Rock-o-la fireball cd juke any good?

Looking to possibly get one is this juke any good? Reliable?
thx
derek

Derek,

I wouldn't want to bash Rock-Ola as we are their distributor...

However, the Fireball has a few "considerations" to be explored before you jump off the deep end. Don't get me wrong, I would love to own one, but my wife would probably have me sleeping in the storage barn. LOL.

First, the original mechanism was designed with all metal parts. Rock-Ola thought they could dress it up with some plastics, LED's, decals, etc.
However, the plastic tower will eventually warp with enough heat build-up. Why did they put the thing at the top of the cabinet without any ventilation? We did not see this problem as much with the wall-mount units using the same mech, but the mech was at the bottom of the cabinet...

Second, the mechanism design is great for not putting "swirls" on the CD's like the rotating magazine on other units. But, if it gets a good bump from a bar fight, passing drunk, etc. the CD's will be all over the place.

Third, the mechanism will need more frequent attention than its cousins. Lubrication, finely tuned adjustments and the aforementioned warping are all part of the problem. It is an ingenious mech, but you will need a good service manual to walk you through the fine tuning of it when it needs to be serviced.

Lastly, since the CD player is mounted vertically, it has to be in great working order. The lens is harder to access for cleaning because of the clamp plate and sledge lubrication / cleanliness is more important since it is working against gravity.

Nonetheless, I would still own one (see above paragraph with "wife" in it...), but I have worked on the C-21 mechanism a lot and am very familiar with its quirks.