Nursie

Juke Nurse
(She's Got Hot Tips)

"Hello Boy's! That nice Mr Young has let me have a whole one all to myself!"

Sept 07

"ello my jukebox junkies... Reffering to the article in Jukebox
News(October 2003) written by the loverley Mr Phil-A1-Gibson about Jerry Lee- well he has gone a bit far this month : “Balls” on MY jukebox !! well ! I think NOT young man ! The Killer YES and a young one definitely LUVeRley!!! “You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain” makes you wonder who knows wot is being sung about ..eh...! I asked nice Mr Young for a picture of Jerry Lee for the workshop wall and he said he would oblige as long as I can keep me mind on the job !

We seem to be getting alot of customers who buy off a famous
auction web site of late. A customer is a customer until they are told the bad news about the jukebox they have bought and paid for and then they go away. The box they thought was a bargain is nearly always overpriced and in need of some serious money spending on it just to get it going, and then quite often more money is needed to make it reliable. Most of these boxes are extremely scruffy to look at, some even having had other makes and models trims incorporated...i.e they are made up models.

The thing about auctions is that it is and always has been “buyer beware” as all responsibility is put on the buyer : the seller does not ask for that amount and I guarantee that he will not tell you not to pay so much, or that you need to be pretty handy at fixing jukes, as he is only selling something that a hardcore enthusiast might tackle IF it was cheap enough. Quite incredibly people are buying without actually inspecting the jukebox before the deal is finalised. Equally incredible is that they buy with no knowledge about what it is they are buying! Often phoning Mr Young after they have bought it to ask what year it is and if there are any parts available.

The flip side is the dealer who just wants to get a return on an
unpopular or poor quality model, one that perhaps would never be
restored because of the costs involved, and some that are truly junk.So stick it on an auction you might be lucky as any money is better than none... Buyers Beware!
xxxlove Nursie.

"I always clean my 7 inch vinyls with methelayted spirit before I put them in. I find meths lifts the dirt on to a soft cloth and any surplus simply evaporates away. Mind you, make sure that you have plenty of ventilation when you are doing it as it can make you quite dizzy !

Remember - do not clean original 78s with meths - they will melt !! You can use tepid soapy water if you wish and then put them in the plate rack to dry. Whilst you are at it why not clean the stylus brush, or even replace it for one of that nice Mr Youngs superduper new ones . It is a point that a lot of people overlook : when your stylus brush is gummed up with dirt what good is it?

Next on the seasonal tune-up list is to check your lamps. Both types: the indicator (small) ones and the fluorescent tubes as a swinging party just has not got that thing when you have a tube out on the juke...always reminds me of that song Òlove in the juke box lightÓor some such title....anyway getting back to what I was saying, check the indicator lamps to make sure they are not turning black on the inside of the glass, as this will cut down their brightness and also shows that there end is nigh !

With the flo tubes check for that tell-tale black spots/rings at the ends which will indicate that there could be a failure on its way. Just remember what nice Mr Young has taught me -Òif in doubt whip it outÓ Oh, it is so true - the number of times that IÕve thought ÔI ought to take that out, itÕll only go off when I donÕt want it to Ô and then it usually does !!

There is a simple moral to all this advice that I have given ÒdonÕt put off until tomorrow what you should be doing today Òand then you will live in peace with your lovely juke box , Keep your stylus sharp , the records clean and your lights burning bright - turn up the volume BEFORE that party to check that the poor old thing will make it through the night !!!

I am relaxing in the sun but having fun as IÕm getting my sun-screen rubbed on me by my oh-so willing helper ( beleive me use sun-screen ) - nice Mr Young said it would be cheaper and more fun than me going on holiday and presented me with a sun bed : so I can sunbathe at night and not loose time during the day - he is such a nice man, always thinking of me. In the heady days of summer I have had the same old ÔfaultsÕ raising their nasty little heads again.

Faults like mechanism jamming, records being broken/damaged, needles and pick-ups getting knocked around. Why do these things happen at this time of year ? The answer is usually the sun ! Most of the ÔfaultsÕ described are actually symptoms brought on by the action of the sun shining through windows on to the juke box.

The worst scenario being that of a juke in a sun lounge/conservatory all day in direct sun, but sometimes just the sun through the lounge window shining on to the juke box can be enough on a hot day to warp the discs on say a Seeburg or old Wurlitzer causing the mech to jam when selecting, and/or break a record - even damaging the needle because the disc is warped and the needle gets swiped as it tries to land on the record.

