This is so easy it was untrue.

The four P42s at four stages of chipping.
Body off - ready to start.
Clip removed and pcb off.
Plastic lugs cut off and insulation tape in place. (Compare with the photo above).
Sound chip clipped in place and secured with more insulation tape.

Less than 25 minutes and the only tools required are a sharp craft knife, some insulating tape and a pair of scissors to cut the insulating tape!

Click on the photos for enlarged images.

This was the first time I had ever chipped a locomotive. I thought I was jumping at the deep end tackling a sound chip straight away (and four of them at once!). Nothing could be further from the truth. The ease of the job speaks volume for the quality and design on the part of both Kato and MRC.

The first job and probably the most difficult was to remove the body: no screws, just gently ease the sides of the body outwards from the chassis and let the chassis slide out.

Next, unclip the LED printed circuit board - simply pop / prize out the clip.

Cut off the 14 tiny lumps of plastic as per the instructions (don't hack off the locating lug in the middle).

Insulate the metal parts of the chassis from the decoder (four strips as shown).

Place the decoder in position where the LED pcb was previously located and hold in place with the original clip (a simple push fit). Tape the decoder down tight at the ends (this makes for a good contact with the pickups which protrude from the top of the bogies and rub up against the underside of the decoder.

Re-program the loco address and get some ear plugs - they are loud! I chipped all four of my Genesis' in under an hour. There are two prime mover types (F12) so they don't sound alike when run in pairs. Even with the four running in one consist, the sound coming from each loco was wonderful and the 'random' diesel sounds were entirely sufficient to hear four locos running along.

All we need now are similar decoders for the entire Kato and Athearn ranges.