Atlas EMD GP39-2 Ph. 1

Scale:
HO Scale


WOWKit used in this installation

WDK-ATL-3

Which includes the following items:

Decoder
Motherboard

AK-MB1

Speaker Kit


Installation

This installation is for a HO-Scale Atlas GP39-2 Phase 1 using a TCS WOW121-Diesel Decoder, AK-MB1 Motherboard with built in Keep Alive® and UNIV-SH1-C WOWSpeaker kit by TCS.

HO-Scale Atlas GP39-2 Phase 1 prior to installation.
HO-Scale Atlas GP39-2 Phase 1 prior to installation.
To start off this install, we must first remove the front and rear coupler screws highlighted in red above and their housings. With that complete, the shell will lift off of the chassis.
To start off this install, we must first remove the front and rear coupler screws highlighted in red above and their housings. With that complete, the shell will lift off of the chassis.
With the shell off, we can now remove the factory light board. First remove any wire clips and disconnect the wires from the board. Once the wires are loose, the factory light board can easily be removed from the chassis.
With the shell off, we can now remove the factory light board. First remove any wire clips and disconnect the wires from the board. Once the wires are loose, the factory light board can easily be removed from the chassis.
With the original light board removed, trim, tin or lengthen the wires as necessary.
With the original light board removed, trim, tin or lengthen the wires as necessary.
Attach the AK-MB1 to the same mounts and solder the lights, motor and track pickup wires to the AK-MB1 according to your included wiring diagram. This engine comes supplied with LED's. We have found that LED light output is brightest when shinning directly into the end of the light tube, but in some circumstances they may be placed along the length of the tube as well with satisfactory results. In doing so, white light LED output would be least affected, while non white LED output will be more affected by placement.
Attach the AK-MB1 to the same mounts and solder the lights, motor and track pickup wires to the AK-MB1 according to your included wiring diagram. This engine comes supplied with LED's. We have found that LED light output is brightest when shinning directly into the end of the light tube, but in some circumstances they may be placed along the length of the tube as well with satisfactory results. In doing so, white light LED output would be least affected, while non white LED output will be more affected by placement.
Insert the 35mm x 16mm speaker into theUNIV-SH1-C speaker housingmount the assembly up into the shell as seen above. 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. 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.
Insert the 35mm x 16mm speaker into theUNIV-SH1-C speaker housingmount the assembly up into the shell as seen above. 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. 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 your speaker wires to the AK-MB1 and plug in your WOW121-Diesel decoder. We can now 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.
Solder your speaker wires to the AK-MB1 and plug in your WOW121-Diesel decoder. We can now 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.

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