Buying a juke for the first time

Well, technically, I'm buying my second juke (bought my first one ever over the weekend.) I have an opportunity to buy an AMI R-88 in working condition full of 45's. What would be a good price for one of these in working condition and full of 45's (with another box of 45's going along with it?) I have not seen the juke with my own eyes but I'm told it's in 'ok' condition.

Also, what are a couple of 'big' things I should look for when inspecting a juke (things I should run from.)

Thanks,
Andrew

Hi Andrew,
Well--I could write pages on this subject, but I really do not have the time now--
It's akin to purchasing any electro/mechanical item that's old, and some experience, sure helps!
On that model, the first thing I would look VERY carefully at, would be the front door. Those "plastic" doors have a nasty habit of splitting near the hinges !
It's NO fun when you are standing there holding the whole front door in your and--besides they are heavy !
Once inside, I would first look at the amp, to see if the "stereo-mono" switch was in mono. If so, I would suspect amp problems. Set it to stereo, and play a selection to determine if both channels, all speakers, are working. Of course, play a few selections to be sure the keyboard is functioning, as well as the rest of the system--
If you are going to transport it-make sure ALL units are properly attached, and the mechanism is "properly bolted down" for that purpose ( Including the tone arm).
HTH,
Ron Rich

I'd add play a few B sides, too.

As for price, it depends on which country and whereabouts you are and how far an engineer would have to travel to fix it if it were to go wrong.

I wouldn't let the inclusion of records influence the price you pay. Choice is subjective, I've fewer than six original records that came in the two jukeboxes I have..

Hi Andrew,

If you let us know what country you live in we can give you a rough price. When you check it out do what Ron says but also check out for missing/damaged cabinet trim any missing or broken will be expensive to replace.

This era of Rowe Ami will be subject to dry (cold in the USA) joints on the connection pins on all of the boards and amplifier.
One of the temp fixes on a Rowe Ami amplifier is to put the speakers on one side of the output package so make sure that the Pink and Violet cables are not both on the left or right connection (they would be on both E6 connections left and right for maximum jukebox output at any given volume).

Check out the speakers to see if they have foam surrounds for rotting if that is the speaker type (you can purchase kits to replace any foam suuuounds).

A good test of the keyboard is to tap in all of the number but just type in two and then press reset, this checks that the send and recieve of data to the CCC is good. Once you have tried out the keyboard check a number of selection and as suggested also try out the B'sides.

Regards
Alan Hood
ami-man
UK

I'm in the US/Texas. I went and looked at the juke and it was in fair condition (no water damage, rot, etc - just scraps/bruises.) One thing I noticed was something missing inside. There was a blank spot to the right of the coin mech. Can anyone tell me what that was? It was mounted to the cabinet in the upper right (to the right of the coin mech.)

Audio was fine (stereo was working.) The only thing I noticed off the bat was the juke didn't know what to do when there was an empty slot - it would still try and load something and drop the needle when there was no record.

An optional dollar bill unit controller was mounted there--
jukebox was doing as it should--it has no way of "knowing" if all slots are full or not--It should, if adjusted properly, return the empty gripper bow to the record rack and proceed to the next selection (or stop, if no more records have been selected).
Ron Rich

hehehe

Thanks for the input - I'll use those suggestions when looking.