I managed a Pro Sound Store for over 20 years (from the late 70s to the early years of this century). I took notes of people bringing in turntables The Panasonic SL-H203, SL-H204, and SL-H301 are turntables that customers brought in for belts. I did not stock or sell these models, so I wanted to be 100% sure which belt they needed, so I called Panasonic at that time and they said to use this belt. (At that time these had only been discontinued for a short while, and Panasonic still had information on them. If I did this today, they have no information for me. There was an early, non-Panasonic, parts cross-reference with a lot of errors in it, and the info it contained had a belt that contradicts what Panasonic told me when I called. There are many, many major parts dealers that copied these errors, and are selling the wrong belts, even to this day.

Here is the info I copied from my notes from my actual customer’s SL-H203, SL-H204 , and SL-H301 turntables:

The SL-H203 can be operated as a fully automatic turntable, or if you use the stacking spindle, as a changer. Most of the controls are on the outside of the dust cover. On the far left is the speed selector, it has 3 positions: The far left is 33, there is a • in the center, and 45 is on the far right. DJs of this time appreciated the • in the center, as when this position is selected, the motor is totally disengaged. This allows for scratching, back cueing, and a lot of other techniques. (The later models did not have this feature, some DJs still seek the SL-H203 for this feature.) There is no pitch control. If you have pitch issues with this model, there is a solution available, the process takes about a day, I can guide you through. Click contact seller near where it says turntables, etc. (upper right side of this page), I want to help. There is a cue lever to the right of the tonearm (near the back). Move the cue lever up, and the arm raises, move it down and the arm lowers. Near the cue lever is an anti-skating device. If you are having issues with your anti-skating device, click contact seller near where it says turntables, etc. (upper right side of this page), I want to help. The switch on the far right is says "start stop". As it is a fully automatic turntable, the user can press the start stop button to begin playing a record, or move the arm to the record and either set it on the vinyl, or lower it with the cue lever. The plater begins spinning as the arm nears the vinyl. When the user chooses to stop playing the record, the user hits "start stop" to stop playing the record. There is an automatic cut off after the end of the record, the arm lifts and returns home. If you use the stacking spindle, stack your vinyl and the changer will play the records in the order you stacked them.

Even though the model numbers are close, the SL-H204 is an older design than the SL-H3. In terms of features, they are almost identical. The SL-H204 has a simulated wood base with wood-grain vinyl veneer. The controls are on the right side. In front is the speed selector, 33 on the left, 45 on the right, with no neutral or center position. Behind it is a cue control, press up and the arm raises, down and it lowers. If this control does not operate smoothly, there is probably a well for hydraulic fluid that has dried up. Further back than the cue is the size selector, most 45s take the 7 inch position, there is a 10 inch position and the 12 inch position will accommodate LPs. By the base of the tonearm is a place to add or subtract anti-skating.