Athearn GP35 DCC Ready

Scale:
HO Scale


This installation uses the following decoder:

T1



This installation is for HO-Scale Athearn GP35 DCC Ready uses TCS T1 Digital Decoder and was performed by Jean Lacroix.

Shown with the shell on.
Shown with the shell on.
Back of the locomotive.
Back of the locomotive.
First, gently place your locomotive upside down on a piece of foam or a towel so you do not damage the paint or small details located on top. Remove the two screws that hold the coupler boxes.
First, gently place your locomotive upside down on a piece of foam or a towel so you do not damage the paint or small details located on top. Remove the two screws that hold the coupler boxes.
Hold the body where it is more solid in one hand and the fuel tank in your other hand and pull gently, the body should come off. Inside you will see the motor and an electronic circuit board that sit on top of it.
Hold the body where it is more solid in one hand and the fuel tank in your other hand and pull gently, the body should come off. Inside you will see the motor and an electronic circuit board that sit on top of it.
At the front end, there is a DCC “dummy” plug at the end of a harness that you will remove. You will then put in its place the T1 decoder in place of the “dummy”.
At the front end, there is a DCC “dummy” plug at the end of a harness that you will remove. You will then put in its place the T1 decoder in place of the “dummy”.
You are almost done! Just put back the body, the coupler boxes and the screws. The locomotive is now ready to go on the track.
You are almost done! Just put back the body, the coupler boxes and the screws. The locomotive is now ready to go on the track.

Important Soldering Tip

Please do not use any flux either liquid or paste on the mother board. Over time, the acidic properties of liquid or paste flux will begin eating away at the fiberglass PCB and will damage it. Use only Rosin-core solder or no-clean flux approved for electronics use.

TCS recommends the use of Kester "44" Sn63 Pb37, .015" diameter Rosin-core solder. Kester part number 24-6337-0007.

You can order this solder from the following retailers:
Digikey - PN:KE1110-ND
Techni-Tool - PN:488SO6775

Other solder tips

When stripping wire, only strip a tiny little bit of the insulation. Strip no more than a 1/32 of an inch. When the wire gets tinned with solder, the insulation will shrink back more. Try to not expose any more wire than half the length of the solder pad at most. In no case should solder or exposed wire wire ever be outside the boundary of the the solder pad you are attaching a wire to.
Click here for important information on properly Stripping and Tinning wire