my rowe CD100 jukebox project

[jukejunkie]

I got this non working Rowe CD100 jukebox for free,
well, they paid me $50. to get it out and down a long flight of stairs
It was in a dance studio all its life and sat idle for 5 years
Cosmetically it’s in great condition, clean and smoke free
Checking it out, when got it home it did powered up, lights came on and the cds on top spin but the CD mechanism and the digital display did not work,
However its 250 watt amplifier with built in equalizer works well and sounds amazing with my little mp3 player hooked up to it
My original intention was to ditch the CD player and convert it to play mp3s anyway,
I went to the closet and dug out my old dell GX260 Pentium 4 computer
And my 17 inch LCD monitor and thought if I could integrate it into the box
the monitor however is not a touch screen but still works great
I found a jukebox program that works well with a numeric key pad ,
I didn’t want to use a mouse or full size keyboard
I removed the CD mechanism, title rack and front glass from the jukebox
I also removed the digital display and key pad and left everything else intact
I had to figure out how to install the monitor where the title rack was
So I had an idea, I went out and bought a black foam tri fold display board 36x48
I cut the board to size with the glass and cut out a square opening for the monitor
I reinstall the glass with the board behind it
However I do plan to dress up the area around the monitor opening with either
Chrome or silver flames graphics
For the monitor,  i made a wooden stand securing it to the floor of the box
I also secured the monitor on the stand with two C clamps
I have ordered a wall mount for the monitor that I can bolt it to the juke’s back wall
And remove the wooden stand
The openings on the door where the digital display and key pad was I just covered it from underneath with left over foam board,
the jukebox program I found is Vrockola
Which I thought was suitable for a real jukebox
 Now I needed to get a  numeric key pad for song selection
A USB extension cord, the cord on the pad was too short, I needed it to be at least 8 feet long, I mounted the pad on the door where you insert the dollar bills
I also had to get a wireless keyboard with a sleep mode button and mouse for downloading songs and to put the pc in sleep mode
This way, I don’t have to open the front door to power up the pc every time I want to use the jukebox. so I have the pc plugged in directly into the wall instead of the power supply inside the box
So now I can power off the jukebox and monitor but pc stays on in sleep mode,
I also needed a audio cable from the computer to the amp
I put the computer inside the box on the floor and hooked  everything  up
The computer has a card bus slot like a laptop so I installed a wireless lan card
I can move the juke anywhere in the room and still go online and download songs, now how neat is that.


           

[Ken Layton]

On the power transformer/power supply assembly in the jukebox, there are TWO AC power outlets. One is marked "AMPLIFIER" and the other is marked "SERVICE".

Rowe, in their stupidity, has the amplifier outlet live all the time regardless of whether the cabinet power switch is on or off. The service outlet is controlled by the cabinet on-off switch. This is kinda stupid, IMO, since when a person works on the jukebox you'd want your work light to be on when you shut off the machine to work on something.

This is what I do whenever I work on ANY Rowe CD100 jukebox: plug the amplifier power cord into the "Service" outlet (so it can be switched off when the jukebox power switch is off) and plug my work light (or soldering iron) into the "amplifier" outlet.

This is also what you should do is to plug your computer into the amplifier outlet and plug the amplifier cord into the service outlet. Now your computer will be powered all the time and your amplifier can take a rest & be turned off.

[jukejunkie]

well, i didn't mention is that i plugged  the juke in to a surge protector and shut off the jukebox from there

[mightytim99]

I thought about doing a touch screen when I got my CD100 cabinet, but since the title rack was intact, I decided to shoot for a more authentic look on mine.
I have a PC inside, but the title rack works (I used a 28vdc power supply wired to relays and then to the title page buttons). The original keypad interfaces with an hacked keyboard quite nicely, and I wrote a custom BASIC program to read the original keypad, and hand off the selections to a DOS MP3 player running under XP - the software allows me to go into freeplay mode, set the "songs per coin", and even looks for coins deposited before allowing selections. I also custom designed my own title pages, trying to follow closely to the original Rowe design. I'll try to upload a few pics soon!

[mightytim99]

My latest venture it trying to interface the original VFD to the PC that is installed, so the software I wrote can also control each segment of the VFD, allowing me to display songs, selections, etc.

[ami-man]

Hi mightytim,

I look forwards to those photo's.

have you looked at doing a conversion on a Rowe Ami RI-3, RI-4, RI-5 jukebox these smaller vinyl jukeboxes have an glass front screen that if removed may accept a 28 inch LCD monitor. Just a thought.

Regards
Alan Hood
ami-man
UK

[mightytim99]

Never considered another model/project - The Rowe CD100a I purchased has kept me busy in my spare time for quite a while. I am looking for the white rectangular trim plastic that goes around the title rack (called a "diffuser"?). There are 2 parts - the one I need attached to the DOOR, not the title rack. Anyone have any idea where I can get one? I've tried EBay and other websites for over 2 years with no luck! 

[Ken Layton]

Get the part number for that plastic part from your manuals. Now call up or visit the parts department of your local Rowe distributor and order it. It will be shipped from Rowe's office in Grand Rapids.

[mightytim99]

Posting my RoweCD100 pics in a new thread... 
Still looking for light difuser that goes around title box!!