Jukebox mechanisms can also dry out very quick if kept in those sort of conditions leading to stiff actions which strain the motors that drive them - not good ! Your cabinets, in the older models, can all so suffer by being heated up in a sun lounge and cooled down again - repeatadly.

Laminate will crack and lift or bubble in places and your prize 1015 will develop the ÔmumpsÕ which may need a considerable amount of dosh throwing at it to make it well again.Treat your juke box well and it will be your best friend.DonÕt let it get all hot and bothered.Protect it from the sun (and rain !)treasure it. Play it regularly but if it is neglected keep an eye on it for the first few records it plays.

Live dangerously and play it LOUD occasionally!and Trust me on the Sun-Screen ! love Nursie .

That's it for now, make sure and log on again next month!

April/May 07

"Hello to everyone, isn't it gorgeous that spring is trying to burst forth once more, personally I can't wait, the sooner it bursts the quicker summer will arrive and we can all wear a few less clothes again.

I had a sneak preview of what that nice Mr Young was writing the other day - you know, about his 'CAT'- Isn't that clever well, bless him, he thinks so ! Anyway I was thinking about stepdown transformers at the time, as I had just finished another smashing Juke Box, I was hoping that he might just give me one , a stepdown tranny that is, as I was running the juke on my portable at the time.

Intrigued by his description of the transformers I asked him to show me it. He is right it was very neat with a single hole fixing. Unlike the older type of toroidal (yes and not torrid!) transformers these have no exposed windings as the manufacturer has totally encapsulated it in a tough epoxy resin.

I just had to have it there and then. Rushed back to the workshop and fitted it into the Mighty V200 that I had just restored . I know some of my visitors have criticised me for insisting on using 'double wound' units instead of the cheaper 'Auto' types so let me briefly explain why you should only use 'double wound'.

The difference is: in the 'double wound' the juke that runs off it has complete isolation from the mains because of the construction of a double wound transformer i.e. two separate coils, and that is why there is no preference for a Live or Neutral connection with double wound.

The Auto type does not have two separate coils but has a Common connection which should be the Neutral : so you can see that there is no isolation from the voltage you are transforming. As equally as it should be the neutral as common it could so easily end up as the mains Live being used as common which can then give you an opportunity for a tragedy given the right sort of fault. I am a believer in eliminating risk and so I don't do it.

Of course you must always ensure that you have an electrical earth as all the older jukes start off their lives without one. Fit a substantial 3 core cable - making sure that the earth continues through the juke box and that the exterior metal trims are earthed. Lastly terminate the mains lead with a plug fitted with the correct fuse. Check the value of your fuse right now.

As in all things it is better to be Safe than Sorry Hello again everyone and how are we? Nice Mr Young says that he's a bit tired after all the show excitement. Such a shame that I couldn't get this time but I was busy wrestling with a new 'ami' if you get my drift ! Maybe next time...... I have had one or two repairs recently which have been alarming by their owners use of the incorrect fuse values in the juke box.

The value of the fuses in question were much bigger than the correct values. Fuses are safety devices, designed to protect equipment from being able to overload it self and ultimately protecting you.

They are rated by the electrical current that it will take before the wire inside the fuse melts which causes the fuse to be open-circuit - switching the faulty circuit off. Even if your juke is working perfectly, it is essential that the correct value fuses are fitted, as just because it works does not necessarily mean that the correct values are fitted.

Lets' face it you may only find out when it goes wrong and that could be too late leading to costly transformer rewinds and expensive repairs. I have seen fuse holders by-passed by some 'worthy' 'engineer' and that should be a criminal offence ! Mistakes like that are nasty incidents waiting to happen - transformer fire first and then the jukebox followed by your home - not good !

When your juke is not in use, always make sure that you pull the mains plug out of the wall socket. This ensures that the machine is really off as some jukes did have a type of 'standby' which kept the low voltage DC supply on and, of course, in older ones we have stepdown transformers fitted which are only off when the mains is unplugged, ie they are not switched off by the jukes' mains switch.

To remind you to do this it is quite easy to wire the machines lights direct to the stepdown transformer and so they will not switch off should the machine on/off switch be operated. It is also important to fit the correct fuse in your 13amp plug that you put into the wall socket. A 5 amp will suffice or a maximum of 7 amp - the name 13 amp plug does not mean that it should have a 13 amp fuse in it!

As with all appliances the plug should be fused at the correct value - if in doubt ask an electrician. I find that, as with most things in life, Size certainly matters!

That's it for now, make sure and log on again next month!

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