Post by jukeboxer on Aug 27, 2023 1:49:36 GMT
Helo,
I bought a Rock-Ola Concerto from a guy that was storing it outside but under a carport type thing- it had a roof but no sides. The wood on the back is damaged, but inside it just looks cosmetic. It does power on, and you can drop a coin and make a selection but the selector assembly just spins non-stop at that point. I've only gotten as far as cleaning the leaves and cobwebs from the inside, but I've been reading a lot here and other places (mostly here and youtube) and I hope to restore it. The fact that it gets as far as it does give me high hopes. I've got evaporust, contact cleaner and 3 in 1 oil at the ready. I also have the service manual for the 434 and many other Rock-Ola models.
While I'd like to go ahead and troubleshoot why it gets stuck at the selector, the other part of me just wants to take it apart piece by piece and start a heavy cleanup. Like, pull the amplifier out, bench test and clean it up, then the power supply, etc. I know me and if I get it working, I won't want to break it down and give it the attention it deserves.
I took a ton of pics and I hope to post them soon, with those I'd just like to know if anyone smarter than me sees anything obvious that needs immediate attention or replacing, and it would be cool if someone said it looks like an easy restoration. I'm looking forward to it.
Also I don't have the coin box key, so I need to replace that lock. I'm having trouble figuring out how to remove the coin box from the inside- it would seem like you could just unscrew the metal cover to access the coin box from the inside, but it's really hard to get to.
UPDATE, I've cleaned and oiled the gripper arm assembly and carousel by turning the little adjuster knobs underneath. I'm going to check the fuses, clean up the amplifier, make sure the write-in and read-out are set correctly, and then turn it on again and see what happens. I'd like to clean more of the rust off, particularly off the transformers where surface rust has gotten into all those layers, but I'm not sure what the right tool is. Maybe just a wire brush.