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 Data East Ball Auto-Launch Assembly Replacement/Upgrade
Page Contents:
About This Article:
This article deals with the replacement of the "Turbo Boost" ball auto-launch mechanism (Data East # 500-5304-00) on games that used the manual ball shooter (plunger) in conjunction with an auto-launcher. Some games that used this mechanism (or most likely used it) were Back to the Future, Batman, Checkpoint, Hook, Monday Night Football, Phantom of the Opera, Playboy 35th Anniv., Simpsons, Star Trek, Time Machine, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Tommy. Please check your game or your game manual to make sure your game uses this unit, before doing any of the work below. Let us know if you have any corrections to the above game list. This article does not apply to games that used a button or switch to launch the ball- having auto-launch but not using a manual ball-shooter- such as Guns 'n Roses, Last Action Hero, Lethal Weapon 3, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Star Wars, and Tales From the Crypt. Level of Difficulty: The procedure described in this article is considered Moderate-to-Major in terms of difficulty and requirements of skill and expertise. This procedure is not recommended for novice repair persons or other pinball owners who are not well experienced with working on their own games. If you are not comfortable doing the type of detailed work described in this article, we strongly suggest enlisting the help of a qualified repair person who can do the work for you. See our Game Service & Repair page for help with finding a qualified repair person in your area. Original Data East Auto-Launch Assembly:
The original Turboboost kicker unit usually got a tremendous amount of use in most games that it was used in, and as a result, was frequently broken or non-functional, and chances are if you run across a game with one of these units in it nowadays, you'll see a unit that's either disabled, worn out and sloppy, or that's had a lot of previous "repair" work done to it to try and keep it working.  Original Data East Turboboost Kicker Assembly In most cases, these old units just aren't healthy enough anymore to do the job reliably, and have to be replaced. The entire Turboboost kicker assembly was discontinued shortly before Data East went out of business in 1993/1994, so it is no longer available as a complete assembly, and most individual parts are no longer available either. Modern Stern Auto-Launch Assembly:
The solution that we have come up with for replacing these old worn-out units with something reliable, is to use a modern Stern Pinball auto-launch mechanism, as used on such games as Lord of the Rings, Simpsons Pinball Party, and other modern games. The modern Stern unit does the same job but has a slightly different design in the kicker arm. Looking at the two parts (old unit and new unit) side-by-side really shows the differences- the new unit is much more robust and heavy-duty, and will likely last a lifetime in any game in home use.   Modern Stern Auto-Launch Assembly Installation:
Installing the modern Stern unit in an older Data East game requires removing the old original unit (kicker mechanism & bracket, and coil & bracket) and positioning and installing the new unit. The new unit should be positioned so that it does not come in contact with the playfield wood (at bottom of shooter lane) when it kicks, and of course so that it doesn't interfere with any other playfield parts or wiring, and so that the playfield can be easily set back into the cabinet without the kicker hitting the side of the cabinet, etc. Properly positioning and mounting the new kicker unit will usually require marking and drilling some new mounting screw holes. In most cases, the original coil and coil mounting bracket can be re-used with the new kicker mechanism. Usually the coil and it's mounting bracket will have to be re-positioned as well, to accomodate the positioning of the kicker mechanism, so again, proper positioning and some marking/drilling of mounting screw holes may also be required here. It's also possible that the ball trough release coil bracket and kicker arm (if used on your game) may have to be slightly repositioned to the left or right, to accomodate the auto-launch coil bracket. Anytime you move either of these types of units, be sure to position the coil bracket in proper alignment with the coil plunger, which is part of the kicker arm mechanism. These parts must fit and work properly together, when mounted to the playfield underside, and alignment must not be off, otherwise parts may jam/stick, or prematurely wear-out. Test the functionality of the parts during or after the repositioning, to be sure everything is going to work right when put back together. Some slight bending of the ball trough release kicker arm may be required if balls are ejected to the plunger lane improperly (don't kick out all the way, or kick out and bounce back in, etc.) A slight (very small) bend to the kicker arm- to the left or right- will change the trajectory of balls being released to the plunger lane. You can also use the modern Stern auto-launch coil and mounting bracket to replace your old Data East unit, if you so desire. Both parts are very similar, but if you want all new parts, or anything is worn out or broken on your old coil/bracket, you can use the new Stern parts instead.  New Stern auto-launch assembly installed on a Data East 'Star Trek' game. As most games have different hardware, and different mounting locations (positioning) of parts, there is no "step-by-step" walkthrough of exactly what must be done to replace your old Data East kicker with the new Stern parts, or exactly how or where to mount the parts. So doing this upgrade will require a slight bit of engineering on your part, or if you're uncomfortable doing this kind of work, check with your local pinball repair person or company- they may be able to help you. Parts Listing:
We carry all the necessary parts for installing the new Stern kicker mechanism in your older Data East game. The following is a listing of items used, part numbers, and pages on our website where you can find and order these items. Location of some parts changes periodically on our website, so if you can't find an item, use our Search Feature at the top left of any page, or e-mail us:
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