FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Is there any way to
disable the automatic volume control on my Wurlizer 1900? The volume runs up and down and is very
annoying.
On all Wurlitzer 530 and
532 amps, the AVC is controlled by a 12AX7 tube. Simply unplug this tube and the volume will remain steady. It is located in the center of the PC
board. Make sure that you do not unplug
the 12AX7 closest to the 6L6 tubes, just the one in the center. Leave it out to cure the trouble.
I bought 4 new 6973 tubes
from a mail order supplier for my AMI Continental 2. It now sounds worse than
it did! I put the old tubes back in and
the sound was much better. What's going
on here?
Recently I had an amp
similar to yours come in for repair. The
customer had also bought 4 replacement tubes.
Just for the heck of it I checked the tubes. They were NOT 6973s. The
company he bought them from had re-labeled a cheaper tube and sold them as
genuine 6973s. To use the cheaper
tubes, a jumper wire must be installed on the tube socket between pins 1 and
8. The replacements do not have the
same internal connections as the genuine ones.
If you have the same problem, the jumper wire should fix your trouble.
I have a Seeburg 222 with
a known good amp, I tried it in my Q-100.
In the 222, one channel is dead.
All wiring from the tone arm to the speakers is good. Why do I have a dead channel?
You have a stuck or dirty
mute switch on the mech. There is a
mute switch for each channel, and one of them is either not opening when the
mech goes into the play mode, or is covered with dirt or oil. Clean and adjust the mute switches and your
trouble will be cleared. By the way, do
NOT spray ANYTHING on the switches as this may make the trouble worse! Clean them with a burnishing tool only.
I have a Seeburg KD. Someone told me recently that this machine
might catch on fire! Is there anything to worry about?
Of course, anything
electrical can potentially develop a short circuit and create a fire
hazard. What I suspect they were
talking about are the printed circuit boards used for the amp and selection
system. When the K and L models were designed
and built, printed circuit boards were a new technology. They couldn't forsee what might happen 10 or
20 years later. The boards are porous,
and will absorb moisture. Also, they
are very brittle and heat sensitive.
Often the boards will break down so badly that they start conducting,
and this is when the trouble starts! I
have seen several boards that have actually blazed up. The 2 boards that give the most trouble are
the TEU and PAU. It's always a good
idea with any jukebox to never leave the room while they're turned on.
How can I eliminate the
automatic volume control on my Seeburg C?
Assuming the amp is in
good condition to start with, simply unplug the 6SK7 tube. The same holds true
for any Seeburg mono amp through the J.
Or you can remove the .06 cap running from the 6SK7 tube to the
6SN7. If you have the ability, this is
best because unplugging the tube does not disable the entire section.
I would like to connect my
Seeburg R to my home stereo system.
Where and how do I tie into the jukebox amplifier?
This isn't difficult. First remove the back door cover to expose
the amp. Find the mute plug socket, a
round 3 pin near the input. Look
carefully at the wiring on the socket.
One is connected to ground, pin 1.
Connect the shield of your cable to this pin. The center conductor of your cable connects to pin 2. There is also a 560K resistor connected at
this point. This will be a mono signal,
you will have to jumper to both channels on your remote amp. Most Wurlitzer and AMI amps have an
auxiliary output socket mounted on the amp itself.
I have a problem with my
Seeburg G that is driving me nuts.
Anytime a record is playing there is a loud hum through the
speaker. When the record rejects, the hum increases briefly then goes away. I have tried everything that I can think of and
it is still there. All cables are good
and there are no loose grounds. Where is
the hum coming from?
This is a rare problem
with an easy fix. You have a bad mech
trip coil. It is close enough to the
tone arm to create a strong enough magnetic field for the cartridge to pick up
and send down the line to the amp.
Change the trip coil and it should clear the problem.
My Wurlitzer 1800
occasionally makes a crackling noise through the speaker. I've changed tubes
and checked all wiring, but nothing has helped. It only makes the noise while actually playing a record. What do I need to do?
You probably have a bad
cobra cartridge, or the socket that the cartridge plugs into has corrosion on
the pins. First try another cartridge,
but you may have to clean the pins on the socket. Sometimes the socket itself will have to be changed. If this
doesn't clear the trouble, the amp itself is causing it.
I have an AMI F with the
original GE cartridge. I need a new one
and have found out that they are not available anymore. What can I use to replace it?
You have several choices
here, but they are all stereo cartridges and will need to have both channels
tied together to make them mono. Use
either a Shure M44 or a Pickering NP/AC.
Either will work well in your juke.
Just make sure that you check
the stylus pressure as they track lighter than the original GE.
My 1900 sounds great on
old 45s, but when I try to play a newer record it sounds distorted and
skips. What can I do to make it play
newer records?
The short answer is not
much. The cobra cartridge was designed
for use with 78 rpm records which are much easier to track. When the 45s came along, the early ones were
all mono and Wurlitzer just continued using an obsolete cartridge. The best thing to do is install a stereo
tone arm from a later model Wurlitzer and modify the amp to accept the ceramic
type cartridge. You can then play any
45 you have.
My Seeburg J will lose
it's sound halfway through a record. I
opened the back door and saw that the 5U4 tube was going out. I changed the tube but it made no difference. How can I solve this?
There is a 4 pin plug on
the side of your amp that plugs into the selection receiver. Loosen the 4
mounting screws on the amp and slide it far enough to the side to expose this
plug. Clean the pins and plug it back
in. If this does not cure the problem,
you may have to change the 5U4 tube socket.
This is not a difficult item to find, any older TV/Radio shop will have
them.
I have a 1600 Wurlitzer
with a strange problem: the top tone
arm is louder than the bottom.
Sometimes the bottom tone arm will crackle and pop. I thought that both were connected to the
amp, why is one giving trouble?
There is a small
microswitch on the mech that switches back and forth between the 2 tone arms
depending on which side of the record is being played. It is bad and will need to be replaced.
I recently replaced the
cartridge in my AMI JAN with a new one, and now I have no bass! Is my new cartridge bad?
No, you have it connected
wrong. One channel has to be out of
phase with the other. You have a red
and black wire for each channel.
Connect a black wire to ground and a red to hot on one channel, then a
red to ground and the black to hot on the other. This will solve your problem.
AMPLIFIER INTERCHANGE LIST
SEEBURG:The field coil
type amps will interchange. A short
list includes the A, B, C, G and W. The
non-field coil types will interchange, such as R, J, JL, V, VL & 201. There
may be slight mounting differences.
WURLITZER: You are really
limited here. The 530 and 532 will
swap. You can use an amp from a 1700 or
1800 into a later model, but not the other way around. The 501 and 503 are a
direct swap, the 800 amp is unique.
AMI: The C, D and E will
swap. The F through I are the
same. Some of the later stereo amps
will swap, if they will plug in they will generally work.
ROCKOLA: The 1422 and 1426
are the same. The 1428 is unique. Generally on the later mono amps, if they
will plug in they will work.
