Atlas RSD 4/5 Switcher

Scale:
HO Scale


This installation uses the following decoder:

A4X



This installation of TCS A4X Decoder is for HO Scale RSD 4/5 and was performed by a TCS customer.

This is the older design what was produced by KATO but sold by ATLAS. It had a single lamp in the middle of the chassis and lit up both ends regardless of which way the locomotive was traveling. Remove the old circuit board and trim the weights at either end so the A4X fits. Next trim the plastic light guides and polish the cut ends with very fine 'wet n dry' sandpaper till the ends are smooth. Wire the A4X as per instructions. LED's were added at each end so they were resting against the 'new' ends of the light guides. The pictured loco is in the livery of my freelance line 'NORTH EASTERN.'
This is the older design what was produced by KATO but sold by ATLAS. It had a single lamp in the middle of the chassis and lit up both ends regardless of which way the locomotive was traveling. Remove the old circuit board and trim the weights at either end so the A4X fits. Next trim the plastic light guides and polish the cut ends with very fine 'wet n dry' sandpaper till the ends are smooth. Wire the A4X as per instructions. LED's were added at each end so they were resting against the 'new' ends of the light guides. The pictured loco is in the livery of my freelance line 'NORTH EASTERN.'

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