A few questions for the audio pimps out there

thedemonxanth · 26-August-05, 01:44 AM

I'm up for a job at a car audio/furniture/pc repair place. Odd combo huh?
Anyway, I can fix anything on a computer(going for some certifications,compTIA, LPI, when I can afford it), and I'm strong so the furniture moving thing isn't an issue. I'm curous about the audio portion, MECP certification, etc I know it has 3 levels,. I know this place will at least want me to get the bronze level. I have a very strong electronics background, I make my own boards, soldering pro, and I can read schematics like they're plain english. I'v ebeen doing my homework about car electronics. I would like to know about the little things. Do components typically come with documentation/diagrams or are we talking know it cold? How complex is this cert to get(they seemed to think it was really difficult there). Any pitfalls or rookie mistakes to avoid? The interview went extremely well and they are going forward with the background check so I think I have a damn good chance. I almost hope I get this job more than the IT position I'm up for(we'll see what happens when the money is all finalized

Sorry for the long post, hope this is in the right spot, and thanks for any advice.

thedemonxanth · 26-August-05, 04:19 PM

Well, I'm reasonably certain I got the job due to the fact that I had to go to a lab and get a urinalysis. They also loaned me a study guide for the MECP stuff. I would say I got it but I try not to cound my chickens before they're being digested. I'm still interested in any info.

WDoG · 26-August-05, 04:43 PM

[QUOTE=thedemonxanth]Well, I'm reasonably certain I got the job due to the fact that I had to go to a lab and get a urinalysis. They also loaned me a study guide for the MECP stuff. I would say I got it but I try not to cound my chickens before they're being digested. I'm still interested in any info.[/QUOT

Are you wanting to know about car audio or something like tests and stuff. Car audio is extremely easy,from what I have read you know what your doing with electronics. All you need is a wireing diagram and your good to go. Speakers are as simple as connecting the positive wire to the positive terminal and same with the neg wire. Or am I way off on what your wanting to know??

Darksamurai · 26-August-05, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thedemonxanth


	Well, I'm reasonably certain I got the job due to the fact that I had to go to a lab and get a urinalysis. They also loaned me a study guide for the MECP stuff. I would say I got it but I try not to cound my chickens before they're being digested. I'm still interested in any info.

Dude, you doing custom work or straight installs?

I used to install car audio. Usually, if a place is established, it'll have the wiring codes for most vehicles and someone who will hopefully have been there long enough to have learned some of the fun stuff the hard way for you (first week on the job, I managed to rip a a trim panel... guy was cool about it, and it was a small rip, but it was still annoying).

Still, if you're doing car-starters, alarms, and custom builds (competition level car audio), I'd say hit the books... some of that crap is wonderfully complex.

I have yet to find a good book on installing car alarms... I was considering going for an MECP myself... only place to get study guides (good ones) is from here: http://www.ce.org/CeaStore/Publicati...3-9538f025febd

thedemonxanth · 27-August-05, 01:36 AM

I'll be doing EVERYTHING, GPS, video, audio, head units, custom installs, alarms, starters, custom fit speaker boxes, fiberglass work. I grabbed some free crossover and speakerbox design software for linux and threw it on my laptop. Been playing with that. I know remote starters can be evil. On cars it's not so much the wiring as getting to the wiring. The worst thing I have evr done to a car was changing the heater core in my Sable Wagon, the whole dash and steering column have to come out. It was evil. I started reading the book they gave me and it said 25-30% of the first test was on Ohm's Law. NO PROBLEMS THERE. I'm not so much worried about the test now as I am about my ability to do these things quickly and accurately. Pulling off trim pieces worries me. Some delicate crap. Do you have any tricks for that DarkSamurai? I use "finger rules" for tightening bolts and such and a torque wrench isn't available when working on engines otherwise things snap. Are any cars a particular bitch to work on? I hear terrible things about Caddys. My own experiences with working under the hood on Pontiacs have been exercises in the extensive use of 4-letter magic words. Big forearms and front wheel drive don't mixe to damn well.

On a side note my next vehicle (either a Chevy or Toyota) (currently a Mongoose mountain bike) is getting a mini-itx system with a touchscreen. I miss my old station wagon, but it go to be a F.O.R.D. in every sense of the word.

