Hi,my first post and its a desperate one. I have a laser that i suspect is a panasonic/technics/matsushita kind but i searched almost the entire line of products from that era,1990 to 1995,looking at their lasers and found no match. Maybe someone here can take a look and be able to identify.
It is from a fm towns marty player from 1991:
brighter pic:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/fmlaserbrite2.jpg
brighter pic:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/fmlaserbrite1.jpg
more pics of the sides,housing and motherboard:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/fm2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/fm3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/side1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/side2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/fm1.jpg
Its very thin,probably the thinnest laser i ever held. I think it might be in car cd players or portables. Panasonic portables from that era are the only ones i haven't had a chance to check.
It looks similar to the panasonic RAE line of lasers and might be able to test as a substitute in one.
My greatest fear that its proprietary,made only for that machine. How often did companies do that back then? The only other device i know that has a special laser in it is a gd-rom from 1998. Now i think its a common place.
Thanks guys for any info
It is from a fm towns marty player from 1991:
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
brighter pic:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/fmlaserbrite2.jpg
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
brighter pic:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/fmlaserbrite1.jpg
more pics of the sides,housing and motherboard:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/fm2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/fm3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/side1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/side2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/fm1.jpg
Its very thin,probably the thinnest laser i ever held. I think it might be in car cd players or portables. Panasonic portables from that era are the only ones i haven't had a chance to check.
It looks similar to the panasonic RAE line of lasers and might be able to test as a substitute in one.
My greatest fear that its proprietary,made only for that machine. How often did companies do that back then? The only other device i know that has a special laser in it is a gd-rom from 1998. Now i think its a common place.
Thanks guys for any info
I've had a really good look... and can't directly identify it... but it would be most unlikely to be a one off. That's just not economic for any manufacturer that buys parts in.
What about old pc CDROM drives from that time.
What about old pc CDROM drives from that time.
It looks similar to this one:
JusTone Lasereinheiten. SF-U5000 / SFU5000 SANYO. Lasereinheit, Laserpickup, Laserunit, Pickup, Laser, Laserkopf, Laufwerk, Mechanism
If not, they might be able to identify yours by the pictures.
JusTone Lasereinheiten. SF-U5000 / SFU5000 SANYO. Lasereinheit, Laserpickup, Laserunit, Pickup, Laser, Laserkopf, Laufwerk, Mechanism
If not, they might be able to identify yours by the pictures.
Thanks for thr reply oshifis 🙂 i tried that site but the forums seem to be down so i sent a email. Waiting eagerly for a reply 
here are more pictures and the post that started it all:
FM Towns Marty Laser replacement

here are more pictures and the post that started it all:
FM Towns Marty Laser replacement
It looks similar to this one:
JusTone Lasereinheiten. SF-U5000 / SFU5000 SANYO. Lasereinheit, Laserpickup, Laserunit, Pickup, Laser, Laserkopf, Laufwerk, Mechanism
If not, they might be able to identify yours by the pictures.
That's also where i bought my laser unit, good shop!
here is another one; cdlens.com
Got a reply from justone,they could not help with identification 🙁
Thanks for that link bernhardn,sent them an email.
If they cant help i fear it is a proprietary laser. A one shot deally. My only hope would be in substitutes but my chances are low of success with that.
Thanks for that link bernhardn,sent them an email.
If they cant help i fear it is a proprietary laser. A one shot deally. My only hope would be in substitutes but my chances are low of success with that.
thanks for the link PhilippeS 🙂
Made some progress. found this laser panasonic RAE0170z is the closest i can find to it:
The chassis is the same just machined slightly with rearranged holes and screws. Same dimensions and a sled gear lid was added and you can see on the other laser groves and a hole where you can add one. Ive noticed panasonic doesnt label its lasers and most of the early ones are 16 pin ribbon connector as the martys.
Now i am sure im on the right path.
I cannot find any more info online what this laser was used on or if it has any other variations in its line.
This laser is as mysterious as the marty itself.
Search continues.
Made some progress. found this laser panasonic RAE0170z is the closest i can find to it:

The chassis is the same just machined slightly with rearranged holes and screws. Same dimensions and a sled gear lid was added and you can see on the other laser groves and a hole where you can add one. Ive noticed panasonic doesnt label its lasers and most of the early ones are 16 pin ribbon connector as the martys.
Now i am sure im on the right path.
I cannot find any more info online what this laser was used on or if it has any other variations in its line.
This laser is as mysterious as the marty itself.
Search continues.
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