Panasonic BD-30 Modification

The modification process of this Blue-ray disc player involved vibration control and heat dissipation. Vibrations were partially suppressed by the added bottom plate of 1/4" Finnish birch plywood with a thin sheet of cork in between. The added weight, together with new softer feet partially suppressed some vibrations generated by the blue-ray transport mechanic's spinning rotor. Same type of plywood was also used to cover the top of the BD player.

Another negative element inside this machine was hot and noisy generating vibrations - the power transformer. I took the transformer out and immersed it in a clear lacquer, to fill the free spaces that were made during the winding process. Then i removed the cooling fan and placed it on the other side of the chassis. The transformer was glued on the place, where was the cooling fan before. Now, the fan was directly blowing the air onto the transformer. Somebody might think that the transformer could not get that hot, but believe me, i hardly could keep my finger on it.

I tried to completely remove the cooling fan, but unfortunately, once i disconnected the fan, the player refused to operate. The fan was designed to cool down the power voltage stabilizers and perhaps also the transformer. Living in a hot weather already, I decided to further push the reliability of the player, by adding a large heatsink for the voltage stabilizers. Ok, it looks strange, but at that time, i did not have any other around.