit. Later( about 1967), it was incorporated into four coin versions, the exact same size as the NDQ. The last version in 1980, replaced the half-dollar with the "new" (smaller) dollar coin--this failed miserably here, but I understand is in wide use in Canada. All Jukebox companies followed this trend.
Ron Rich
Re: Coin Acceptance on Rock-Ola - 3 switches?
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 6:06 pm
by DoghouseRiley
I've a 504 wall box that only takes 5ps and 10ps (old 1/- and 2/-) the latter were quaintly once alternatively described a,s "florins."
There must have been several different coin acceptors available.
Some in the UK would take 5p, 10p and 50p.
Both my 443 and 468 jukeboxes and both my 507 wall boxes take only old 10ps and 50ps.
So by the mid sixties, it must have been considered that 5p wasn't an economic price point.
The mechanics of the coin acceptor could be "factory fixed" for the coins of many countries. I think there's three switches in mine, but one isn't used as the mechanics divert coins to only two of them. According to the manual for my 468, in the USA there could be five different denominations of coins used, so a different acceptor to those used in the UK.
France, 2 denominations
Germany, 3 denominations
Belgium, 4 denominations
Japan, either 2 or 4 denominations.
Digressing
I can remember from my teens in the late fifties, the jukeboxes in the coffee bars in London, usually the old British Balfour Engineering Bal-Ami juniors used to take a 3d piece (1.5p), as American machines weren't allowed in the country until late in the decade.
When they came in the 3d option was removed and the lowest denomination was 1/-. Though I distinctly remember persevering with a "thrupenny bit" in a new American machine in a coffee bar in Soho, which it finally accepted and gave me five plays!