Mini Video Coin-Op TV

JP80

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I've wanted a coin-op TV for a while now, and I finally got one. I spent quite a bit of time trying to research this particular model but ultimately couldn't find a single thing. Hopefully someone here can provide some info.

My intent is a restoration but I can't figure out the proper way to disassemble the unit. There isn't anything visible on the outside that's holding it together. I thought maybe if I could get behind the locked panel that there would then be a way to take it apart. The key is long gone so I had to pick the lock. I tried the pen method and manually picking it as well to no result. I didn't want to drill it out as the risk was too great for potential damage. With no other options I bought a tubular lock picking tool. After over an hour and a half of fighting with it, I finally got it unlocked.

Behind the locked panel was the coin box (as expected) but even with access now into the housing, I still can't see a way to take it apart.

The construction is best described as a clear acrylic skeleton in which all the internal parts mount to, and then the housing mounts around that.
 

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That is a pretty cool little thing! Where did you find it? Based on its construction it seems like something found in a foreign prison!
 
I wonder if there is a hidden catch or latch in the cashbox compartment which releases the front cover over the tv set?
 
I found it on none other than eBay. I had never seen one like it before so I had to have it. The seller buys storage lockers and sells the contents on eBay, and it was in one of them. I also started a thread about it on a local coin-op forum, and the only thing on the net so far that's been found are pictures from a restaurant that had them in their booths.

I haven't messed around with it since I got it this past summer until recently. I tried to remove the lock assembly from the coin box but unfortunately someone used red threadlocker on it. I guess they never wanted it to come apart again. Since it's plastic I can't use heat or chemicals. I've come up with a plan on how I can go about cutting the back of the lock off without damaging anything else. Hopefully doing that will break the nut holding the lock assembly in place free. I'll have to post a picture that will show what I'm referring to.

Yesterday I spent an hour and a half trying to figure out how to take apart the housing again, and still can't figure it out. There are no levers or anything inside that I can see or find that would release the case halves. Maybe you need a special tool of some kind but I don't even see where one would be inserted if that were the case. I wish I knew the secret handshake to get this thing apart. Between that and the lock dilemma, it's become pretty frustrating.

Since I couldn't get the housing apart, I spent another hour and a half cleaning the outside. The entire thing was coated in a layer of grime that was hard to get off. I was waiting to get it apart before I scrubbed it but since I don't know when that will be, I decided to clean it the best I could while it's still assembled. I figure the longer I left the filth on it, the more permanent the marks and stains would become. It cleaned up real nice so at least that was satisfying.

The thing is heavy and built like Fort Knox. I couldn't resist plugging it in and putting a quarter through it. It works great although I didn't hook it up to the cable connection to see how the picture was.
 
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