What is this??
- Thread starter rickr
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veg-o-matic
Well-known member
Dunno, but is that a bigass speaker?
veg
veg
Jukeboxes, especially old ones like that absloutely amaze me! It's the logics involved in operating something like that. Today, we can easily build a little circuit board with a microprocessor, a PROM chip, a few solid state relays to control jukebox. Add a few servo motors and some solenoids controlled by the circuit board, program the thing all up, and Voila! A jukebox today is basic robotics...a high school kid could design a controller for one for a class project.
...BUT!That is today, back 50 or more years ago, Microprocessors, semiconductors and all the stuff we take for granted nowadays didn't exist!!!
Early jukeboxes like yours there are an engineering marvel. Especially for me, being only 30 years old, I don't ever remember a time when computers DIDN'T exist! A jukebox needs to accept your coins, accept and store your music selections, then operate a changer to load and play the selections stored in it's memory, and then amplify them so they can be heard. Doesn't sound like much of a job, until you look at the marvel of mechanical wizardry they used to make it all happen WITHOUT all the new fangled componets we have at our disposal nowadays. Then again, may of the washing machines we enjoy using are some really neat pieces of mechanical wizardry too!!
One thing I can say though is that modern stuff, although easy to design and put together, is much more boring! I imagine it's really fun watching all the mechanicals animation going on inside that jukebox. Things moving and spinning, sliding, swithcing and doing all sorts of other stuff while it's changing the records and playing them!
BTW, those look like 2A3 vacuum tubes in that amp. Whatever you do, make sure those things don't get damaged or fail. They will cost you about $80 or so a piece to replace!!! My Hammond Organ contains 4 of those tubes. I was going to re-tube the amp till I priced out what those things were gonna cost!!!
...BUT!That is today, back 50 or more years ago, Microprocessors, semiconductors and all the stuff we take for granted nowadays didn't exist!!!
Early jukeboxes like yours there are an engineering marvel. Especially for me, being only 30 years old, I don't ever remember a time when computers DIDN'T exist! A jukebox needs to accept your coins, accept and store your music selections, then operate a changer to load and play the selections stored in it's memory, and then amplify them so they can be heard. Doesn't sound like much of a job, until you look at the marvel of mechanical wizardry they used to make it all happen WITHOUT all the new fangled componets we have at our disposal nowadays. Then again, may of the washing machines we enjoy using are some really neat pieces of mechanical wizardry too!!
One thing I can say though is that modern stuff, although easy to design and put together, is much more boring! I imagine it's really fun watching all the mechanicals animation going on inside that jukebox. Things moving and spinning, sliding, swithcing and doing all sorts of other stuff while it's changing the records and playing them!
BTW, those look like 2A3 vacuum tubes in that amp. Whatever you do, make sure those things don't get damaged or fail. They will cost you about $80 or so a piece to replace!!! My Hammond Organ contains 4 of those tubes. I was going to re-tube the amp till I priced out what those things were gonna cost!!!
kenmore1978
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2004
- Messages
- 2,119
tube cost
and be grateful that you can even GET tubes anymore! And those aren't even the relatively "modern" compact tubes, but the earlier monster-sized kind.
Would love to see a video of that thing cycling
and be grateful that you can even GET tubes anymore! And those aren't even the relatively "modern" compact tubes, but the earlier monster-sized kind.
Would love to see a video of that thing cycling
bethann
New member
Hey
Don't be messin around with my favorite Jukebox! Those tubes are touchy! If you haven't named her yet I think "Scarlet" would be appropriate!
Don't be messin around with my favorite Jukebox! Those tubes are touchy! If you haven't named her yet I think "Scarlet" would be appropriate!
Designgeek
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2004
- Messages
- 865
Yow! that's impressive!
Agreed, relays & mechanical logic is a lot more interesting to play with than all this solid state stuff.
Though, I had a client who manufactured those large-capacity CD changers that are used as a computer storage medium. A terabyte on a tabletop. Those were pretty interesting mechanically, though it was all much smaller scale and made of modern plastics.
If you want to see some more interesting examples of oldschool relay & mechanical tech: Put the word "Strowger" in a search engine and look at what used to make your telephone calls connect. I have friends who resurrect these machines, they are quite something to play with. Also go to a Krispy Kreme donut place and take a look at the automated equipment that turns out thousands of perfect donuts per day. *That* is really impressive because it has to operate under conditions that involve frying in hot oil, and applying lots of sticky icing.
Agreed, relays & mechanical logic is a lot more interesting to play with than all this solid state stuff.
Though, I had a client who manufactured those large-capacity CD changers that are used as a computer storage medium. A terabyte on a tabletop. Those were pretty interesting mechanically, though it was all much smaller scale and made of modern plastics.
If you want to see some more interesting examples of oldschool relay & mechanical tech: Put the word "Strowger" in a search engine and look at what used to make your telephone calls connect. I have friends who resurrect these machines, they are quite something to play with. Also go to a Krispy Kreme donut place and take a look at the automated equipment that turns out thousands of perfect donuts per day. *That* is really impressive because it has to operate under conditions that involve frying in hot oil, and applying lots of sticky icing.
Jukebox innards
I am always amazed at the workings of modern technology and automation. How something that appears to be a Rube Goldberg contraption can so smoothly and efficiently choose the right record, play it, and return it is beyond me! I couldn't think up something like that even if I was injected with Einstein's brain cells! Fascinating and amazing especially to someone like me who is technologically challenged!!
