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Seeburg STD4 - not playing side A

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Andy Guthrie

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Mar 4, 2004, 2:46:24 PM3/4/04
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Hi everyone- my first post.
I have officially started my jukebox "collection" by buying a Seeburg
STD4 "Mardi Gras" model.
Things seem to be ok, except I cannot play side "A" of the records. All
of the side B's (the 2xx selections) work fine.
I followed Tony Miller's troubleshooting guide, and connected the
negative side of a D battery to the tormat lead, and the machine did
pick up each disc, but again, only played the B sides. The A sides were
working when I checked out the machine prior to buying it, so I get the
feeling that a wire may have fallen loose during the move.
When I punch in a 1xx selection, the mechanism scans twice and then parks.
Any ideas what might cause the skipping of the 1xx selections?

Thanks!

Andy Guthrie

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Mar 4, 2004, 4:30:59 PM3/4/04
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Well, here's an update.
I can only assume that I was mistaken about seeing side A work at the
previous owners house. I pulled the front off and found that the contact
for the A side of the record (where it scans the magnetic o-rings) is
bent. I am going to try to remove the strip of magnetic o-rings (gee,
can you tell I'm a newbie with these terms?) and straighten out the
sensor. I sure hope this works...

Happy Seeburg Olympian Owner

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Mar 5, 2004, 12:48:04 AM3/5/04
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the strip is called a Tormat :)

i wold not remove the tormat unless you have the manual!!! the pice that
scans the tormat if i remember right can be removed seperatly <consult the
manual>

Jim w
"Andy Guthrie" <and...@rcn.com> wrote in message
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Andy Guthrie

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Mar 5, 2004, 7:14:08 PM3/5/04
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Well thanks for the warning... Unfortunately, it's said and done. I
straightened out the contact and side A is now back in the game.
Everything is back to its original state, plus side A is working, but I
am getting the occasional wrong selection error.
The most common mistake seems to be it reading a 5 as a 2 (i.e., playing
126 instead of 156).
Until I scrape together the cash for the service manuals... Any suggestions?

fmil...@pacbell.net

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Mar 5, 2004, 9:51:30 PM3/5/04
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On Fri, 05 Mar 2004 19:14:08 -0500, Andy Guthrie <and...@rcn.com>
wrote:

>Well thanks for the warning... Unfortunately, it's said and done. I
>straightened out the contact and side A is now back in the game.
>Everything is back to its original state, plus side A is working, but I
>am getting the occasional wrong selection error.
>The most common mistake seems to be it reading a 5 as a 2 (i.e., playing
>126 instead of 156).
>Until I scrape together the cash for the service manuals... Any suggestions?
>

I would suspect a dirty contact on the '5' selector button data 'A'
path, an intermittent data 'A' oneshot in the black box, or an
intermittent data 'A' buffer in the DCC.

Cheers,

Tony Miller

Happy Seeburg Olympian Owner

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Mar 6, 2004, 2:48:12 AM3/6/04
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Even after i cleaned my selector my olympian still miss reads on some
slections its sometimes its the nature of the beast of the 70s boxes
it could me a number of things ....from a dirty slector to one or both of
the black and grey boxes going bad dirty or bad connectors bad wire

there are so many things get the manual they have them at
http://www.victoryglass.com or you may want to try
http://www.jukeboxparts.com

Jim W
<fmil...@pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:r2fi40ltqq6ss47vi...@4ax.com...

Brandon Stevens

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Oct 13, 2021, 9:40:22 PM10/13/21
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Andy,

Did you get a service manual for this jukebox?

Deanie Spikes

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Nov 16, 2022, 8:49:37 AM11/16/22
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Hi, Andy! I realize that I am replying to an ancient post, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try. I have the same issue with the exact same jukebox. You mentioned that you straightened out the contact for side A selections because it was slightly bent. Could you please explain where this contact is located? I'm not sure where to look! Thanks, so much!

John Robertson

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Nov 16, 2022, 10:48:36 AM11/16/22
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Check connections in all the plugs related to the keyboard and Tormat
(move outward if those are all good). You may find a damaged Molex pin,
or a pin that is pushed back relative to the others so it is no longer
making contact.

This is not uncommon...

John :-#)#
--
(Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
John's Jukes Ltd.
#7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
(604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
www.flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

Deanie Spikes

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Nov 19, 2022, 11:15:01 AM11/19/22
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John, thanks for the advice! Please forgive my ignorance, but do I need to remove the mechanism in order to check the connections in all the plugs related to the keyboard and Tormat and look for damaged Molex pins? When I got the jukebox, it was not working. Lights came on, but the mechanism was stuck all the way to the right (when looking from the back). After researching a LOT, I felt confident enough to remove the mechanism, which I did. I oiled the motor, and manually turned the coupling until a full cycle was complete. It seemed to have been stuck in the play position. I sprayed the contacts (only the few that I saw....I'm sure I missed some) with contact cleaner. I replaced everything, and it started scanning! I did the battery test, and it picked up every #2 side, but none of the #1 sides.

Sorry for rambling, but I just wanted to explain what I had done. So, back to my original question...do I need to remove the mechanism again in order to check for damaged connections or pins? Stupid question #2: is the tarmat part of the whole mechanism that comes out? Where, exactly, is it? Thanks for tolerating my ignorance!