Darksamurai · 27-August-05, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thedemonxanth


	I'll be doing EVERYTHING, GPS, video, audio, head units, custom installs, alarms, starters, custom fit speaker boxes, fiberglass work. Pulling off trim pieces worries me. Some delicate crap. Do you have any tricks for that DarkSamurai? I use "finger rules" for tightening bolts and such and a torque wrench isn't available when working on engines otherwise things snap. Are any cars a particular bitch to work on? I hear terrible things about Caddys. My own experiences with working under the hood on Pontiacs have been exercises in the extensive use of 4-letter magic words. Big forearms and front wheel drive don't mixe to damn well. On a side note my next vehicle (either a Chevy or Toyota) (currently a Mongoose mountain bike) is getting a mini-itx system with a touchscreen. I miss my old station wagon, but it go to be a F.O.R.D. in every sense of the word.

The Cadillac series has a sound system that is amplified by speaker. Each speaker has an amplifier, so messing with the head unit may be a bad thing.

The wiring in the Cadillac is amazing... still, a lot of other cars caught up to them.

My car has a proprietary Infinity system in it that can cause havoc with replacement pieces. I want to replace one of my speakers, I'm replacing ALL of them.

As it is, I've got component audio in the front, so the woofer is in the door and the tweeter is in the dash.

Here's a good example of what it took to get a pair of decent-sized speakers into the door of a 3000GT like mine.

http://www.suthnr.com/stereo/dorpd1.html

Whole list of the guy did is available here... I thought it was pretty cool. http://www.suthnr.com/stereo/index.html

A good piece of advice is "if you think it's gonna break, look for another damn screw". That'll save you a lot of headache...

ADD: best thing I've found is to wedge a small screwdriver in, and run it around until you find the tightest spot... then hunt around the area for the source of the problem. Main problem is some of them can be pulled if given enough force, some require a screw removed from behind a trim panel, some of them slide off... it comes with experience...

thedemonxanth · 29-August-05, 03:07 AM

One thing this study guide sort of sucks about is interchanging terms. They seem to switch back and forth between referring to the key switch as the ignition switch, and also mention the ignition switch itself. They are 2 entirely different things. When you install an alarm they say to tie into the wires at the ignition switch but due to their switching up the terminology on me I'm not sure where they mean. I would think that you wouuld want to tie it in down on the colum by the real ignition switch where you usually have plenty of room to hide ****. Just a little detail I would like to flesh out. Thanks. I'll look into it via google but it's always nice to get multiple affirmations.

thedemonxanth · 31-August-05, 02:48 PM

Thanks to those that respoanded but it went very poorly on my first day. The ad should have said shop manager and not installer. They didn't make it very clear (or really mention it at all ) that I would be the only guy in the shop until some guy in an Acura showed up with a dead dvd system. ...soooooo much trim, I really couldn't do much for him. I am simply not experienced enough for it. Don't know why they even hired me. Time to swallow that big ball o' pride and head for the nearrest 7/11.

Darksamurai · 06-September-05, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thedemonxanth


	Thanks to those that respoanded but it went very poorly on my first day. The ad should have said shop manager and not installer. They didn't make it very clear (or really mention it at all ) that I would be the only guy in the shop until some guy in an Acura showed up with a dead dvd system. ...soooooo much trim, I really couldn't do much for him. I am simply not experienced enough for it. Don't know why they even hired me. Time to swallow that big ball o' pride and head for the nearrest 7/11.

Meh, don't give up... unless you hate it... It sounds like they knew they weren't hiring an out-of-the-box master.

thedemonxanth · 10-September-05, 08:41 PM

Not sure if I made it clear. They fired my ass right there. The "INSTALLER WANTED" sign is still up on the front of teh store. Maybe they should consider hiring more than one and/or offering training.

26-August-05, 01:44 AM		#1 (permalink)
thedemonxanth Apex Tech Fanatic Supreme	A few questions for the audio pimps out there I'm up for a job at a car audio/furniture/pc repair place. Odd combo huh? Anyway, I can fix anything on a computer(going for some certifications,compTIA, LPI, when I can afford it), and I'm strong so the furniture moving thing isn't an issue. I'm curous about the audio portion, MECP certification, etc I know it has 3 levels,. I know this place will at least want me to get the bronze level. I have a very strong electronics background, I make my own boards, soldering pro, and I can read schematics like they're plain english. I'v ebeen doing my homework about car electronics. I would like to know about the little things. Do components typically come with documentation/diagrams or are we talking know it cold? How complex is this cert to get(they seemed to think it was really difficult there). Any pitfalls or rookie mistakes to avoid? The interview went extremely well and they are going forward with the background check so I think I have a damn good chance. I almost hope I get this job more than the IT position I'm up for(we'll see what happens when the money is all finalized Sorry for the long post, hope this is in the right spot, and thanks for any advice. Last edited by thedemonxanth; 26-August-05 at 02:48 AM..

