Athearn Genesis EMD SD75M

Scale:
HO Scale


WOWKit used in this installation

WDK-ATH-3

Which includes the following items:

Decoder
Motherboard

GEN-MB1

Speaker Kit


Installation

Installation for a Athearn SD75M TCS WOW121-Diesel Decoder, GEN-MB1 Motherboard with Keep Alive® and UNIV-SH1-C Speaker Kit by TCS.

Athearn SD75M shown with the shell on prior to installation.
Athearn SD75M shown with the shell on prior to installation.
First, remove the coupler box screws as highlighted above in red and the coupler boxes from both ends of the locomotive.
First, remove the coupler box screws as highlighted above in red and the coupler boxes from both ends of the locomotive.
With the couplers removed the shell should lift right off the chassis.
With the couplers removed the shell should lift right off the chassis.
Remove the wires from the tabs on the original lighting board and set the shell aside. Next, remove the original lighting board.
Remove the wires from the tabs on the original lighting board and set the shell aside. Next, remove the original lighting board.
Attach the GEN-MB1 and solder the track and motor connections to the GEN-MB1 according to the included wiring diagram.
Attach the GEN-MB1 and solder the track and motor connections to the GEN-MB1 according to the included wiring diagram.
Next, solder the lighting connections to the GEN-MB1. This locomotive uses 1.5v bulbs and the GEN-MB1 has a built-in 1.5v power supply so we don't need external resistors for this installation. Simply wire one side of each bulb to one of the pads labeled "1.5V", and solder the other connection to the corresponding solder pad on the GEN-MB1. As this locomotive includes ditch lights we soldered each one of those ditch lights to function pads 1 and 2 respectively.
Next, solder the lighting connections to the GEN-MB1. This locomotive uses 1.5v bulbs and the GEN-MB1 has a built-in 1.5v power supply so we don't need external resistors for this installation. Simply wire one side of each bulb to one of the pads labeled "1.5V", and solder the other connection to the corresponding solder pad on the GEN-MB1. As this locomotive includes ditch lights we soldered each one of those ditch lights to function pads 1 and 2 respectively.
Next, mount your speaker in the speaker enclosure and hot glue it facing out under the fan vents on top of the shell. 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.
Next, mount your speaker in the speaker enclosure and hot glue it facing out under the fan vents on top of the shell. 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.
Solder the speaker wires to the motherboard according to the included wiring diagram.
Solder the speaker wires to the motherboard according to the included wiring diagram.
Lastly, in order to keep the wires neat and prevent possible shorts, lace the wires into a bundle using lacing cord, which is a wax impregnated string used for wire bundling and making harnesses. Finally, plug your WOW121-Diesel decoder into the GEN-MB1 motherboard and your installation is complete. Replace the shell (it should slide over the installation easily), and replace the couplers on the shell. Your WOWSound equipped Athearn SD75M is now ready to roll!
Lastly, in order to keep the wires neat and prevent possible shorts, lace the wires into a bundle using lacing cord, which is a wax impregnated string used for wire bundling and making harnesses. Finally, plug your WOW121-Diesel decoder into the GEN-MB1 motherboard and your installation is complete. Replace the shell (it should slide over the installation easily), and replace the couplers on the shell. Your WOWSound equipped Athearn SD75M is now 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