I have a panasonic ag 1970 that works great from ebay.

& ag 1980 from ebay that the guy dropped on the floor when he was packing it so he gave it to me for free.
he said it would not load a tape after he dropped it i fixed that.

but the clock display is very dim & there is rainbow colored lines when you play a tape on it it seems to get better if you leave it play but they are still there. i was reading online that it could be the power supply

i took the ag 1970 apart to see if the power supplys are the same but they look way different but i was wondering if the connectors are the same on both power supplys it looks like they might be

so could i take the one out of the 1970 & try it in the 1980 to see if it fixes the problem with the lcd display and the lines on playback
or could it burn it up

i seen refurbished power supplys on ebay for $28 + shipping but dont want to buy it if thats not the problem

Electrolytic capacitors in the power are likely shot, as well as a few possible in the video maybe audio circuits. Only way you will know is get the power supply working properly first. Highly unlikely the two power supplies are the same so I doubt swapping the two is possible. Never seen Panasonic use the same exact power supply in two different models.

Capacitors are the number one problem with the AG-1980 and there are A LOT of them in this machine. The "barber pole" video output you describe is one of the many signs of bad caps in these units. Herringbone noise on the video output is another one. The 1970 much more solidly built, but the 1980 has a superior time base correction system.