Life Like Proto 2000 GP9 (Early Version)

Scale:
HO Scale


This installation uses the following decoder:

T1



This installation for HO Scale LifeLike Proto 2000 GP9 III uses TCS T1 Digital Decoder and was performed by A.G.

Here is the picture of the locomotive with its shell on.
Here is the picture of the locomotive with its shell on.
The body shell is held in place by the couplers. Remove the screws with the couplers boxes, set aside. The body lifts straight up with a little wiggling. You need to have the hardwire harness package and solder its orange wire to P1 of the lighting board. Gray wire to the Pin 5, black wire to the Pin 4, and red wire to the Pin 8. Trim the green and the viloet wires off (we do not use extra functions in this installation).
The body shell is held in place by the couplers. Remove the screws with the couplers boxes, set aside. The body lifts straight up with a little wiggling. You need to have the hardwire harness package and solder its orange wire to P1 of the lighting board. Gray wire to the Pin 5, black wire to the Pin 4, and red wire to the Pin 8. Trim the green and the viloet wires off (we do not use extra functions in this installation).
Using an X-acto knife, gently cut (circled in red) traces off (marked "x" on the original lighting board). Be very careful not to damage other traces!
Using an X-acto knife, gently cut (circled in red) traces off (marked "x" on the original lighting board). Be very careful not to damage other traces!
For the purpose of this installation we used two 1.5V ultra-bright LEDs so in order to limit the track voltage (usually between 12V -18V) to operating LED voltage (1.5 V) we used 680 ohm (through hole) resistor placed on the Cathode of the LED. For the forward light you need to solder the LED's cathode (with 680 Ohm resistor) to the white wire of the 9 pin JST connector, and for the reverse light you need to solder the LED's cathode (with 680 Ohm resistor) to the yellow wire of the 9 Pin JSTconnector. The blue wire that comes off of the 9 Pin JST connector is the common wire for the light so it needs to be connected to both of the LED's anodes. See the picture above for more details and email our tech support if you have any questions.
For the purpose of this installation we used two 1.5V ultra-bright LEDs so in order to limit the track voltage (usually between 12V -18V) to operating LED voltage (1.5 V) we used 680 ohm (through hole) resistor placed on the Cathode of the LED. For the forward light you need to solder the LED's cathode (with 680 Ohm resistor) to the white wire of the 9 pin JST connector, and for the reverse light you need to solder the LED's cathode (with 680 Ohm resistor) to the yellow wire of the 9 Pin JSTconnector. The blue wire that comes off of the 9 Pin JST connector is the common wire for the light so it needs to be connected to both of the LED's anodes. See the picture above for more details and email our tech support if you have any questions.
This picture shows the 680 Ohm resistors under the shrinkwrap and soldered to the LED's cathodes.
This picture shows the 680 Ohm resistors under the shrinkwrap and soldered to the LED's cathodes.
Here is the chassis right before the decoder was installed.
Here is the chassis right before the decoder was installed.
When refitting the body, take care to get all the wires out of the way. They like to bunch up on the top of the circuit board and keep the shell from sitting all the way down. Also, there are small projections under the walkway that fit into recessess on the frame. Gently squeeze the walkway to get these pins to line up properly. When installed properly, the bottom of the frame will be leveled with the bottom edge of the walkway.
When refitting the body, take care to get all the wires out of the way. They like to bunch up on the top of the circuit board and keep the shell from sitting all the way down. Also, there are small projections under the walkway that fit into recessess on the frame. Gently squeeze the walkway to get these pins to line up properly. When installed properly, the bottom of the frame will be leveled with the bottom edge of the walkway.

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