Happily, I was able to open it up in a few seconds even more happily, there was $8.50 in quarters inside.Ī day later, while I was listening to it, I realized that something sounded off one of the channels was missing. I bought a set of picks a while back, since this happens fairly regularly, and it seemed easier than drilling. It came without a key for the cashbox, so I thought it would be interesting to attempt picking it. I found a replacement at Home Depot for $9, and replaced that and the starter it looks great. The upper fluorescent lamp, which lights the spinning CDs, was missing. I found a replacement title page on eBay, for $6 + ship. Then, I started burning terrible music I like better and putting the discs in. I pulled the discs that were in there out and chucked them - they were all terrible. I reconnected them, powered up, coined up, selected a song and WHOA this thing works and sounds terrific! The back metal panel of the control opens up, revealing screw terminals for the wires.
ROWE AMI CD JUKEBOX MODEL CD 51 MANUAL
I figured that perhaps the remote volume control was the problem here, so I shut it off and consulted the manual for the correct wiring. I listened closely, and heard very, very soft music, but the volume control did nothing. It pulled the disc from the magazine, stuck it on the player and started to play! Except… no sound. With the front propped open, I coined it up and selected the first track of the first disc - there were maybe 20 CD-Rs inside it from a previous owner. Once it was inside, I was able to boot it up and see that the displays were working okay. There’s also a volume control on the back of the cabinet, too, so I figured I’d use that until I could sort the remote out. This connects to the machine with three wires strung through a hole in the back, nothing too serious. While Klotzski-ing it through my front door, the remote volume / cancel control came off - whoops. Since I was doing all this in my driveway directly after unloading, I wasn’t able to see the display - it was time to move it inside. Next was to power it up, which it seemed to do just fine. It also holds 100 discs, even though there are only title pages to show 51 of those. This is more reliable, due to holding even/odd discs on different sides, which prevents it from becoming unbalanced. Happily, the original disc magazine had been replaced with the newer style. I was able to shove my arm inside, actuate the springs, and pop the top open. Someone had broken in previously, via the vent on the back of the cabinet.
Because all the electronics are the same, even though there doesn’t appear to be a scan of the CD-51 manual online, nearly everything in the CD-100 manual is applicable.įirst thing I did after unloading was clean the exterior with Simple Green and a melamine sponge, which left it looking pretty good. The CD-51 is the smaller 51-disc version of the CD-100, which, you guessed it, plays 100 discs. Even though I don’t know anything about jukeboxes, I went ahead and loaded it up. The seller said that he didn’t have a manual or title page, and wasn’t able to open it up - the front lock was removed, but to open it requires unhooking two spring latches, which are actuated by the lock’s cam.
It was in disappointing looking condition when I got there, very dirty and missing a title page. I emailed expressing interest and offered $75, which the seller accepted, so off I went to pick it up.
The ad was a sleeper, with no photos, and listing it as needing programming & not working. I specifically wanted one that played CDs because I like a lot of uncommon music that’s unavailable on 45s, and burning discs is much cheaper than buying 45s. I’d been thinking about getting a CD juke for a while, but hadn’t come across the right one. Scored this off Craigslist a few weeks back. Rule #1: Rowe-AMi Laserstar CD-51 jukebox.