P.S. Bethann: I think that Scarlet is a great name for that Jukebox; lovely on the outside and tough as nails on the inside!
I am always amazed at the workings of modern technology and automation. How something that appears to be a Rube Goldberg contraption can so smoothly and efficiently choose the right record, play it, and return it is beyond me! I couldn't think up something like that even if I was injected with Einstein's brain cells! Fascinating and amazing especially to someone like me who is technologically challenged!!
P.S. Bethann: I think that Scarlet is a great name for that Jukebox; lovely on the outside and tough as nails on the inside!
jasonl
New member
jukeboxes and washers
Jukeboxes are marvels of engineering. They're fascinating to watch. I have a few videos of different machines doing their thing. Not to mention the mechanical moises that they make when they're selecting record. Clunk, whirr, click click click click... music. And then the same noises after the music. Even my Pioneer 25cd changer (which mechanism looks like a minature Seeburg), goes click, whirrrrrrrrr (the head running down the track to fetch the cd), click clunk... music. mp3 players aren't mechanical at all. Hard drives are mechanical in that it's a spinning disk but nothing like machines of olden days.
Reminds me of the song "Powerhouse" by Raymond Scott. Yes, you know the song. It's the mechanical "dun dun dun DUN DUN dun dun DUN" tune that's in lots of Bug Bunny cartoons.
Jukeboxes are marvels of engineering. They're fascinating to watch. I have a few videos of different machines doing their thing. Not to mention the mechanical moises that they make when they're selecting record. Clunk, whirr, click click click click... music. And then the same noises after the music. Even my Pioneer 25cd changer (which mechanism looks like a minature Seeburg), goes click, whirrrrrrrrr (the head running down the track to fetch the cd), click clunk... music. mp3 players aren't mechanical at all. Hard drives are mechanical in that it's a spinning disk but nothing like machines of olden days.
Reminds me of the song "Powerhouse" by Raymond Scott. Yes, you know the song. It's the mechanical "dun dun dun DUN DUN dun dun DUN" tune that's in lots of Bug Bunny cartoons.
1939 Mills Empress Jukebox
I brought the digital camera home from work for the weekend. I will try to make a movie of the jukebox going through a record cycle for you. Cecil B. DeMille I am NOT,however we shall see how it goes....
Rick
I brought the digital camera home from work for the weekend. I will try to make a movie of the jukebox going through a record cycle for you. Cecil B. DeMille I am NOT,however we shall see how it goes....
Rick
I like jukeboxes as well-not fortunate enough to own one-the prices on vintage models around here is thru the roof!!At a television station I saw two devices sort of like a jukebox-worked like one-these played the news "storys" the news anchor would narrate or sometimes the commercials-with digital Video audio storage means-don't think these are used anymore.I loved to watch them!!One machine was used to play back U-Matic Videocassettes(Large "Beta" format tapes used commercially or in broadcasting)The machine had 3 U-Matic playback decks-and a rack cabinet that held like 50 or 100 of the U-Matic tapes.the operator could program it to select load and play the tapes in sequences(such as one program and tapes for 6:00PM news and another for 11:00PM news)Thge tape cabinet door was interlocked so the mechanism would not operate with it open-the doors had windows one them so you could see it work.That mechanism worked pretty fast-would be dangerous if you got caught in it.It would grab a tape-put it in one of the players.The tape would get played-the mechanism would take it from the player and put it back on its assigned shelf.another was and older Ampex or RCA machine that used 2In tape Quad videocassettes-These were used in the 60's and 70's to play some of those favorite vintage commercials at TV stations during the commercial breaks-These were neat to watch as well.Worked on one once-The user of the machine could even load and wind the quad videotape into the cassette for specioal lenght tapes-beleive up to two min.The tapes cycled past a stationary player on a large circular belt mechanism.Another I dealt with was a "Cartri-File" used tape cartridges(resembled 8 track cartridges)The tapes to be played were placed in a verticle shelf type rack. The player would move up or down the rack to select a tape to be played.Radio stations sometimes loaded complete music libraries on these.Other machines similar to this used a caret caurosel.these had the carts loaded in a round drum type magazine-were used primarily with program automation machines-and these program automations even had Seeburg Jukebox player mechanisms in them.One radio station I worked at had one of these-had the Seeburg player,cart caurosel and 4 reel-reel tape machines.You could program it to play all weekend!!Was neat to watch it work.Schaffer Automation and International Good music built these units.
Strowgers-At the agency I work at they had a house "Dial-up" program monitor systems that you could dial up any of the program lines on the system and listen to the program on that channel.in the recording branch you used the "strowger" to select the programs you were assigned to record.At the transmitter site I can used it to monitor the transmitter programs-using it right now.The one here is a true Strowger type system.The dial up in the main plant was solid-state.Have serviced both systems.
Strowgers-At the agency I work at they had a house "Dial-up" program monitor systems that you could dial up any of the program lines on the system and listen to the program on that channel.in the recording branch you used the "strowger" to select the programs you were assigned to record.At the transmitter site I can used it to monitor the transmitter programs-using it right now.The one here is a true Strowger type system.The dial up in the main plant was solid-state.Have serviced both systems.
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