Athearn Genesis EMD SD70M-2

Scale:
HO Scale


WOWKit used in this installation

WDK-ATH-1

Which includes the following items:

Decoder
Motherboard

GEN-MB1

Speaker Kit


Installation

This installation is for a HO Scale Athearn SD70M-2 using a TCS WOW121 Decoder, GEN-MB1 motherboard with Keep Alive® and a 28mm speaker by TCS.

The Athearn SD70M-2 with its shell on prior to installation.
The Athearn SD70M-2 with its shell on prior to installation.
We do not have a full installation shown with steps for this locomotive, but it is here shown with the shell off, the GEN-MB1 in, everything soldered in place and the 28mm speaker inserted into the frame speaker port, secured with a rim of hot glue.
We do not have a full installation shown with steps for this locomotive, but it is here shown with the shell off, the GEN-MB1 in, everything soldered in place and the 28mm speaker inserted into the frame speaker port, secured with a rim of hot glue.
Shown ready to go with the WOW121 decoder in place. At this point, all that is needed is to reattached the shell in reverse order, insert and screw the coupler boxes in place into the Athearn SD70M-2 locomotive and it is ready to roll!
Shown ready to go with the WOW121 decoder in place. At this point, all that is needed is to reattached the shell in reverse order, insert and screw the coupler boxes in place into the Athearn SD70M-2 locomotive and it is 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