Stewart FTB Unit

Scale:
HO Scale


WOWKit used in this installation

WDK-ATL-3

Which includes the following items:

Decoder
Motherboard

AK-MB1

Speaker Kit


Installation

This installation is for HO Scale Stewart FTB using a TCS WOW121 Decoder, AK-MB1 with Keep Alive® and UNIV-SHC-1 WOWSpeaker kit by TCS.

Stewart Baldwin FTB Unit with its shell on prior to the installation.
Stewart Baldwin FTB Unit with its shell on prior to the installation.
To begin this installation, remove the front coupler screw and coupler box as highlighted above in red. Carefully grasp the shell on either side and gently lift up to remove it from the chassis.
To begin this installation, remove the front coupler screw and coupler box as highlighted above in red. Carefully grasp the shell on either side and gently lift up to remove it from the chassis.
Shown with the shell removed. Lift this board up off of the support pins and remove the wires leads. Trim and tin or lengthen the wires as necessary.
Shown with the shell removed. Lift this board up off of the support pins and remove the wires leads. Trim and tin or lengthen the wires as necessary.
Using clippers, remove the original pin support post as shown above to allow the AK-MB1 to sit flat.
Using clippers, remove the original pin support post as shown above to allow the AK-MB1 to sit flat.
Using hot melt glue, secure the AK-MB1 to the top of the original board support posts and solder the motor and track leads.
Using hot melt glue, secure the AK-MB1 to the top of the original board support posts and solder the motor and track leads.
Insert the 35mm X 16mm speaker into the UNIV-SH-1 housing and mount this to the front top of the shell using hot melt glue. Solder the speaker leads to the motherboard. If your speaker enclosure installation covers the portholes on the enclosure, we recommend adding new port hole(s) similar to the original porting. Be sure that the new portholes are the same size and amount of the original and are vented freely into the locomotive We have found introducing a port of the correct size greatly increases the volume and sound quality of the installation. Too much or too little porting decreases the sound quality.
Insert the 35mm X 16mm speaker into the UNIV-SH-1 housing and mount this to the front top of the shell using hot melt glue. Solder the speaker leads to the motherboard. If your speaker enclosure installation covers the portholes on the enclosure, we recommend adding new port hole(s) similar to the original porting. Be sure that the new portholes are the same size and amount of the original and are vented freely into the locomotive We have found introducing a port of the correct size greatly increases the volume and sound quality of the installation. Too much or too little porting decreases the sound quality.
You can now plug in the WOW121 decoder. Lastly, in order to keep the wires neat and prevent possible shorts, lace the wires into a bundle using lacing cord. Now you can close up the locomotive and reinstall the coupler assembly. Be sure to be mindful of wire routing and reassembly of the shell as to not damage or foul the installation. Your Stewart FTB unit is now WOWSound equipped and ready to roll!
You can now plug in the WOW121 decoder. Lastly, in order to keep the wires neat and prevent possible shorts, lace the wires into a bundle using lacing cord. Now you can close up the locomotive and reinstall the coupler assembly. Be sure to be mindful of wire routing and reassembly of the shell as to not damage or foul the installation. Your Stewart FTB unit is now WOWSound equipped and ready to roll!

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

Lacing Cord

In order to keep the wires neat and prevent possible shorts, we recommend lacing the wires into a bundle using lacing cord. Lacing cord is a wax impregnated string used for wire bundling and making harnesses. There are many choices of lacing cord available from Digikey www.digikey.com. 
We use part number 802534B BK032-ND