I spent eight years doing repairs and maintenance on these machines. It took me about six hours to dismantle, check and rebuild one. If you assemble it in the right order it's not too difficult.
Very interesting. The only thing missing was not showing the 2nd audit roll inside. used to be usefull if you forgot to set the pound counter back to zero and then had to prove that it was a mistake as the audit roll show a copy of all tickets issued. I used these machines back in the 90s :)
Thanks for the quick reply .bought the a b almex for fathers day .my dad worked on the buses in the 60's and 70's unfortunately he has vascular dementia .so this was bought to help him remember past and emcourage conversation .everything works fine except the print is very faded.
GM had fare stage numbers from 001 to 999. These fare stage numbers are located on the keyboard using 3 green key bands. The two black and white wheels accessed in the side door are used for either a service number or a trip number. Some companies reversed this but found it impractical. This is an Almex model 'A' machine. 6 keybands - new in circa 1978.
Good evening . I'm writing to you from Italy, I also own an almex like the one in the video. I would like to know how to open the mechanical part and disassemble the two covers, the upper one and the one on the control lever side
The external red/green dot is a sort of safety trigger. On red I seem to remember you could issue a ticket without pressing the red knurled button. On green, it would allow tickets to be issued without this safety feature.
That's correct. The knurled wheel can be turned to disengage the start button, but that means the lever can be pressed by accident so it's safer always to use the start button.
Interesting video, Zach. I do like the Almex 'A's. I couldn't help noticing your machines that are in a dismantled state. Do you (or anybody else) have any tips or suggestions, of the correct sequence to remove the outer cover and gain access to the mechanisms? One of my machines I've got is the 11 reel 'PDR' version, which sadly looks to be jammed. In the absence of any obvious fixing screws, where would I begin?
I'm not entirely sure, if it's the handle that's jammed then just try giving it a gentle wiggle but that's all I can suggest I'm afraid, I'm not much of an expert
@@zachlee8479 Hi Zach. Thanks for your reply. Yes, I've tried that (and the obvious things like the internal locking lever etc). I suspect it has been slightly abused in its previous life. It was more a case of asking you, as to how you went about removing the outer casing (and presumably put it back together again). As a matter of interest, did you have any joy in repairing these machines (you certainly seemed to be well endowed with spare parts). Many thanks.
A great bit of design and engineering but... when they jam, you have problems. Need total stripdown. Probably easier to smash it to pieces with a hammer and buy another.
@@szymongorczynski7621 Depends on the machine and bus company, on Greater Manchester Transport the "stage" number (set on the black dial on the roll door) tells an inspector where a passenger boarded, then the fare cost (set by the last 3 dials) allows the inspector to work out where the ticket is valid to. Route is set via the first metal lever plus the two first green dials that were used for the route number. I thought I recalled that GM Transport tickets had the route on! Mine is a GMT like the one in the video. GMT route numbers were 3 digits, 219, 192 etc.
The machine number of the Model A is set using a set of numbered wheels, so any 4-digit number is possible. It may have been the mechanic that was upside down!
