Three-ball troughs on early Data East games

Games from Laser War through Rocky and Bullwinkle use a trough limited to three balls, sensed by large microswitches with long metal arms. Bent or broken arms are the usual fault.

Systems

• Data East CPU Version 1/2
• Data East CPU Version 3
• Data East/Sega CPU Version 3b

Related tips

• Ball trough optos from Baywatch on
• "Ball missing" errors or extra balls served (roller switch trough)
• Find a bad trough switch with Easy Trough Clear
• Trough roller switch diodes get crushed

Source: Repairing DataEast 1987 (Laser War) to Sega 1995 (Batman Forever), Part Three, Clay Harrell (pinrepair.com)