Arfa Daily wrote in message
...

"Ron" wrote in message
...
I have two Panasonic VCR's, model numbers PV-V4540 and PV-9450.

They are almost idenical on the outside and very simular on the
inside.

The "newer" model - PV-V4540 - seems to have a head going bad from
everything I've read.

The PV-9450 works fine, but doesn't have the features that the PV-
V4540 has.

I would like to install the head unit from the PV-9450 (the older one)
in the PV-V4540 (the newer one).

They look the same, but are they the same? And if I swap the
headunits, will the alignment be the same?

Here are pics of the head units. The one thing that I wondering about
is the "arm" on the center post of the (newer) PV-V4540...what is
that?



The arm in the centre is for static discharge. Without it, on a machine
originally fitted with one - which most are - you tend to get little white
dots on the playback picture. Provided the heads *are* exactly the same,
then there are no alignment issues with head swaps on modern VCRs. It is
only two screws, so give it a go. Normally, the screw holes are offset
slightly to make sure that you don't get it on 180 degrees out. At worst,
it
just won't work. As a matter of interest, what are the symptoms for your
diagnosis of failing heads on the first one ?

Arfa




A child's plastic "toy" microscope of x20 or x30 magnification. Just the
barrel is useful for inspecting with part of the objective end ground down
at an angle, back to (or even into ) the lens, allows to get close enough
for video heads to inspect, in situ , when illuminated with a torch. To
inspect whether the gap is chipped and generally whether worn down too much.
View in a downwards sense wherever there is enough clearance.

--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/