Rock-Ola 425 mystery parts?

Any idea what these two are? They were in the bottom of the cabinet, loose.





thanks

Dave,
Not sure--but I think, both are "shipping blocks", used by the factory, when new-- Ron Rich

Another mystery piece (couldn't find it in the service manual). Was loose in the bottom of the cab.

Hi all: the angled piece looks like the sheild for the cartidge. Fits on top of it and keeps the cleaning brush from removing the stylus. but not %100. Mark

Ron Rich wrote:Dave,
Not sure--but I think, both are "shipping blocks", used by the factory, when new-- Ron Rich

Yep - I can totally see that. It's a perfect fit under each of the four corners (where the heavy shock/springs are). I take it, it shipped with four and this one just happened to fall inside and wasn't pitched by the original owner.

Still unsure how those other two metal parts work out. Could the wire one have anything to do with the play meter/counter (behind the turn table)?

Dave,
I'm thinking "pop meter" rather than "play meter"--Play meters were electric by this time--
Ron Rich

I swear my 425 has a mechanical counter. Opened the top today stemming from this mystery part curiosity. Can't see anything until I get the ambition to pull the platter, fluorescent light, and shroud, and take a look at some linkages. For some reason I think I have seen that part. No ambition in the near future though

Ron, you Seeburg guys were way ahead with pop meters, I guess it was the only practical way to go on that mach.

Both Rowe and R-O use mechanical metering until they went to microprocessors in the late 70's. Rowe even kept the "pincushion" through it's first processor based machine (R- 81).

BTW: When I asked a salesman over at Bettson (Rowe dist) why they went to the "R-81" designation, he responded that Rowe wanted to give the impression that they were "five years ahead of everyone else".

Capitalist' hucksterism. Never fails to amuse.

Rob

Ron Rich wrote:Dave,
I'm thinking "pop meter" rather than "play meter"--Play meters were electric by this time--
Ron Rich

Hi Guy's,
I guess that my great, but not too long memory failed me--I sure thought that RO had incorporated electric meters sooner--
Seeburg never offered a "(total) play meter". The way I heard it was that the M-100A was introduced with out meters of any kind, even though a "Popularity" ("Pop") meter had been designed. This was done because of a fear that operators would soon determine that "100 selections" were not needed. Sometime after the introduction, in response to "requests", an optional, "Selections Made Meter", was offered as an kit. I have never seen this meter, but I ASSume it was similar to the one included on the models B and C, which was a semi electric devise. It used a coil to actuate the mechanical meter as any selection was made at the ES (keyboard). Self contained, selections made meters were first used in the G-W series phono's, and were used on subsequent models till the LPC types, then resumed, from the PFEA-1U, through the STD-4 model. SMC's used a totally electronic metering system, read on the display.
Ron Rich

This is the meter I'm referring to (not the pop meter in front). Is there any sorta linkage that attaches to this?

Dave,
Well, yes--"sometin's" gotta push the mechanical arm--linkage would be a guess--or, perhaps "magic" ??
Ron Rich

OK you win, I took my 425 apart. I have the manual, I just haven't looked in there for this issue. My box has the same counter your picture shows. Low and behold I find your little hooked mystery part laying on the chassis just behind it. Thinking it might be what trips the counter, I held one end to the stub on the counter, and the only thing I can see in reach of the other end it is a hole on a long spring loaded arm (I know Rich) that is loaded from a long spring attached to the back of the chassis. It appears this arm might attach to the popularity counter. I've owned this box forever and I never had the desire to mess with the cycle counter. This box has had 4 moves. I can't believe that part is still laying there.

I've experimented with ways it could attach to that part (the part attached to the long spring...I know, "not using actual part name") but haven't figured it out yet, and am getting tired or smacking my head on the underside of the lid (that little framed "window" that allows people to see the turntable has some sharp corners...)

Does your box work? If you run it through a play cycle you will see that the long arm has a lot of movement probably 2 or more inches. If it got attached to that counter via that part it would have almost no movement. I wouldn't think that our machines would like that. Very strange situation indeed. Obviously it once worked because my counter has like 20,000 cycles on it. Why you and I have the same box with the same mystery is indeed a mystery.

Guy's,
Probably no real "mystery" here. That same counter was widely used in the "coin-op" field. I have never seen one that ran after about 25k.. Very high failure rate, so if "really important" (like used in a "pay-out machine"), most operators carried several, as replacement stock. Ron Rich