Phonoland

Hello All,

I have recently received a 1963 Rock-Ola 404 Capri 100 that has been in the family for decades. It has been in storage for at least 15 years and needs some work. I have a few questions if anyone is willing to reply. I have searched the forums and sometimes get conflicting information and people "arguing" over best practices. I have purchased an original manual and have started the process. I'm not super mechanically inclined but I build microphones for a living and understand the electrical side for the most part. First thing i found wrong was the 1.6a slo-blow fuse was cooked. Thus, no movement from either motor. I purchased a new one fuse and immediately was able to start scanning. The magazine spun like a champion for maybe a minute (I hadn't tried making a selection yet). I then tried making a selection. The gripper was located above the magazine. It barely moved. Now the magazine will not move at all. I can hear the hum when in scan mode so I know its getting juice. According to the manual, the cam can get out of alignment and make the mechanism stop working. It says to adjust the Allen set screws to the right position. I'm not sure what the right position is. Also I cannot determine the size wrench. I tried my full sets of metric and SAE. I saw somewhere saying it may be a Bristol spline. There is a ton of gunk built up everywhere, so I'm sure it needs to be fully cleaned, then re-lubed and oiled. Any suggestions on what to clean it up with? Also, many conflicting answers on what to use for the oil and lube. Clarification would be greatly appreciated. This will be a long but fun project. Thank you.

Josh

Hi Josh,
Didn't you post this somewhere else ?? I thought I answered it ??
IMHO, you have a "gummed up" mechanism--which unless "someone has adjusted", needs NO "adjustments" (Yes a spline screw was used by RockOla--not sure of where, or the size, as I have several)!
I would refrain from powering it up, until such point that you are able to easily turn both the gripper, and basket motor with your hand.
I usually use a "safety solvent" to loosen/remove the "crud"---IF, you wish to re-grease it, IMHO, it is best to remove ALL of the old stuff, as it often won't combine with the new. IMHO, once again, I use a graphite grease, and only, 20 wt.ND oil. Ron Rich

Hello Ron,

You and I had a private message when I first joined the board. You did answer with your thoughts but also suggested posting my questions to the forum as someone else may have different ideas than you. I also replied at one point to someone else who had a similar situation to see if it was resolved but no one responded. I appreciate your humble opinion as it seems to be the most legitimate and responsive. Thank you very much for your input. I will start with getting everything cleaned up. The magazine motor spins freely by hand. The gripper motor spins somewhat and jams. The manual is a little confusing when it says to spin until a jam occurs, then make adjustments to the set screws. You and others have said that you should never need to adjust. Good old 60's manuals can be very vague.

Josh

Hi Josh,
OK--that clears it up--I knew I wrote back ??
Yes--Some of the manuals are somewhat "funky"--but remember, these phonos were not sold to the public--they were sold to a captive ( the manufactures hoped !) audience of operators, who had their own repair persons. The factories ran service schools for the repairmen very often. My favorite "instruction" in a RockOla Service Manual is a note about an "adjusting screw"--it says, (under some circumstance, which I don't recall) "--it will be necessary to unloosen the adjusting screw---" I remember asking many people what "unloosen" was--Had to go look it up to know which way to turn it ! Ron Rich

Hi
When you made the selection did the magazine stop at that selection, if so then the gripper arm should kick into action but as said it is gummed up, if that particular selection is cancelled on the wobble plate the magazine should return to the home position. When a selection is made the jukebox won't move in scan mode only in the open mode if you get my meaning. Probably best to cancel the selection manually and manually turn the gripper motor to get it back the cam back at the start position
Clones