If you run Stern pinball, you already have the cleanest cashless install path in the route. Modern Stern titles (Spike and Spike 2) ship with a dedicated CN1 header on the main board — built for payment integrations like ArcadePay.
That means three female-to-female Dupont jumpers, power off first, and you are live for card and wallet plays. No wire cutting. No coin-mech splicing.
What You Need
- Your ArcadePay Controller
- Female-to-female Dupont jumper wires (solderless, push-on)
- About ten quiet minutes with the machine powered off
Dupont jumpers are a few dollars online and push straight onto the header pins. Keep a small pack in the truck — they cover every Stern CN1 install you will do.
Three Wires for Cashless Credits
Power the machine fully off. Then connect CN1 to the ArcadePay Controller like this:
| CN1 Pin | ArcadePay terminal | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Pin 1 | 12V In | Powers the controller |
| Pin 2 | Pulse 1 | Credit signal into the game |
| Pin 8 | Ground | Common ground |
Push the jumpers onto CN1, land the other ends on the matching ArcadePay terminals, and you have cashless credits. When a guest pays, Pulse 1 fires and the machine credits a play.
Optional: Two More Wires for Cash Reporting
Want the ArcadePay dashboard to track coin drops and bill-acceptor plays alongside cashless? Add two wires from CN5 on the same board:
- CN5 Pin 7 → Pulse 4 — monitors coin drops
- CN5 Pin 8 → Pulse 5 — monitors the bill acceptor
With those five wires total, Reports shows a unified cash + cashless view for that pinball — useful when you settle a stop without digging through separate coin counters.
If you only need cards and wallets for now, stick with the three-wire credits setup. You can always add CN5 later.
Confirm It on the Dashboard
- Power the machine back on and wait for the ArcadePay Controller to show Online under Machines.
- In the ArcadePay dashboard, confirm Pulse 1 matches the machine credit pulse (typically 50–100 ms — match the coin mech output).
- If you ran the cash-reporting wires, enable Pulse 4 and Pulse 5.
- Scan the QR (or tap) and verify a credit registers on the playfield.
Full pinouts, pre-Spike notes, and photos live on the Help page: Install ArcadePay on a Stern Pinball Machine.
Why Operators Like This Install
- No permanent mods — jumpers pull off cleanly if you move the controller
- Documented header — CN1 is Stern’s supported cashless interface
- Fast route work — once you know the pinout, every modern Stern looks the same
Older pre-Spike Stern boards may not have CN1. In that case, tap the coin-1 credit line for Pulse 1 and use a clean 12–24V DC source for power — or email Support with the model and a board photo for tap-point advice.
The Takeaway
Stern CN1 turns cashless into a three-jumper job: Pin 1 → 12V, Pin 2 → Pulse 1, Pin 8 → Ground. Add CN5 Pins 7 and 8 when you want cash reporting in the same dashboard view. Power off first, match Pulse 1 timing, then test a real play before you leave the stop.
Wiring a specific Stern title and not sure about the board? Email ops@arcadepay.app with the model and a clear photo of the CN1 area — Support will point you to the right pins.
Ready to try ArcadePay?
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