Rock-ola 490

bbirkmann

New member
Joined
Jan 29, 2011
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Location
Arizona
I have had this 490 for over 15 years no problems untill a month ago. Unit will play lower selections like 150,130,120 but wont play any side two's or higher than 150 when selected by keypad. Any ideas or suggestions on repair? Unit is in free play mode.
 
I have a rockola 490 that only will play the 200 selections. It just keeps cycling through and eventually stops.

Maybe a problem with the computer? The computer's front board with the LED's on it has a 3.6 volt nicad battery that leaks and corrodes parts. Be sure to check it. Also, clean and reseat the socketed chips in the computer.

How clean are the edge connectors on the computer boards?
 
THe edge connectors are clean...I will look at the board and see if the battery is leaking or what the status is...
 
the edges are clean on mine also, i reseated the chips and replaced the battery, not real corroded. is it possible the tabs are worn down too much on the board connections?
 
I checked the battery on the PCB it was 1.5Vdc, could this cause issues with the cpu?
 
It's supposed to be a 3.6 volt nicad battery. That voltage is too low. These batteries are known to corrode the circuit board.
 
Looking for battery

Anyone know where I can get the replacement battery? I tried Victory Glass and a few others but no luck. Any help would be appreciated.
 
I went to the store (I think it was a Fred Meyer department store) and in the electronics section I compared it to similar cordless phone 3.6 volt nicad battery packs. I don't have the number of which one I used but I found one that was close enough and cut off the connector on the end. Then I soldered it to the board and secured it with a wire tie. Worked fine.

Check Radio Shack or Batteries Plus stores to see what they have.

A couple of months ago I was in an Interstate Batteries store buying a new battery for my car and was surprised to see they had a coupe of free-standing racks selling cordless phone and cell phone batteries now.
 
Last edited:
While we're on the subject of the 490...

I picked one up today. Plays fine, but it seems to pick random songs the higher number you choose.

When the carousel is turning, the sensor acts like it misfires and I hear a couple of clicks and the carousel seems to sputter for a sec then continue on. More often than not though, it doesn't grab a record at all and just spins around to the home position.

I took the cover off of the computer to check the battery... and there is no corrosion. There is also no battery at all!

Would this cause some of what I am seeing?

Thanks!
Jeremy
 
While we're on the subject of the 490...

I picked one up today. Plays fine, but it seems to pick random songs the higher number you choose.

When the carousel is turning, the sensor acts like it misfires and I hear a couple of clicks and the carousel seems to sputter for a sec then continue on. More often than not though, it doesn't grab a record at all and just spins around to the home position.

I took the cover off of the computer to check the battery... and there is no corrosion. There is also no battery at all!

Would this cause some of what I am seeing?

Thanks!
Jeremy

Just an update... the problem was the "home position" switch on the carousel. It waspushed roght on the edge of on/off so when the carousel was turning it was wigging out and resetting randomly. I bent the arm slightly to make the switch definitely register when it was not in home position... and it's working flawlessly now.

The juke works excellent. Am I missing anything by not having the battery?
 
The battery holds the pricing settings, record popularity meter, operating options, etc. It would be advisable to have a battery connected. Of course I would try to mount the battery away from the boards like we do with pinball machines to prevent "outgassing" acid damage to the boards.
 
Back
Top Bottom