Life Like Proto 2000 F3A

Scale:
HO Scale


WOWKit used in this installation

WDK-BAC-3

Which includes the following items:

Decoder
Motherboard

AS-MB2-NC

Speaker Kit
Keep Alive®

KA3



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 Life Like Proto 2000 F3A using a TCS WOW121-Diesel Decoder, AS-MB2 Motherboard, KA3 Keep Alive® and UNIV-SH4-C WOWSpeaker kit.

HO-Scale Life Like Proto 2000 F3A shown prior to installation. To start off this install, we must first remove the front coupler screw and it's housings. With the front coupler removed, while gently pulling outwards at each side of the frame, lift the shell off of the frame.
The Life Like Proto 2000 F3A 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.
Using double sided foam tape, attach the AS-MB2 to the frame and solder the motor and track pickup wires according to the included wiring diagram.
Using a small dab of holt melt glue, secure the KA3 unside down in between the front frame members and secure the wire leads with Kapton tape. Solder the KA3 leads to the S-MB2 NC according to the included wiring diagram. TCS motherboards include on board current limit resistors for LED use. There is no need to apply external resistors for LED use.
Using a small amount of hot melt glue, with the 36mm x 16mm WOWSound speaker inserted into the UNIV-SH4-C enclosure, mount this assembly face down in between the rear frame members. 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.
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 and reinstall the coupler assembly. Be sure to be mindful of wire routing and reassembly of the shell as to not damage or foul the installation. Your Life Like Proto 2000 F3A 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