If you’ve ever had to repair a Panasonic TV, you have more than likely experienced the joy of trying to decipher the dreaded A board suffix grid. The entire reason that this grid exists is because Panasonic has produced multiple A boards, with the same board number, and then differentiated them by suffix. The suffix consists of 2 letters that follow the base board number and can be used to find the exact main board needed for your repair.
One example is part TXN/A1LFUUS. The official Panasonic part number is not always on the board but the board number, TNPH0831, is listed right on the middle in yellow print. If you were to search just the board number without the suffix on our site, you would receive 14 results. 14! You could then narrow it down by model number, but you would still have multiple boards to choose from. The next step is to locate the grid. The most common place it is placed on A boards is near the edge of the board closest to the tuner and component plugs. You will want to turn the board so your left hand is holding the bottom corner nearest the cable tuner. Now you have full view of the suffix grid and can begin!
You will first notice a long yellow checker board with yellow dots scattered throughout the grid. If you look just above that grid there is an eprom IC (looks like a tiny black ramp with metal on each side) the important part is just above that. You will also notice there are 5 resistor points enclosed in a yellow grid. Starting from the left, which is the side closest to the edge, you want to check for open or closed resistors. Open resistors means there is no jumper connecting the 2 solder points. If they are closed, that means there is a small coated metal piece connecting the 2 silver solder points. In this example, there is a jumper in the first space and the last. Now, to the grid for deciphering!
Drop directly below to the yellow grid. Since we now know the suffix will correspond with a dot on the first and last space, that is what to look for. Scanning down every row, look at each individual space. The only row that matches up is AT. Follow that specific row, left to right, to see the dots match the jumpers. Ta-da! That reveals the board number and suffix to be: TNPH0831AT. You are now a Panasonic suffix expert!
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