(Topic ID: 204236)
Bad news is Steve at BGResto already told me he could not repop the marquis because it is plastic.
I have a ways to go before I get there so by them I hope to have plan "B".
I removed the 3 tube amp from the RP 190. I had a sheet metal guy make up a base that would fit into the Music Mite. I purchased a cap and resistor kit on ebay and refurbished the amp. It did now make sound but did not pick up the sound from a record. I adapted the 3 tube amp to my new base. Pictures are in reverse order.
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Fremont, WI
Quoted from FrankJ:Victory Glass has the repro glass-$50.
FrankJ thank you so much I will order that tonight.
I ordered the marquis, I wish they had a picture of it on the website.
I am now going to order a cartridge. Next step is to get it to produce sound from a record. Once that is accomplished I will transplant the amp from the RP190 into the Music Mite and begin the mechanical work.
I am looking for some other parts if anyone has a source:
Clear plastic curved cover
Metal piece that holds the record labels
Back panel
Base unit.
If I cannot find these I plan to simply make them.
Quoted from FrankJ:call Victory Glass
Again, thanks for the advice. I will certainly give them a call.
It is all new to me so I have been watching "the Antique Radio Forum" and trying to build a list of vendors and contacts.
The gentleman I got the 2 RCA RP -168 parts machines from is a collector and he was intrigued with the Music Mite.
I have already reached out to him a couple of times for guidance.
I purchased a cartridge from Voice of Music. I installed it and it played its first record in a long time. Tracking was bad and I think I added too much weight> ( SEE white stripe on record from where the needle travelled) .
None of this matters. The amp works and will produce music. I will now remove the amp and mount it into the Music Mite.
I will be ordering a manual that I hope will contain a schematic. There seem to be several sources. I would like to get it from Victory Glass but they have a $25 minimum. I wish I knew that before ordering the backglass as I would have ordered it then.
I do agree the stops would be same. Why would they make others?
I will call Steve tomorrow and see if he has the stops.
I am pretty sure I asked him on one of my last emails if he had the manual and he said no.
It is available in several formats from 10 pages to 20 pages.
I have a manual for the RP-168 phonograph on it.
There is a downloadable version of it for $10 but I wanted to check out the website before ordering.
Most, if not all of the sources for the manual indicate that the schematic is difficult to read in places.
This is the phonograph mech with the record counter mechanism.
1 week later
Removed selector unit. I do not like to separate the bakolite panel but in this case it was a chance I had to take. On other games I have cut the wires and added a molex plug. It just makes it easier to service in the future. There simply was not enough slack in the wire to add the male female plug. It was also ridiculous to unsolder the wires because to do that I had to remove the bakolite panel.
That coil on the selector unit is a W-25B. It is not available from any sources I can find. The machine also has a W-25 coil. I do not know if there is a difference. I will order a "modern" replacement from PBR.
I am also still looking for coil stops. I may have source in PA. If I cannot find them I will adapt something else.
I did some cleaning of the wood inside the cabinet. If you look at one of the previous photos you will see how dirty it was . It cleaned up much better than I thought it would.
I will reprint all of the labeling in the base when I am near completion.
I received the manual for the machine and a schematic. I was warned that much of the drawing is not legible. It is true. Also, the manual has some useful info but is basically fluff.
1 week later
Thanks.
I have ordered some original coils (used) from Steve at pbr.
I also ordered some original stops (used) from a pinhead in PA.
As soon as I have the parts I will reassemble base electronics and move onto the cabinet electronics and the record player assembly.
I received the coils and stops.
I finessed the new ( used) coil onto the selector unit. It was slightly different.
The stops are another story. Same height and the same construction with a fiberous material on either side of the bracket. The stop itself is the right length. The issue is the bracket. I am not concerned that it is wider but I cannot use it unless I fill and re-drill the holes. I have access to a drill press so I am not so concerned about drilling but I am concerned about filling.
I would like to braze the holes closed but my fear is the heat will burn up the fiberous material.
If I weld the holes shut the heat will be less but then the grinding will add more heat.
These stops are made of unobtainium. The handful of incorrect ones are the best I think I can do. I will be searching Allentown but that is 4 months away.
Sweeeeeet.
Is the rivet something I can pick up locally?
I have some tubular rivets already but I did not think they would work.
Closer examination shows that the newer one looks to have been "reset" by re-hammering the shaft extension. On the original it looks machine set with a tooled finish. The newer one looks hammered.
For some odd reason I thought that was a rivet.
And making a rivet is no big deal. BUT..........
They look to be the same as flipper solenoid stops. (DUH).
Guss is right. I believe that slotting the holes would be the most effective and easy way to do this.
E
I did think of this as well.
It is not the way I would like to go but it will prevent exposing the filler material from being exposed to excessive heat.
If I keep the slotting to close tolerances the stops will not "slide" up or down.
I had one original stop and then I had to drill the other 3. I had to grind down the last one because the new ones are wider and interfered with one another. I still hope to find original stops in usable condition at Allentown. I reassembled the base unit. All of the mechs are working. I will be moving onto the cabinet machinery next.
The base unit is assembled , bagged and stored. The restoration of the base is not complete but it is ready to have power applied.
I am moving on to the cabinet mechanicals.
These photos are of the Riser motor and arm up, arm down. This assembly is what makes this different from a standard RCA RP-168. I have not figured out yet whether the system can distinguish between one record and another or if it has to re-lift and count out for each record played.
The arm lifts the stack of 10 records . The buttons on the face of the machine ( 1 thru 10) stay activated until each chosen record plays. Each button is deactivated by a coil when the record is played. So, I not sure if the machine will play all that are activated on a single lift or if it must re-lift and count thru the stack to play each selection
I have 2 spare RP-168 phonographs to draw from.
I need the idler wheel and the motor mounts.
I will be disassembling this one and checking the older ones to see if the parts are any good.
If not, Voice Of Music has refurbished wheels and new motor mounts.
1 week later
I have the entire record player assembly out. The lift motor spins freely. The wiring all looks intact. The only issue on this assembly with wiring is the needle/cartridge is missing and the wires look chaffed. The record player motor also spins freely. I found it interesting that on the other 3 phonographs the motors spin freely and the turntable spins. On the Music Mite the turntable did not spin in spite of the motor spinning freely. Once the assembly was out I could peek in at the mechanicals. I could see the issue. It is easier to explain in photos.
The shaft out of the turntable motor spins against the larger surface of the idler wheel. The smaller upper section of the idler contacts the plate. The rubber had dented from resting in the same place on the shaft for so long. I think someone forced the platter to turn and the upper rubber section was destroyed. I will send this out for refurbishing and purchase new motor mounts at the same time.
Just so you don't feel like you're uploading these pictures into a void, I am following along, amazed by your tenacity to get this thing working, and thankful there are folks like you preserving these old gems. Keep up the great work and thanks for documenting your progress!
Sincerely,
Ryan 
Duisburg
Thanks Guys.
I am happy to know that someone is watching this happen.
I think it will be a good record for anyone else who might get one of these and attempt to restore it.
It is a fun project.
Cliff
Quoted from AlexF:I like that this one is built more like a pinball
I probably would not take on a traditional juke box for several reasons.
Space would be a major reason. Like most pinheads I have limited space.
I would not be willing to give up the real estate that could be taken up by another machine.
I too like that this one is like a pinball and there is not a huge investment in making the player part of it work. A true Juke would require an investment in parts and tools well beyond what I have already.
Quoted from heatwave:Way beyond what I think I could do
Its a hobby. If you think you would enjoy it then go ahead and try. What have you got to loose.
In the end you are bound to learn something new and land up with something you enjoy.
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