Post by six9gs on Oct 13, 2018 8:09:23 GMT
Okey Dokey, I'm 58 and recently semi-retired. In an earlier life I was an electronics tech and I have always liked and been good with mechanic stuff. So, jukeboxes are right up my alley on the fun meter. Some years ago I ended up with a Wurlitzer 3000. Had a lot of fun trying to figure it out (wasn't running) and got it basically working again and was in the process of disassembly and cleaning when life took a left turn and I ended up parting ways with it.
Flash forward till recently. I lived in Yuma Arizona for 23 years. I retired from my job, moved to Florida with my 2 teenage sons (in July) and settling in. Browsing around local Craigslist and come across a Wurlitzer 3210, not working of course, at a local thrift store. Interesting, but I ignore it. Two weeks later, look again, it is still on Craigslist. I start thinking, you know, my new house has a really nice huge garage to work on something like this, that sure was kinda fun putzing on that 3000 I had. Another week went by, look again and it is still on Craiglist. I had figured between Craigslist and being in a Thrift Store it would have been snatched up rather quickly. Wait one more week and it is yet still there. So, I call and verify they still have it. Next day I go to look at it and of course I buy it. Seems pretty much complete and not in too bad of shape, just your typical dirty and ignored and inoperable.
So, I go onto eBay to see about getting a manual and see what kind of parts that might be available. Lo and behold, a Wurlitzer 3100, in my local area, even cheaper than the 3210.
So, I NOW have, kinda out of the blue, both a Wurlitzer 3100, Americana and a 3210 Americana II (The 3210 model is the same as the 3200 except it only hold 50 records instead of the usual 100).
They both have the 547 amps. I don't know what happened to the 548 that the 3210 was supposed to originally come with. But, I also know that many of those models of amps were really interchangeable. The 3000 I had years ago had a 547 amp in it also, so I assume the 547 amp was a VERY common amp in the day!
I have cap kits on the way and new belts and turntable motor mount kits. I also have already downloaded and printed out both manuals. I was on YouTube looking for videos on fixing old Wurlitzers and I was VERY disappointed by the lack of material. I thought YouTube had videos of EVERTHING.
The Wurlitzer 3210 is in better shape. It seems complete, except that I don't see a junction box, but I also don't see a place that looks like something was there but removed. Supposedly the slug rejector and playrak have been modified so that you do not need money. But, they are present and the slug rejector mechanically appears to operate.
The Wurlitzer 3100 has considerably more rust, but it doesn't look too far gone. It will be more work to restore/revive. Both the slug rejector and playrak are missing. So, I assume it is
'permanently' configured to not require money. I haven't plugged it in as of yet, so I do not know anything else about what works and what doesn't.
Plans. First going to recap the amps and replace the power cords so I feel safer about plugging them in and seeing what I can get to work. Plan on disconnecting the fluorescent lights too. Once that far I can get a better grip on the mechanical and electrical conditions and problems and go from there. I'm thinking and hoping I can get one of these two fully functional and with a bit of luck, both of them. I also thinking about renovating them somewhat. My idea is to move the record selection board to the top rear of the machines so that you can see the mechanism inside doing its thing. Think I'd like to also remove ALL the existing fluorescent lighting and replace with LED lighting and maybe get some kind of colored flashing light show capability rigged into it. Lastly, I've seen a kit that will allow it to be blue-tooth enabled and I'm thinking that might be the way to go. Also thinking of replacing the existing 15" speakers with perhaps 15" Peavey Black Widow speakers to improve the sound. But that is just a thought, those Peavey speakers are incredible, but also pretty pricey to boot.
Anyway, that's my introduction. I tend to be verbose, if you haven't already figured that out and I am glad to be here.
Flash forward till recently. I lived in Yuma Arizona for 23 years. I retired from my job, moved to Florida with my 2 teenage sons (in July) and settling in. Browsing around local Craigslist and come across a Wurlitzer 3210, not working of course, at a local thrift store. Interesting, but I ignore it. Two weeks later, look again, it is still on Craigslist. I start thinking, you know, my new house has a really nice huge garage to work on something like this, that sure was kinda fun putzing on that 3000 I had. Another week went by, look again and it is still on Craiglist. I had figured between Craigslist and being in a Thrift Store it would have been snatched up rather quickly. Wait one more week and it is yet still there. So, I call and verify they still have it. Next day I go to look at it and of course I buy it. Seems pretty much complete and not in too bad of shape, just your typical dirty and ignored and inoperable.
So, I go onto eBay to see about getting a manual and see what kind of parts that might be available. Lo and behold, a Wurlitzer 3100, in my local area, even cheaper than the 3210.
So, I NOW have, kinda out of the blue, both a Wurlitzer 3100, Americana and a 3210 Americana II (The 3210 model is the same as the 3200 except it only hold 50 records instead of the usual 100).
They both have the 547 amps. I don't know what happened to the 548 that the 3210 was supposed to originally come with. But, I also know that many of those models of amps were really interchangeable. The 3000 I had years ago had a 547 amp in it also, so I assume the 547 amp was a VERY common amp in the day!
I have cap kits on the way and new belts and turntable motor mount kits. I also have already downloaded and printed out both manuals. I was on YouTube looking for videos on fixing old Wurlitzers and I was VERY disappointed by the lack of material. I thought YouTube had videos of EVERTHING.
The Wurlitzer 3210 is in better shape. It seems complete, except that I don't see a junction box, but I also don't see a place that looks like something was there but removed. Supposedly the slug rejector and playrak have been modified so that you do not need money. But, they are present and the slug rejector mechanically appears to operate.
The Wurlitzer 3100 has considerably more rust, but it doesn't look too far gone. It will be more work to restore/revive. Both the slug rejector and playrak are missing. So, I assume it is
'permanently' configured to not require money. I haven't plugged it in as of yet, so I do not know anything else about what works and what doesn't.
Plans. First going to recap the amps and replace the power cords so I feel safer about plugging them in and seeing what I can get to work. Plan on disconnecting the fluorescent lights too. Once that far I can get a better grip on the mechanical and electrical conditions and problems and go from there. I'm thinking and hoping I can get one of these two fully functional and with a bit of luck, both of them. I also thinking about renovating them somewhat. My idea is to move the record selection board to the top rear of the machines so that you can see the mechanism inside doing its thing. Think I'd like to also remove ALL the existing fluorescent lighting and replace with LED lighting and maybe get some kind of colored flashing light show capability rigged into it. Lastly, I've seen a kit that will allow it to be blue-tooth enabled and I'm thinking that might be the way to go. Also thinking of replacing the existing 15" speakers with perhaps 15" Peavey Black Widow speakers to improve the sound. But that is just a thought, those Peavey speakers are incredible, but also pretty pricey to boot.
Anyway, that's my introduction. I tend to be verbose, if you haven't already figured that out and I am glad to be here.
