Atlas SD50

Scale:
N Scale


This installation uses the following decoder:


This installation is for N Scale Atlas SD50 and uses TCS ALD4 Decoder and was performed by TCS.

Remove body shell and handrails by gently pulling up on the shell. Remove the fuel tank.
Remove body shell and handrails by gently pulling up on the shell. Remove the fuel tank.
Here is the picture of the Locomotive's chassis with its shell taken off and original light board installed.
Here is the picture of the Locomotive's chassis with its shell taken off and original light board installed.
Loose the two Phillips screws that hold the two halves of the frame together and remove Locomotive's both trucks by gentle pull and twist to the side. Pull two copper power lines from both side of the chassis.
Loose the two Phillips screws that hold the two halves of the frame together and remove Locomotive's both trucks by gentle pull and twist to the side. Pull two copper power lines from both side of the chassis.
Take both halves of the frame apart, remove original light board that the locomotive came with and insert the ALD4 decoder. Make sure the motor tabs are not touching the frame ( as shown in two pictures below) - isolate them with kapton tape and make sure they ARE touching their proper spots on the underside of the decoder. (See the picture at the very bottom.)
Take both halves of the frame apart, remove original light board that the locomotive came with and insert the ALD4 decoder. Make sure the motor tabs are not touching the frame ( as shown in two pictures below) - isolate them with kapton tape and make sure they ARE touching their proper spots on the underside of the decoder. (See the picture at the very bottom.)
Put both sides of the frame together and make sure that all four contacts (circled in red) are fitted into the chassis so that they create physical/electrical contact. Install both trucks, power pick-up rails, and tighten the two phillips screws on the chassis. Place the shell back and test your locomotive on the track.
Put both sides of the frame together and make sure that all four contacts (circled in red) are fitted into the chassis so that they create physical/electrical contact. Install both trucks, power pick-up rails, and tighten the two phillips screws on the chassis. Place the shell back and test your locomotive on the track.

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