Greetings,

Recently picked up a counter top machine and working to restore it. It's there for the most part but missing enough to give me fits I think. The attached photo was taken right after I picked it up... seems I was a bit excited about finding it. Never seen one before and since I'm into the arcade games and such I thought this was great. I paid $150 for it and not sure yet if I got a good deal or not.

Anyway, here's where I'm at. I've messed with the Amp some and found all the spots where the wires were pushed together and the insulation was missing and fixed all the shorts. Plugging in the Amp the tubes glow. I have no idea if the glowing tubes are a good sign, a bad sign or no sign... but they do glow. I figured at the very least I would need to replace all the caps but having never seen wax caps before I was totally bumfuzzled at just what the heck they even were! Obviously this site has helped clear that up some. As for the mechanics... as you can see from the photo I am missing the upper coin slot and that follows through to the missing coin mechanisms, coin travel components and internal switches. It is also missing the credit solenoid and a few other pieces (from what I can tell) associated with the credit process. There is a 'push button' on top so I'm assuming some one had set it up for 'free play' at one time. The idler wheel is trashed as expected. The rubber mounts on the motor / transformer are also mostly gone. That being said, I'm still determined to get this puppy working.

Now for the questions:

1. How do I tell what the rating is for the wax caps so I can buy the proper replacement? If someones done this already it would be great if you could avail me of your knowledge of the rating.
2. Does anyone have the coin mech components they would be willing to part with?
3. Can someone post photos of the credit solenoid and possibly a part number for it?
4. I would like to a get a quote on the photo repair if anyone out there does this. Send me email and we can discuss.
5. The top plastic has several scratches (on pretty deep). Anyone have an idea on how to repair this?


Okay, enough for now. A little on me... I've been collecting and restoring arcade and various coin op stuff for several years now for my own enjoyment and benefit. I have a personal website that I post my projects as I work on them. I suspect I will have a Ristaucrat page soon... but a bit behind in projects right now. Check out my website listed below and click on the 'Projects' link if you want to see what I've done.

My current list of 'toys': 1974 Rock Ola 450 with Tri Vue 506 Wall Box and remote volume control, 1972 Williams Honey Pinball, 1976 Williams Blue Chip pinball, SPectra IV rotating cocktail pinball by Valley, 1947 Midget Movies by Capitol Projectors, several Ball EM Slot machines, a couple of Sigma slot machines, a mid 80's era Coke Machine, 11 Pachinko machines, Galaga, Ms PacMan, Cobra Command, Series H Skee ball machine and a Xenon pinball by Bally. (whew)

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide and I look forward to the conversations here.

Rusty Key
me@rustykey.com
www.rustykey.com

See:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=175275

Also:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=156111

Thanks RepairTech.

Would you be so kind as to answer some (if not all) of the questions I posed? You seem to be the authority here on these little babies although I'd love to hear from others as well.

I'm trying to determine, A)can it be restored to "play for a nickel" status and B)should I pay someone else to get it going for me?

As for B above, I'd like to at least make a stab at it first as this kind of tinkering keeps be off the streets.

Thanks again!

Rusty

As for the coin mechanism, unless you can find a suitable replacement, you're up the creek.

On a Williams Music Mite that I worked on, I custom-designed a coin-triggered mechanism.
This of course cost the customer more money, but he was thoroughly pleased.

As for the record change mechansm - they're not an easy-to-work-on machine - IMO best left to someone experienced.
Parts are not replaceable - pot metal parts can break - again, sending you up the creek.

I have a little jukebox just like yours , also have 2 other non coin ristoucrats . The record mech for me anyway is not hard to work on at all .... however if gears were broken and stuff missing then it would be very tough to fix because parts are hard to find .

When i restored mine it was all there . All i did was remove everything from the case and restored everything . The record mech got a good washing ( after removing the motor and coil ) Just like any other jukebox . Re-oil and grease as needed . Made up a new idler wheel . After it went all back together it worked just fine .

If you are not used to restoring things like that then i could be difficult for you . They are a real nice sounding little player when all fixed up .

wrkey,

I think members here might be reluctant to answer your questions about the Ristaucrat because not many here have had experience restoring these table top jukeboxes. I think people are cautious about offering advice that could cause you to get hurt. I don't mean to sound negative, but your line of questions indicates you don't have the tools or experience to work on this jukebox. Danger comes to mind.

As none of us knows anything about you and your experience with electronics, we can only guess that you're not prepared based on what you've written thus far. You have already made a few serious mistakes and gave enough info to determine you don't have even the basics that start with safety to continue.
Just my opinion, but stop before you get hurt and destroy what might be a restorable Ristaucrat juke box.

To answer your questions directly:
1. The uF/MFD values are printed on the sides of the capacitor, when not readable refer to a schematic.
2. Coin Mechanisms are almost impossible to find because you'd have to dismantle or "part out" another Ristaucrat.
3. I don't have a dismantled machine right now to shoot a photo.
4. I can't imagine anyone giving you a confirmed quote without seeing your machine, but my guess is restoration would cost $150-$400 depending on level of effort and parts.
5. If the scratch catches your fingernail, that's too "deep", almost impossible to remove. Light scratches can be buffed out nicely using a variety of products. I like the Novus 2 then 1 combination with a damp cotton ball. Also check out products from Tap Plastics.


wrkey, again I don't know your situation but these are scary comments that you wrote:
"I have no idea if the glowing tubes are a good sign, a bad sign". "I've messed with the Amp some and found all the spots where the wires were pushed together and the insulation was missing and fixed all the shorts". "...having never seen wax caps before I was totally bumfuzzled at just what the heck they even were". "get this puppy working". It's not a puppy, it can bite and it can be a man killer.

My recommendation? Have a competent phono-mechanic who is also an electronics technician do the work.

Good luck,

Jack

Great replies all! I appreciate the candor and concerns expressed in the comments.

So from what I've been told, unless I find a 'parts machine' this restoration is essentially impossible. Bummer.

So, now I have to decide if I sit this on a shelf and wait for a parts machine or do I turn my into a parts machine?

I've got $150 into this machine thus far. The cabinet is in good shape with the original back panel and coin box. The Plastic dome has a nice deep scratch across the top . The amp is all there but needs an obvious rebuild. The turn table is in okay condition but missing several parts that I believe to be associated with the credit process.

Any one interested in this for a parts machine? Anyone have the parts I could acquire?

I don't have a problem with this sitting on a shelf as a conversation piece until I find a parts machine so if this thread hasn't been updated and you got a potental parts machine please contact me!

Thanks again for all the comments, you guys are awesome.

I know it's been 6 mos but have you got a fix for it or is it still maybe for sale Thanks Ron