Who’s Who?

auex pretty much summed it up for me too. But I'll go into depth. I'm only 18, but i've been fascinated with electronics since i was 5. (And people say video games were a bad invention!) I got my first nintendo and computer when i was 5. while I never had trouble with the nintendo except for the occasional dirty cartridge, i had tons of probs with my comp. My dad was kind of a computer geek, and he was always ripping his apart tryin to make it better and faster..... ( i dunno how much faster u can get than a 286 ;) but hey ). So, growing up with that i learned a bit about electricity. Eventually i got better than he did with computers, and to this day he asks me to fix his, but im not into that anymore. In high school i took home maintenance, which was entirely about electricity. I figured out how to make a complete circuit, which carried over into the next year when i got my first car. Ever since i was a kid, i always bought the big monster head phones cuz of the bass. So, naturally, i wanted that in my car. Started off small, radio here, radio there, amp now and then. Now, after all the previous installs (i've got about 100 cars or so under my belt) and with all the help i've gotten on here, i'd say i've got a pretty good knowlledge of how it all works. If all goes well, by next summer I will be attending Mobile Dynamics in phoenix to get my MECP, and become a professional installer, with hopes of opening up my own shop near me. thanks.

Sorry, no college degrees, no phd's, hell not even any fancy companies, but its a passion, and thats good enough for me.

Thanks for all the posts so far, everyone.  Keep 'em coming.  I really respect you folks who are out there "doing it" and installing every day.  It is not easy work and you have to know your "stuff."  Congrats and keep going.

I hope no one thinks I was trying to brag by posting my degrees.  It's just kind of comes natural for me, and in the circles I deal with every day people expect it.  I'll be completely honest and tell yo that the only reason I have the education I do is because I am a Nam vet and I kept going to school as long as the GI Bill held out!  Besides, college degrees have NOTHING to do with whether someone can install or not!

..... and next comes Jeff  from Velocity . Hey guys and gals, it's my turn on the mike and here goes............ I've been installing for about 12 years now and I've owned my own business for about 6 years of those 12. I got into the stereo installation soon after graduating high school and a hobby turned into a business for me. All my buddies and my buddies friends asked me to install their stereo's for them and after about 30 vehicles, I thought I should start charging for my time (  not too smart on my end, should have started charging after the 29th vehicle  )

I eventually got bored with just installing normal stereos and ventured into remote starter's and alarm systems. Through trial and error I figured out how to install my first remote starter into a 1993 Toyota 4Runner ( Manual ) after a mere 16 hours of install time, not bad for the first time. The rest is history I guess and now I try to dabble into everything I can get my hands onto like custom fiberglass designs, paint and body work, engine mods, Play Station 2 and XBox mods, etc................

I like to learn by experience and work with real life, tangible things so that I can get a grasp as to how it works. I don't have any other education other than grade 12, but I sucked at school any ways..... too boring for me. I TRUELY believe that anyone is capable of learning any trade without going to school for it. Heck, most of the trades in the world had to be grandfathered into the whole scheme of things, right ? So who taught the teacher ?

Peace out and like I've been saying for the past couple of years on this forum " ............ no problemo "

Oh yeah, one more thing................ I want to thank my fiance for being so patient with me and the way I am when it comes to installation and my job. If anyone has a significant other, you know what I mean !! Those late nights in the garage or those mysteriously disappearing hundred dollar bills from the bank account going into the project car ..................... Thank you & I love you Wanda !!

( That's it ......... NEXT !!!! )

OK, me next. I guess I'm fairly new to car audio. I mean, I've been playing around with it for years, but a few years ago I found out I didn't know as much I thought I did. I've been playing with electronics since I was a kid (and had all the little project kits), but never got serious at first. I went to college for Automotive Technology (Mechanic) and Electronics, but never did that professionally. Now I am an Industrial Maintenence Mechanic. I have to fix mainly everything that does anything at the plant I work at. This includes anything that moves (chains, belts, Etc.), 115 to 575 volt motors and drives, high voltage ignitors, variable speed drives, bearings,  welding, concrete, fabrication, blah, blah, blah.

I started being more intersted in car audio when I bought my first brand new truck in 1996, when I was 18. I bought 2 Kicker Impulses and a 150 watt kenwood amp for $350 from this kid at work (Yeah, I know... now). Since then I buy stuff when I can for my rides, and all my friends come to me when they get new gear to save money on the pro install. They all say it's just as good as getting it done at the shop ( maybe they're just saying it cause it's free!) I don't know, I just try to help. I've done at least 20 complete installs with no complaints, and 1 alarm, 1 starter, and 2 alarm/starter/door locks (all my own vehicles).

My dream is to open an audio shop here, as there are none for 120 miles from here, except for the one across the river in Canada (yeah, if you got a good arm you could trow a rock into Canada from here), but the only decent stuff they sell is Rockford and Alpine at overpriced prices, even after the exchange. But we all know that takes money, and some credentails would help (n  e  e  d    m  o  r  e    k  n  o  w  l  e  d  g  e !) If I could quit my job to work on stereos all day....  "find a job doing something you love and you will never have to go to work a day in your life ever again" -- can't remember who wrote that.

If I do ever give bad advice on this forum, please correct me right away as I never mean any wrongdoing, I only try to help. 

And a big Thank You to all who have ever answered my questions or given their advice to me here.

Matt, MN   

Guess I’d say a little about myself,

I guess I could say I am one of those that don’t know what in the world I want to do.  I have an extensive background. I grew up the son of a teacher, which means I have read all types of books related to car audio.  After getting a few pyramid amps that did not last to long I started to teach my self about electrical circuits and how diodes and relays react in an amp.  The love for audio didn’t stop there since my friends let me tear apart their cars to do installs. By 17 I had enough money to get my first system, which was loud even at today’s standards.  My system consisted of JBL, Earthquake, Kenwood and Orion and hit about 150 db.  That was about 12 years ago when most amps were called cheater amps.

Since my family is large and mostly self-employed I learned woodworking from my dad and fiber glassing from my uncle while growing up.  Currently, I don’t do much installs since I have to be sitting at this desk all day long listening to idiots that don’t have a clue. But I do some installs during the weekend when I have free time.  Other than that I am not MECP certified but have my MBA and working on my CPA.  I have been thinking about opening a shop but don’t know what to expect.  With all of the changes in the auto industry it is becoming harder to change out or add additional radio and amplifiers.  In addition, I talked to a few guys that have their certifications and some really don’t have a clue about car audio in specifics.  They can brag about their certifications but I prefer know how.  Man, it kills me when someone who is certified tells me that you can’t wire 2 four ohm dual voice coil subs to a 4 ohm load.  That let's me know that when my shop opens not to look for some one that is certified but someone that learned at home by trial and error and by visiting  www.the12volt.com

Well that’s about it before I get long winded..