Atlas HH600

Scale:
HO Scale


This installation uses the following decoder:


This installation is for a HO-Scale Atlas HH600 using a TCS WOW121 Diesel Decoder, AS-MB2 Motherboard, KA4 Keep Alive® and UNIV-SH4-C WOWSpeaker kit by TCS.

HO-Scale Atlas HH600 shown prior to installation. To start off this install, we must first remove the shell, Gently squeeze along each side of the frame and lift the shell off of the frame. Take care to release the handrails as you lift off the shell so they don't break.
The Atlas HH600 shown with the shell off. Unplug the wires from the original lighting board and remove it from the chassis.
Shown with the original lighting board removed.
In order to allow space for the speaker, we must remove the front weight. Do this by removing the two screws highlighted above in red and lifting the front weight from the chassis.
Shown with the front weight removed.
Using a small dab of hot melt glue, mount the front LED onto the light tube as shown in the above left photo. As the rear LED had a small pin connector, remove this, splice on a connector to attach it to the board as shown in the above right photo. 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 25mm x 14mm speaker into the UNIV-SH4-C enclosure and using hot melt glue, mount this assembly to the top of the shell behind the LED. Be sure to place this so it will allow space for the AS-MB2 when the shell is closed. 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.
Using hot melt glue, mount the KA4 Keep Alive® to the top of the shell in front of the cab as shown.
Attach the AS-MB2 to the frame, plug the motor, track and lighting wires and solder the speaker and KA4 wire leads to the AS-MB2 according to the included wiring diagram. To be sure the motor wires are routed correctly and to avoid pinched wires and possible shorts, using a small file, trim out the feed hole found next to the motor connector to allow the wires to pass through the board edge as highlighted in the above left photo. You can see in the below photo below how the wires should be routed also highlighted in red.
You can now plug in your WOW121 decoder. Now you can close up the locomotive. Be sure to be mindful of wire routing and reassembly of the shell as to not damage or foul the installation. Your Atlas HH600 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