Kato RS-2

Scale:
HO Scale


WOWKit used in this installation

WDK-KAT-3

Which includes the following items:

Decoder
Motherboard

AS-MB2-NC

Speaker Kit
Keep Alive®

KA4



DXI Installation

This was performed by our friends from DCC Xpress installations. 
They offer high quality WOWSound installations for a flat rate complete with free return shipping! 
You can find them at: www.dxinstalls.com

This installation is for a HO-Scale Kato RS-2 using a TCS WOW121-Diesel Decoder, AS-MB2-NC Motherboard, KA4 Keep Alive® 
and UNIV-SH1-C WOWSpeaker kit.

NOTE: This model was wired from the factory to run short-hood-forward. If you would like to have your model with the long hood forward, you may need to reverse your motor wires of what is shown in this documentation. Otherwise, you can configure the decoder to operate in the reverse direction via CV programming.

HO-Scale Kato RS-2 shown prior to installation. To start off this install, we must first remove shell. Do this by gently squeezing the shell on both sides and carefully lifting it upwards.
Shown with the shell off and the original lighting board already removed. To remove the board, separate the metal motor tabs and simply lift it off of the chassis. Trim each motor lead tab and solder a connection point to each as highlighted above in red. Remove the walkway to reveal the track pick up.
Solder a wire lead to each motor pickup and insulate with shrink tubing. At this time, solder a low profile connection point to each side of the track pick up and branch these leads to be able to connect to each end of the AS-MB2-NC.
Attach the AS-MB2-NC to the frame and solder the motor and track pickup wires according to your included wiring diagram. Replace the walkway.
Next, remove the front weight screw above highlighted in red and with it the front light tube and weight from the shell. This weight will be discarded. Using a small mitre saw, trim the light tube just beyond the front lens element as shown above and place it back into place into the shell.
With the light tube in place, insert the 35mm x 16mm speaker into the UNIV-SH1-C enclosure and using hot melt glue, mount this assembly into the top front of the shell right behind the light tube as shown 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.
Wire the speaker leads to the AS-MB2-NC.
With the speaker installed, using a small dab of hot melt glue, secure the surface mount LED to the end of the rear light tube as shown above. For this installation we decided to use 2 of the TCS 1417 (2x wired surface mount sunny white LED kit. Using the same method, secure the front LED as shown below to the front light tube. 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.
With the lighting in place, using hot melt glue, mount the KA4 Keep Alive® to the shell directly behind the speaker and solder these leads to the AK-MB2-NC. You can now plug in your WOW121 decoder. Lastly, in order to keep the wires neat and prevent possible shorts, lace the wires into a bundle using lacing cord. 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 Kato RS-2 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