I BOUGHT A CASH REGISTER

I bought a cash register at a local auction after an elderly gentleman passed away.  I've always wanted a cash register, don't ask me why, and ended up paying only $5 for the register and a pile of junk around it (most of which I either threw away or gave away).  Inside the register were four sets of keys, some old receipts, some lists, a German $20, some candles, and an old bullet shell.  It was an amazing find for someone like me.  I knew that the register was used in the elderly gentleman's barber shop many years ago.  The shop closed, and god only knows what the register has been used for since.

I brought it home and plugged it in.  It lit up.  And that's about it.  I have no idea how to work it.  There are switches, and buttons, and keys and I have no idea what the correct combination is to make the darned thing work.  At this point, the register opens by key, which I keep in a salsa jar sitting ontop.  I put all of my change, receipts, guitar picks, matches, and bills in it.  It's quite useful, actually, and I must say, I'm the only one i know that has my own register for my own personal use.  I feel quite special.

Now, if I only knew how to work the darned thing.  I found the serial number, model, class, and tracking number stamped into the back of the register.  The company was listed as NCR Corporation.  It was said to be out of Dayton, Ohio.  A quick google search lead me to an NCR Corporation that today deals with large scale companies and corporations, providing equipment to retail, telecommunications, hospitals, etc., etc..  A quick google search will show you the same thing.  I sent them a short message with the information I found stamped on the back of the register.  With any luck, they will contact me and either tell me that I'm SOL or they will be extremely kind and help me work my register :)

I don't know why I want it to work so bad, I just know that i do.  I never even have much money to put in it since, nowadays, I usually use plastic.  But for now, it holds all of my spare change.  Which reminds me, I have a register of pennies that I need to go count.

Anyone have any ideas on where I can go to figure out how to work my cash register?  If nothing else, I have a large plastic piggy bank full of mystery and wonder.  And on a day when I'm daring, I will play with the controls, switches, and buttons and see if i can't figure out for myself how to get my cash register to work.

It will be an interesting story indeed :)

-Eryne