Problem with Rockola 424 Princess Royal Gripper
 

I am new to jukeboxes, and I'm trying (with the help of the service manual)
to get a Rockola 424 working again. The problem I'm having right now is that
the gripper arm is jamming after lifting a few inches from the turntable.
This happens even when I turn the little wheel on the bottom of the gripper
motor, to move the mechanism manually. It appears that the motion to turn
the gripper into the vertical orientation it needs to "flip over" isn't
happening. I don't find much info in the service manual about how this
procedure is supposed to happen, as it seems to be mechanical, not
electrical, in nature. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, if
anyone can recommend other documentation that I can buy so I can "help
myself," I'd be very interested.

Hi Joe,

The problem with these is almost always frozen grease. Try flushing the gripper with a good degreaser. A bit of heat from a
hair dry may also help loosen things up. It may take some doing to get it free. Once you get it free, you should disassemble
it and get all of the old gunk out of there and re-lube.

Mark


"joe blow" wrote in message ...
I am new to jukeboxes, and I'm trying (with the help of the service manual)
to get a Rockola 424 working again. The problem I'm having right now is that
the gripper arm is jamming after lifting a few inches from the turntable.
This happens even when I turn the little wheel on the bottom of the gripper
motor, to move the mechanism manually. It appears that the motion to turn
the gripper into the vertical orientation it needs to "flip over" isn't
happening. I don't find much info in the service manual about how this
procedure is supposed to happen, as it seems to be mechanical, not
electrical, in nature. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, if
anyone can recommend other documentation that I can buy so I can "help
myself," I'd be very interested.

Thanks for the info, Mark. I was able to get the gripper assembly unstuck,
for the most part. Now, it only sticks when the gripper attempts to pick
the record up off the magazine. The chrome "piston" in the gripper assembly
seems to stick just enough to prevent it from snapping out in time to grab
the record. So, I think I have to disassemble and re-lube it, as you
suggested. My problem is that I don't have a parts catalog, just the
service manual, so I don't have an exploded diagram of the gripper. How
does it come apart? Do I need to drive the 2" brass "pin" out with a small
drift, or is there some easier (eg correct) way?

Thanks again...


"Mark Robinson" wrote in message
...
Hi Joe,

The problem with these is almost always frozen grease. Try flushing the
gripper with a good degreaser. A bit of heat from a
hair dry may also help loosen things up. It may take some doing to get it
free. Once you get it free, you should disassemble
it and get all of the old gunk out of there and re-lube.

Mark


"joe blow" wrote in message ...
I am new to jukeboxes, and I'm trying (with the help of the service
manual)
to get a Rockola 424 working again. The problem I'm having right now is
that
the gripper arm is jamming after lifting a few inches from the
turntable.
This happens even when I turn the little wheel on the bottom of the
gripper
motor, to move the mechanism manually. It appears that the motion to
turn
the gripper into the vertical orientation it needs to "flip over" isn't
happening. I don't find much info in the service manual about how this
procedure is supposed to happen, as it seems to be mechanical, not
electrical, in nature. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, if
anyone can recommend other documentation that I can buy so I can "help
myself," I'd be very interested.

I figured out how to get the gripper apart. Believe it or not, I used a
diagram from Rock-ola's website of the gripper for one of their newest CD
players. It was 90% the same as mine, from 1964! If something works, I
guess there's no need to change it...


"joe blow" wrote in message ...
Thanks for the info, Mark. I was able to get the gripper assembly
unstuck,
for the most part. Now, it only sticks when the gripper attempts to pick
the record up off the magazine. The chrome "piston" in the gripper
assembly
seems to stick just enough to prevent it from snapping out in time to grab
the record. So, I think I have to disassemble and re-lube it, as you
suggested. My problem is that I don't have a parts catalog, just the
service manual, so I don't have an exploded diagram of the gripper. How
does it come apart? Do I need to drive the 2" brass "pin" out with a
small
drift, or is there some easier (eg correct) way?

Thanks again...


"Mark Robinson" wrote in message
...
Hi Joe,

The problem with these is almost always frozen grease. Try flushing the
gripper with a good degreaser. A bit of heat from a
hair dry may also help loosen things up. It may take some doing to get
it
free. Once you get it free, you should disassemble
it and get all of the old gunk out of there and re-lube.

Mark


"joe blow" wrote in message
...
I am new to jukeboxes, and I'm trying (with the help of the service
manual)
to get a Rockola 424 working again. The problem I'm having right now
is
that
the gripper arm is jamming after lifting a few inches from the
turntable.
This happens even when I turn the little wheel on the bottom of the
gripper
motor, to move the mechanism manually. It appears that the motion to
turn
the gripper into the vertical orientation it needs to "flip over"
isn't
happening. I don't find much info in the service manual about how this
procedure is supposed to happen, as it seems to be mechanical, not
electrical, in nature. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, if
anyone can recommend other documentation that I can buy so I can "help
myself," I'd be very interested.

Hi,

Glad you were able to figure it out on your own. Sorry I did not get back to you quickly. I did not remember off-hand how the
thing came apart and I intended to have a look at my 418 to see if I could remember (its been a few years). I went through the
same drill as you when I was getting my machine working and others here have indicated this is a common problem. The gripper
is a clever little device and it wasn't clear to me how it worked until I got the thing apart and cleaned. Good luck with the
juke.

Mark
"joe blow" wrote in message ...
I figured out how to get the gripper apart. Believe it or not, I used a
diagram from Rock-ola's website of the gripper for one of their newest CD
players. It was 90% the same as mine, from 1964! If something works, I
guess there's no need to change it...