Athearn Blue Box / RTR EMD F59PHI

Scale:
HO Scale


WOWKit used in this installation

WDK-ATH-5

Which includes the following items:

Decoder
Motherboard

RTR-MB1

Speaker Kit


Installation

This installation is for a HO-Scale EMD F59PHI using a TCS WOW121-Diesel Decoder, RTR-MB1 Motherboard with built in Keep Alive® 
and UNIV-SH1-C WOWSpeaker kit by TCS.

HO-Scale EMD F59PHI shown prior to installation.
HO-Scale EMD F59PHI shown prior to installation.
To start off this install, we must first remove the front and rear coupler screws highlighted above in red and their housings. With the couplers removed, while gently pulling outwards at each side lift the shell off of the frame. Take care with the handrails as you lift off the shell so they don't break.
To start off this install, we must first remove the front and rear coupler screws highlighted above in red and their housings. With the couplers removed, while gently pulling outwards at each side lift the shell off of the frame. Take care with the handrails as you lift off the shell so they don't break.
The EMD F59PHI shown with the shell off. Remove the wires from the original lighting board and remove it from the chassis.
The EMD F59PHI shown with the shell off. Remove the wires from the original lighting board and remove it from the chassis.
With the original lighting board removed, trim, tin or lengthen the wires as necessary.
With the original lighting board removed, trim, tin or lengthen the wires as necessary.
Attach the RTR-MB1 to the clip and solder the motor and track pickup wires according to the included wiring diagram. In this installation, one side of the track pick has a single lead and it was necessary to splice in a second lead as shown above. When attaching the wires to the pads, it is not necessary to insert the wires through the holes. We recommend attaching the wires flat on top of the solder pads.
Attach the RTR-MB1 to the clip and solder the motor and track pickup wires according to the included wiring diagram. In this installation, one side of the track pick has a single lead and it was necessary to splice in a second lead as shown above. When attaching the wires to the pads, it is not necessary to insert the wires through the holes. We recommend attaching the wires flat on top of the solder pads.
With the 35mm X 16mm WOWSound speaker inserted into the UNIV- SH1-C enclosure, using a small amount of hot melt glue along each side, mount this assembly to the top inside of the shell as shown above. 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. NOTE: You must be very careful to avoid getting glue on the speaker cone. Glue on the speaker will ultimately cause it to produce no sound and fail. In this installation, the open fans on the roof may have loose fan blades. In order to prevent vibration which could compromise the sound quality, we recommend that you add a small drop of model glue to the junction of the fan and spindle to prevent this movement.
With the 35mm X 16mm WOWSound speaker inserted into the UNIV- SH1-C enclosure, using a small amount of hot melt glue along each side, mount this assembly to the top inside of the shell as shown above. 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. NOTE: You must be very careful to avoid getting glue on the speaker cone. Glue on the speaker will ultimately cause it to produce no sound and fail. In this installation, the open fans on the roof may have loose fan blades. In order to prevent vibration which could compromise the sound quality, we recommend that you add a small drop of model glue to the junction of the fan and spindle to prevent this movement.
Solder the speaker leads to the RTR-MB1.
Solder the speaker leads to the RTR-MB1.
Next solder the lighting leads to the RTR-MB1 according to the included wiring diagram. In this installation, we separated out the front ditch lights from the front headlight as a individual function. This lead was soldered to pad #1. The RTR-MB1 and GEN-MB1 have on board 1.5volt power supplies to conveniently power all the original 1.5volt bulbs that come with your Athearn locomotive. The front headlight and rear light pads are configured for 1.5volt use. Additional 1.5volt pads are available for other connections for ditch lights etc. If you prefer to use LED lighting as an option, there are LED solder connection pads. Current limit resistors are built into the board so no external resistor are needed for LED use.
Next solder the lighting leads to the RTR-MB1 according to the included wiring diagram. In this installation, we separated out the front ditch lights from the front headlight as a individual function. This lead was soldered to pad #1. The RTR-MB1 and GEN-MB1 have on board 1.5volt power supplies to conveniently power all the original 1.5volt bulbs that come with your Athearn locomotive. The front headlight and rear light pads are configured for 1.5volt use. Additional 1.5volt pads are available for other connections for ditch lights etc. If you prefer to use LED lighting as an option, there are LED solder connection pads. Current limit resistors are built into the board so no external resistor are needed for LED use.
You can now plug in your WOW121 decoder. Now you can close up the locomotive and reinstall the coupler assemblies. Be sure to be mindful of wire routing and reassembly of the shell as to not damage or foul the installation. Your EMD F59PHI is now WOWSound equipped and ready to roll!
You can now plug in your WOW121 decoder. Now you can close up the locomotive and reinstall the coupler assemblies. Be sure to be mindful of wire routing and reassembly of the shell as to not damage or foul the installation. Your EMD F59PHI 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