Stern pinball machines are some of the most common coin-op machines in the field — and they're one of the cleaner installs for ArcadePay. Stern's main board includes a dedicated universal card link header (CN1) designed for exactly this kind of third-party payment integration. No cutting wires, no splicing into the coin mech. Just a few jumper wires and you're done.
What You'll Need
- Your ArcadePay Controller (ships with your order)
- Female-to-Female Dupont Jumper Wires — pick these up on Amazon before you head out. They're solderless, color-coded, and push directly onto the header pins on the Stern board. No tools required.
⚠️ Always power off the machine before making any connections.
Step 1: Locate CN1 on the Stern Main Board
Open the backbox or main playfield cabinet to access the Stern main board. Look for the connector labeled CN1 — it's a 0.100" 8-pin header, often tan or white, typically located near the left side of the board.
The full CN1 pinout:
| Pin | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | 12V |
| 2 | Coin 1 (Credit In) |
| 3 | Meter 1 |
| 4 | N/C |
| 5 | Notch |
| 6 | Coin Enable |
| 7 | Ticket Enable |
| 8 | Ground |
Basic Wiring: Credits In (3 Wires)
For basic cashless credit functionality, you only need three connections on CN1:
| CN1 Pin | Connect To | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Pin 1 | ArcadePay 12V in | Powers the controller |
| Pin 2 | ArcadePay Pulse 1 | Sends credit signal to machine |
| Pin 8 | ArcadePay Ground | Common ground |
Push your Dupont jumper wires onto the appropriate CN1 pins and connect the other ends to the matching terminals on the ArcadePay Controller. That's it for basic operation — the machine will credit a play every time a payment is processed.
Full Wiring: Credits + Cash Reporting (5 Wires)
If you want ArcadePay to track coin drops and bill acceptor activity alongside cashless payments — giving you a unified revenue view across all payment types — you'll need two more connections on CN5, the 9-pin header also on the main board.
CN5 connections to add:
| CN5 Pin | Connect To | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Pin 7 | ArcadePay Pulse 4 | Monitors coin drops |
| Pin 8 | ArcadePay Pulse 5 | Monitors bill acceptor |
With all five wires connected, your ArcadePay dashboard will show cashless transactions and cash played — a complete picture of machine revenue without having to manually count coin boxes.
StreamPay Dashboard Settings
Once wired, log into your StreamPay dashboard and confirm:
- Pulse 1 is configured for your credit pulse type (match the machine's coin mech output — typically 50–100ms)
- Pulse 4 and Pulse 5 are enabled if you ran the full cash-reporting wiring
- Run a test transaction via QR code and verify a credit registers on the machine
Why Stern Installs Are Clean
Most machine types require tapping into the coin mech harness or splicing wires. Stern's CN1 header exists specifically for card reader and cashless integrations — it's a documented, supported interface on the main board. That means:
- No permanent modifications to the machine
- Easy to remove if you ever need to
- Works on virtually all modern Stern titles
Ready to Get Started?
If you don't have an ArcadePay Controller yet, order one at arcadepay.app — use promo code ACPAYX to get the hardware at no cost with activation. Questions about your specific Stern title or wiring? Reply to any email from ops@arcadepay.app and we'll walk you through it.