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Gary
02-02-2005, 07:38 PM
I have noticed that a few of you have brought up starting in 12 volt, I got my start in car audio back in the mid 80's. So I was just curious about how many others got their start doing 12 volt.

LarryFine
02-02-2005, 11:29 PM
Can you say "8-track"?

Gary
02-02-2005, 11:30 PM
Can you say "8-track"?

No, but I can say, Alpine cassette changer.

Theaterworks
02-03-2005, 07:51 AM
I can say 8-track. I can also say cruise control, Chapman alarms, air conditioning (talk about the rape & pillage of a perfectly good brand new car), body side moldings, vinyl tops, and so on. Boy, I don't miss those days.

PAAI
02-03-2005, 08:02 AM
I started as an installer in Clinton township, Right outside of Detroit in the mid 80's.

Can you say KRC-999II anyone?

Jerry
02-03-2005, 09:51 AM
And look at what I missed out on!
Never did the car thing professionally, but did some for friends, that was enough pain for me.
Pro audio and electrical put me in this position.

Ghost
02-03-2005, 11:03 AM
Can you say KRC-999II anyone?

hmmm, Kenwood back when it was actually great stuff.

I always loved working with mobile electronics, I loved the challenge of integrating things into the vehicles, boats, RV's, ect... It was a lot of fun and I was very good at it - got paid really good at it as well.

I still do the occasional system now & then. Have you guys seen what it takes to integrate into some of these new vehicles coming out, 04', 05', ect...
Makes the old days look like child's play.

tomciara
02-03-2005, 11:07 AM
I started as an installer in Clinton township, Right outside of Detroit in the mid 80's.


Hello there, I'm a native of Rochester. Hope to visit this summer....

=Tom

MikeTech
02-03-2005, 11:09 AM
I wouldn't touch a new car now.... I was always the guy pulling apart mine and my friends cars back in the day.... thought i was good at it too. Way too much involved now, i wouldn't pull apart a dash for anything now!

Mike

Ghost
02-03-2005, 11:45 AM
Oh I have no trouble in taking it apart, I'll strip it down to the bare metal shell.
It's integrating anything into these vehicles.

Example: I had a friend that had a 03' Toyota Tundra, he didn't get it with power door locks. I added a security system for him but when I went to put actuators in the door for power door locks - the damn thing was completely sheath cable driven. I couldn't attach my actuators anywhere.

And the electrical systems on some of these new vehicles requires you to rely on someone's interface you have to buy.

Some of the dashes in these new vehicles would require you to completely rebuild it to fit anything aftermarket in it.

MikeTech
02-03-2005, 12:02 PM
Oh I have no trouble in taking it apart, I'll strip it down to the bare metal shell.....
.......Some of the dashes in these new vehicles would require you to completely rebuild it to fit anything aftermarket in it.

Taking it apart is the easy part... it's putting it back together i'm worried about. The cars today have too much jam packed inside, and they're too damn expensive. They don't make em like they used to. I always tell people to take them to a professional and recommend somebody.

install1
02-03-2005, 05:21 PM
I started in car as well. When I hit 30 I figured I was to old to climb around under a dash so I switched to 3 ft. crawlspaces and hanging off of trusses. Go figure, my back didn't get better.

Shadowman68
02-03-2005, 07:30 PM
I have done a few car stereos, amps, subs, remote starters, cell phones etc. It seems nowadays the auto manufacturers are building the cars to keep us out. if you disagree, try installing a remote starter in a 03-04 Jeep Liberty.

hitekmobile
02-05-2005, 01:26 AM
I have been doing cars since '94, I am trying to get out of them completely. But at this time I still do about 4-5/week.

djnorm
02-06-2005, 08:10 AM
The only car I ever worked on was my own... Trophy-winning Kenwood system in '87-'88. I had that car for 17 years, and ended up listening to talk radio on that stereo. Sold it about a year and a half ago with the stereo still in it and going strong...

rhm9
02-07-2005, 08:50 AM
Got started at Pacific Stereo... sold everything but soon figured out that car stuff had the most money in it. Became an "expert" and forged my car career. Worked at 6 different places installing and/or selling and ended up at Magnolia Hi-Fi in 1991 with the promise that if I started in car they'd soon move me to AV. I guess I did too well in car because they always told me they couldn't spare any good car people as they were too hard to find. I was into my 30s and was taking hour lunches every day at 3:30 to miss the high school rap sessions (god that shit sucks!!!!!!!). After 4 years I left Magnolia to start my own AV company. I thank them for giving me the kick in the butt that has led to this... they really were a good company to work for... just couldn't see hocking 15" woofers to junior Snoop Doggs for the rest of my life.

