[ Dan Haymond wrote in 031225 MMDigest: ]

> ... the rolls will not advance.  The pump works and the lights
> come on but I believe the control box has gone out. ...

It sounds like the small roll-drive motor has broken.  Actually, it is
not the motor, but a tiny gear inside the attached transmission.  The
motor turns a shaft that is about 1/16 inch in diameter.  The first
gear inside the transmission is made of fiber, not metal.  The over-all
diameter is about 1/4 inch.  When you subtract out the teeth and center
hole, the solid part is much less.

This gear is attached to the shaft only by pressure: the center hole
was drilled undersize and the gear was force-fitted.  Because there is
not a great deal of mass in the gear, it may eventually crack.  Then
the shaft spins freely and the gears and music rolls no longer move.

The only solution available is to replace the motor and gear box,
which are available from QRS Pianomation.  One might think that using
a stronger metal gear would be advisable, but apparently the motor
manufacturer does not see it that way.  Neither do they sell just the
defective gear.

If you and your tech decide to replace the motor, pay attention to how
it was mounted and what was attached to it.  Several changes were made
during Universal's life of manufacture.

If you decide the motor is okay, then the problem may be in the circuit
boards.  They, too, are available from QRS.  In my experience, that has
been a much less common occurrence.

Jeff Davis in gray Seattle

 [ The tiny gear is made of fiber to reduce the noise.  A metal spur
 [ gear on the motor shaft would be much too noisy in a player piano.
 [
 [ Universal Player Piano Co., of Culver City, Calif., ceased business
 [ in the 1980s.  The tooling and some residual parts eventually became
 [ assets of Story & Clark Pianos division of QRS Music, Inc.
 [ -- Robbie