Atlas Track Cleaning Car

Scale:
HO Scale


This installation uses the following decoder:


This installation is recommended to be performed using the TCS KAM4P-SH Decoder instead of using an external Keep Alive® device.

First remove the second axle from the front truck as shown in the image below.
First remove the second axle from the front truck as shown in the image below.
Next, locate the screws highlighted in blue above and remove them from the car. After removing the screws lift off the vacuum chamber lid (screen section), and the front roof panel.
Next, locate the screws highlighted in blue above and remove them from the car. After removing the screws lift off the vacuum chamber lid (screen section), and the front roof panel.
Remove the 8-Pin dummy plug as seen on the left-hand side of the image above.
Remove the 8-Pin dummy plug as seen on the left-hand side of the image above.
Press down the black ring/blue button (next to the 8-Pin socket), plug the 8-Pin NMRA harness into the socket the dummy plug was in (make sure the orange wire pin from the harness is in the socket labeled "1"), wrap the excess wire around the button housing (be sure to avoid the screw holes), and kapton tape the decoder in place. Next connect the KA1 to the T1 Keep-Alive attachment wires. If you chose the KA version of the T1 you will need to solder the blue wire and the black with white wire from the decoder to the corresponding colors on the KA1. If you chose the KAC version simply plug the decoder into the KA1. Now mound the KA1 on top of the T1 and Kapton tape in place.
Press down the black ring/blue button (next to the 8-Pin socket), plug the 8-Pin NMRA harness into the socket the dummy plug was in (make sure the orange wire pin from the harness is in the socket labeled "1"), wrap the excess wire around the button housing (be sure to avoid the screw holes), and kapton tape the decoder in place. Next connect the KA1 to the T1 Keep-Alive attachment wires. If you chose the KA version of the T1 you will need to solder the blue wire and the black with white wire from the decoder to the corresponding colors on the KA1. If you chose the KAC version simply plug the decoder into the KA1. Now mound the KA1 on top of the T1 and Kapton tape in place.
Your track cleaning car should now look like the image below
Your track cleaning car should now look like the image below
Making sure that the blue button/black ring is unobstructed, replace the top pieces of the car, screw the front portion back in, and replace the wheels into the truck. You are now ready to run and clean your track!
Making sure that the blue button/black ring is unobstructed, replace the top pieces of the car, screw the front portion back in, and replace the wheels into the truck. You are now ready to run and clean your 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