Panasonic Shocks The World

There has been a major recall on all Panasonic PT-D5500U and PT-D5500UL projectors thanks to safety issues with the machines. This recall should not be taken lightly as the machine can make the electric chair look like a walk in the park.

For an expensive high end projector this is quite the interesting case, since you would think that a lot of thought went into the engineering of this machine. However, whenever there is innovation, there is excitement, and this sometimes leads to the neglect of certain important areas.

Apparently the circuits that power the projector lamp can touch the metal casing, which surrounds and covers them. This casing is attached to the wiring in the back of the machine where the terminals are located.

If the projector lamp “drive circuits” are touching the protective cover, (which coincidentally is made of metal) and you decide to hook up some wires or cables to the terminals at the back of the unit, you could be up for a thrilling ride. Think about what fifty thousand volts could do to your pathetic human frame. There isn’t much defense against that kind of voltage, so you will likely have to return the machine or wear rubber gloves on a regular basis.

There have not been any injuries reported as of yet, but everyone knows about their strange Uncle who is always getting electrocuted. It is very ironic how it is the one thing that everyone wants to be powerful, the brightness and therefore the projector lamp, is the organ that is contributing to the possible electrocution of the owner.

Panasonic is being very responsible about the whole matter. They are arranging to contact every owner so that they may collect, repair and re-distribute the modified versions of the projector back to its customers. Panasonic will pay for the whole endeavor leaving their customers empty handed for only a short period of time, but overall happy.

These kinds of problems and recalls are bound to happen in the world of electronics from time to time, and us as consumers should expect it and be prepared for it.