Rowe R-81 Plays same record over and over.

[tonyeast]

I have a Rowe R-81 Jukebox that has been in storage for about 5 years.  Before I put it in storage everything worked fine.  if I put it in free play, and select, it plays that record fine, but then it picks the same record again and plays it, and keeps doing that until i hit the memory clear button, then the carousel cycles and returns to home position.  This happens whether I put it in free play or use a quarter or two.  I read in the service manual that there is a battery pack somewhere, but I can't seem to find it on the machine, or even if that has anything to do with this problem.  Hoping someone out there can set me in the right direction to solve this.  Seems everything else on the machine works fine.

Thank you so much for your kind consideration.

Tony

[Ron Rich]

Hi Tony,
Didja read the "common problems" post above ? Yes-- I can't recall which system the R-81 uses but search for a black about double the size of a LSI chip, battery pack-- might say "Data Save" on it-- if low, causes all sorts of "strange things" to happen-- did you leave the phono on for 12 hours to see if it would charge up ? Ron Rich

[tonyeast]

Hi Ron (and all members),
Thanks for your reply. I have read every post about Rowe boxes here. I plugged my Rowe R-81 machine in and turned it on about two months ago and never shut it off. So, either the batter is charged, or it's unable to hold a charge, or just plain dead. It is my understanding that if the system is on 'Test', the battery is not used as the current from the wall keeps the memory. My terminology of the names of parts may be a little off, but here is what's happening, For example, I push 111 on the keyboard, and the magazine spins and stops at the right place, then the transfer arm picks up the record and places it on the turntable, where the tone arm then goes over and starts playing the record. The amplifier kicks in and the sound it OK. When the tone arm reaches the end of song, it returns to home position and the transfer arm picks up the record and returns it to the magazine. (Here is where the problem is...)Without the magazine moving, the transfer arm picks up the same record and puts in on the turntable and plays it again. It keeps repeating this until I hit the memory clear button, then the transfer arm returns the record to the magazine, and the magazine spins around until it finds its home position.

I am writing this because your Newbies/FAQ says to offer all the details. I have checked all the plugs, wiring, connectors, but of course, I am no technician and partially blind to boot. I was hoping that someone out there has seen this problem before and can give me some idea of what steps I should take to correct it.

I just spent two months bringing my 'Fire Queen' back to life and now anxious to get this jukebox up and running. Thank you all for taking the time to read this.

Tony (tonyeast)
Wash State

[Ron Rich]

Hi Tony,
Have you oiled the transfer motor ? I would assume that you are correct on the battery, however, I'm not sure when in "test" mode. Does your juke have a CCC, or does it have individual components ? Did you "clean-up" the plugs as per the above post ? Ron Rich

[tonyeast]

Hi Ron,
Yes, it has a CCC. Also I cleaned the contacts and checked all wires from cracks or breaks. in TEST mode, it is just like a freeplay mode. it bypasses the CCC

thanks
Tony

[Ron Rich]

Hi Tony,
I believe you are miss--construing this a little-- The "test mode" is the freeplay mode. My understanding is that they did not want "people" to see the words "freeplay" so they used the word "test". The phono battery is sort of out of the circuit whenever there is power to the CCC. If it's "low", or worse, "on the boarder line", it can cause all sorts of weird problems--Change it, and hope it "cures" your problems-- any 3 volt plus NiCad will work. Thank-you for your service ! Ron Rich

[tonyeast]

Hi Ron,

I pulled out the DC to DC Converter and the three batteries where completely leaked. Do you know what type of battery I can replace them with (Lithium-ion, NiCad, or any rechargeable 1.5 set of three that wont damage the DC Converter when it tries to charge them)?

Turns out your abbreviation of CCC is not for CREDIT CONTROLLER CARD, which I actually have. I do not have what you may abbreviate as Central Control Computer as CCC.
SO, in following suggestions here, I removed the credit controller and ran a selection, the record played, but when it went to scan the magazine, it just died.
No matter what I do (including returning the credit controller to the machine) the magazine will just not function. I turned off the jukebox and turned it back on again, and no scanning.
So it appears that I now have this giant paperweight that I can't do anything with, and can't find anyone who knows enough about a Rowe R-81 to get it up and running again.

So sad. My days of sitting by the jukebox in my wheelchair with my dog are over.
One of the only joys I had in life is now gone. 😪

[Ron Rich]

Sorry Tony-- I was wondering which version electronics were in a R-81-- I know very little about that system-- That's why the CCC question-- I did not know they re-used that abbreviation--- Hopefully someone who knows more will chime in ? Ron Rich