27-August-05, 01:36 AM		#5 (permalink)
thedemonxanth Apex Tech Fanatic Supreme	I'll be doing EVERYTHING, GPS, video, audio, head units, custom installs, alarms, starters, custom fit speaker boxes, fiberglass work. I grabbed some free crossover and speakerbox design software for linux and threw it on my laptop. Been playing with that. I know remote starters can be evil. On cars it's not so much the wiring as getting to the wiring. The worst thing I have evr done to a car was changing the heater core in my Sable Wagon, the whole dash and steering column have to come out. It was evil. I started reading the book they gave me and it said 25-30% of the first test was on Ohm's Law. NO PROBLEMS THERE. I'm not so much worried about the test now as I am about my ability to do these things quickly and accurately. Pulling off trim pieces worries me. Some delicate crap. Do you have any tricks for that DarkSamurai? I use "finger rules" for tightening bolts and such and a torque wrench isn't available when working on engines otherwise things snap. Are any cars a particular bitch to work on? I hear terrible things about Caddys. My own experiences with working under the hood on Pontiacs have been exercises in the extensive use of 4-letter magic words. Big forearms and front wheel drive don't mixe to damn well. On a side note my next vehicle (either a Chevy or Toyota) (currently a Mongoose mountain bike) is getting a mini-itx system with a touchscreen. I miss my old station wagon, but it go to be a F.O.R.D. in every sense of the word. Last edited by thedemonxanth; 27-August-05 at 01:54 AM..

31-August-05, 02:48 PM		#8 (permalink)
thedemonxanth Apex Tech Fanatic Supreme	Thanks to those that respoanded but it went very poorly on my first day. The ad should have said shop manager and not installer. They didn't make it very clear (or really mention it at all ) that I would be the only guy in the shop until some guy in an Acura showed up with a dead dvd system. ...soooooo much trim, I really couldn't do much for him. I am simply not experienced enough for it. Don't know why they even hired me. Time to swallow that big ball o' pride and head for the nearrest 7/11. Last edited by thedemonxanth; 31-August-05 at 02:54 PM..

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26-August-05, 04:19 PM		#2 (permalink)
thedemonxanth Apex Tech Fanatic Supreme	Well, I'm reasonably certain I got the job due to the fact that I had to go to a lab and get a urinalysis. They also loaned me a study guide for the MECP stuff. I would say I got it but I try not to cound my chickens before they're being digested. I'm still interested in any info.

26-August-05, 04:43 PM		#3 (permalink)
WDoG Apex Elite Tech	[QUOTE=thedemonxanth]Well, I'm reasonably certain I got the job due to the fact that I had to go to a lab and get a urinalysis. They also loaned me a study guide for the MECP stuff. I would say I got it but I try not to cound my chickens before they're being digested. I'm still interested in any info.[/QUOT Are you wanting to know about car audio or something like tests and stuff. Car audio is extremely easy,from what I have read you know what your doing with electronics. All you need is a wireing diagram and your good to go. Speakers are as simple as connecting the positive wire to the positive terminal and same with the neg wire. Or am I way off on what your wanting to know??

29-August-05, 03:07 AM		#7 (permalink)
thedemonxanth Apex Tech Fanatic Supreme	One thing this study guide sort of sucks about is interchanging terms. They seem to switch back and forth between referring to the key switch as the ignition switch, and also mention the ignition switch itself. They are 2 entirely different things. When you install an alarm they say to tie into the wires at the ignition switch but due to their switching up the terminology on me I'm not sure where they mean. I would think that you wouuld want to tie it in down on the colum by the real ignition switch where you usually have plenty of room to hide ****. Just a little detail I would like to flesh out. Thanks. I'll look into it via google but it's always nice to get multiple affirmations.

10-September-05, 08:41 PM		#10 (permalink)
thedemonxanth Apex Tech Fanatic Supreme	Not sure if I made it clear. They fired my ass right there. The "INSTALLER WANTED" sign is still up on the front of teh store. Maybe they should consider hiring more than one and/or offering training.