John Robertson

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Nov 20, 2022, 12:01:51 PM11/20/22
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> John, thanks for the advice! Please forgive my ignorance, but do I need to remove the mechanism in order to check the connections in all the plugs related to the keyboard and Tormat and look for damaged Molex pins? When I got the jukebox, it was not working. Lights came on, but the mechanism was stuck all the way to the right (when looking from the back). After researching a LOT, I felt confident enough to remove the mechanism, which I did. I oiled the motor, and manually turned the coupling until a full cycle was complete. It seemed to have been stuck in the play position. I sprayed the contacts (only the few that I saw....I'm sure I missed some) with contact cleaner. I replaced everything, and it started scanning! I did the battery test, and it picked up every #2 side, but none of the #1 sides.
>
> Sorry for rambling, but I just wanted to explain what I had done. So, back to my original question...do I need to remove the mechanism again in order to check for damaged connections or pins? Stupid question #2: is the tarmat part of the whole mechanism that comes out? Where, exactly, is it? Thanks for tolerating my ignorance!

No, you shouldn't have to remove the mechanism to check the connections.
I'm thinking checking at the control center first.

As for not playing one side, do check the manual and make sure you have
set up the Tormat Readout contacts correctly. And the the Tormat is
aligned correctly, and that the Reversing Switch on the mechanism is
operating correctly - that the circuit to the readout switches - if
present - is exchanged correctly.

I hope you have the manual! It should go into detail on troubleshooting
and adjustments.

Deanie Spikes

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Nov 20, 2022, 3:40:39 PM11/20/22
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Thank you, John. I have the manual, and have printed out several adjustment pages. Hopefully, I'll be able to make some progress!

Deanie Spikes

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Dec 4, 2022, 1:19:18 PM12/4/22
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Well, I was able to play all records on side B with keypad selection. I sprayed the contact strip on the tarmac with contact cleaner. I still cannot make a side B selection. The juke box just scans and scans, and then stops. If I trip the return lever in the back, it will pick up a random record and play side A with no trouble. It still will not allow me to play side A through the keypad. I'm thinking that maybe I need to remove the mechanism again, and make sure that the reverse lever is moving freely. Still not sure where to check for damaged pins....

John Robertson

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Dec 4, 2022, 4:23:00 PM12/4/22
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>> Thank you, John. I have the manual, and have printed out several adjustment pages. Hopefully, I'll be able to make some progress!
>
>
> Well, I was able to play all records on side B with keypad selection. I sprayed the contact strip on the tarmac with contact cleaner. I still cannot make a side B selection. The juke box just scans and scans, and then stops. If I trip the return lever in the back, it will pick up a random record and play side A with no trouble. It still will not allow me to play side A through the keypad. I'm thinking that maybe I need to remove the mechanism again, and make sure that the reverse lever is moving freely. Still not sure where to check for damaged pins....

Your machine is NOT an STD4 and sounds like one of the early fifties
machines when you said you flipped a pin and were able to hear side "A".

This vintage of machine doesn't use a Tormat, rather it is a Pinbank
style of memory, where each side of a record is represented by one
toggle pin. This is an Electro-Mechanical type of memory...

The pins pop out when they are selected, and then read and cleared by
the sliding search block that runs in grooves on the underside of the
pinbank.

Please let us know exactly what model you have!

Deanie Spikes

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Dec 4, 2022, 5:42:14 PM12/4/22
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The tag on the back says STD4. I believe it is known as the Mardi Gras edition. I have a picture of the tag, and a picture of the reverse lever, as well, but it won't let me attach a photo here.

Deanie Spikes

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Dec 5, 2022, 6:41:27 AM12/5/22
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If you can let me know how to get the photos to you, I'll send them. Thanks for your patience with me!

John Robertson

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Dec 5, 2022, 2:31:18 PM12/5/22
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...(oops read that wrong)
>
> The tag on the back says STD4. I believe it is known as the Mardi Gras edition. I have a picture of the tag, and a picture of the reverse lever, as well, but it won't let me attach a photo here.

Hi, sorry, misread your previous post. What you referred to as the lever
on the back is the Cancel Solenoid lever, and yes, it will play a record
the side of which is determined by the direction the mechanism is going.
Ignore my bit about an early 50s machine!

Back to not playing the "A" side of the records. Have you done the
Battery Test? If the machine then plays both side (depending on the
direction of travel) then the Tormat and Readout circuits are fine and
the problem is with the Write-In circuits.

If it still only plays the "B" sides then it is most likely the "B" side
wiper or the reversing switch on the lower front of the mechanism (front
side is where the tone arm is) and that switch may have a problem.
Mostly likely it is the Tormat Readout assembly, it should toggle
cleanly from side to side, with one wiper making contact with the
underside of the Tormat going in one direction, then when the direction
reverses the other wiper arm is moved to contact the other row of Tormat
contacts.

The manual shows the adjustment of the Side 1/Side 2 readouts see page
33 of manual 81-254157 "Select-O-Matic Mechanism Operation & Adjustments
Manual"

Deanie Spikes

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Dec 5, 2022, 9:01:12 PM12/5/22
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I did the battery test, and it played every side B, and none of side A. I'll check the B side wiper and reversing switch. I'll also check the tarmac readout assembly. The jukebox is at my camp, and I won't be going out there for a couple of weeks. That will give me time to look up the pages you referred to in the manual. Thanks, again, for the help!
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