Panasonic CT-2707DF IR Receiver Malfunctioning

[qwikrex]

Hello,

I have a Panasonic CT-2707DF television which appears to have a malfunctioning IR receiver.

I've tested with our normal universal remote, which used to work, and with the original remote with a new set of batteries, both without success.

The malfunction seemed to occur slowly, at first, the volume didn't work, then no functions worked. It was also itermittent initially, now it has failed completely.

I've had the set apart, and checked that the IR sensor has voltage on the two outside leads. I don't have an oscilloscope so I cannot confirm the function of the signal lead.

Any hints on testing the receiver with just a DMM?

I feel confident in my soldering skills etc to just replace the receiver to see if it fixes the problem. I just have two reservations.

1) All of the electronics are mounted to a single board on this unit, including all the high voltage "stuff". I felt comfortable enough to move the board enough to get my meter on a couple leads, but in order to have enough space to work, I'll need to disconnect some stuff running to the CRT. I'm not familiar enough with TV's or CRT's to feel comfortable doing that safely. Any recommendations, or good articles to read?

2) I can seem to source a direct replacement for the receiver, assuming it is failed. I've been searching http://www.mouser.com and found a couple units which would probably work, but none of them look quite the same. Any suggestions on sourcing this part?

Thanks in advance!