Athearn Genesis EMD F2A

Scale:
HO Scale


WOWKit used in this installation

WDK-ATH-3

Which includes the following items:

Decoder
Motherboard

GEN-MB1

Speaker Kit


Installation

Athearn Genesis F2A Decoder Installation featuring the GEN-MB1 Motherboard with Keep Alive®, WOW121-Diesel Decoder, and UNIV-SH1-C Speaker Kit.

First, remove the coupler box screw and the coupler box from the front of the locomotive. Then lift the shell off the engine starting from the back and working up to front of your locomotive.
First, remove the coupler box screw and the coupler box from the front of the locomotive. Then lift the shell off the engine starting from the back and working up to front of your locomotive.
Next, remove the wires from the original lighting board and remove it from the motor clips.
Next, remove the wires from the original lighting board and remove it from the motor clips.
Next, clip the motherboard onto the motor and wire the GEN-MB1 according to the wiring diagram in the motherboard manual. All the original 1.5volt bulbs supplied with the Athearn loco were used. The white wire solder pad is the forward 1.5v solder pad for the front lights. The solder pad marked "1.5V" is the common power source for the bulbs. This motherboard can be configured for LED operation as well, the mother board has built in current limit resistors for LED use. Consult the wiring diagram for LED use.
Next, clip the motherboard onto the motor and wire the GEN-MB1 according to the wiring diagram in the motherboard manual. All the original 1.5volt bulbs supplied with the Athearn loco were used. The white wire solder pad is the forward 1.5v solder pad for the front lights. The solder pad marked "1.5V" is the common power source for the bulbs. This motherboard can be configured for LED operation as well, the mother board has built in current limit resistors for LED use. Consult the wiring diagram for LED use.
Lace the speaker wires into the included speaker enclosure and solder them to the speaker and the motherboard. Press the speaker into enclosure (adding a small drop of glue at the corners if necessary to insure a snug fit). Mount the speaker and housing in the rear of the engine with a bit of contact cement or your preferred metal/plastic glue.
Lace the speaker wires into the included speaker enclosure and solder them to the speaker and the motherboard. Press the speaker into enclosure (adding a small drop of glue at the corners if necessary to insure a snug fit). Mount the speaker and housing in the rear of the engine with a bit of contact cement or your preferred metal/plastic glue.
With your GEN-MB1 installed you can plug in the WOW121-Diesel decoder, replace the shell, install the coupler and you are ready to run your WOWSound equipped engine.
With your GEN-MB1 installed you can plug in the WOW121-Diesel decoder, replace the shell, install the coupler and you are ready to run your WOWSound equipped engine.

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

Athearn F-Unit Note

Athearn F-Units (F2, F3, F7, and F9) are available with sound pre-installed/sound-ready with a circle milled into the top of the rear of the frame for a speaker.

If you have the sound-ready frame (visible here in the Athearn EMD F9A) 
use the WDK-ATH-9 WOWKit. 

If you have the non-sound ready version (shown here in the Athearn EMD F2A) 
use the WDK-ATH-3 WOWKit.