Mike Young
02-08-2005, 08:44 AM
I started in 12V back in 1988. My partner who is about 8 years my junior still can't believe when I say that you can get a car to sound as good as a home system wit the proper design.

Toronto122
02-14-2005, 01:20 PM
big time..

seasoned competitor, even when I was out of the business. Been involved in it since 1988.

It's a dying industry though. This is a thriving industry. No point in going back.

http://www.termpro.com/asp/competitorstats.asp?Competitor_ID=21437&Season=0

Modom
02-16-2005, 09:54 PM
This thread made me realize just how long I've been in the industry. My first cassette deck was a underdash Motorola/Alps. A couple of years later Jensen brought their line out and I was adding Fosgate 22 watt per channel booster amps to every B210 out there. The first Alpine decks were built like tanks. I too got out when the bass and rap got too much for me.

Gixxerdude
03-12-2005, 12:55 AM
I too got my start in the good ol' 12 volt industry. Wasn't around for the days of the 8 track or the release of the Alpine cassette changer... lucky for me!!!
Until 6 or 7 months ago, I was spending 5 days a week under a dash or in a trunk..then I'd sober up and head to work, wait, that was work. :oops:
Remote starts/security were my specialties. However, who can honestly say they don't enjoy gutting, or should I say, destroying the inside of a brand new Escalade for the enjoyment of a street pharmacist.
I made the change because I didn't want to be 30 or 40 still crawling around in Caprices and Regals. Besides, with a car full of electronics, my house was begining to feel left out.

ATOH
03-25-2005, 12:43 AM
I too started in car audio, and YES you can make a car system that sounds as good as a great home system. I still believe that the way to really learn the details of any music is to listen to it on a high end sound quality competing car. My first system was a Pyramid amp with Pyramid "Super Blue" subs full range with horn tweeters in the box! Oh my how bad that probably was and I didn't realize (only 16 at the time). Thankfully I moved up from that. I was part of a team from a small company just starting out and we got 2nd place @ IASCA Finals our first year in business and won our 2nd year (1995). We even got an article in a magazine (man were we proud!). Now it seems no one cares AT ALL about how it looks or sound quality. SPL SPL SPL boom boom boom now.

That company grew to do more home work but could never let go of the cars. Imagine trying to sell a home theater or go over a set of blueprints with a client while the 15-16 year olds cuss and talk slang... I sure don't miss that anymore!

I still wish I had a pair of Image Dynamics horns and Focal 7" mids now though.

The8thst
03-25-2005, 07:42 AM
I think I have a pair of ID horns in the garage collecting dust... I can look for ya if you want. Only cheapy low end Focal comps out there though, I needed something to hold me over until the CDT-HD's arrived.

I saw a show on Discovery a few nights ago that was an hour long and followed the Alpine F#1 guys through building their CES car.... there still are cars built for sound quality (and they've won best in show around 5 years in a row). BMW X5 became a two seater with both seats in the center of the car one in front of the other. It was absolutely insane, no way I could compete with the skill those 2 guys had.



Who knows a good lawyer? I think we should all start working on a class-action suit against the mobile install companies we all used to work for. I was just thinking about how much solder smoke I breathed in laying under the dash of a car, it was almost like hotboxing, and the employers or MECP NEVER once mentioned health concerns from breathing lead smoke or wearing a mask. Not too mention all the fiberglass resin we have all breathed and spent hours with.
Maybe we can finally make a little money for all of our hard work.

ATOH
03-25-2005, 11:28 PM
mmmmmm... fiberglass.......

I can still smell the fumes stuck in the car for DAYS after doing a build to in the trunk. Those were the days!

Shadowman68
03-26-2005, 01:57 AM
The worst thing about fibreglass was after doing it day in and day out, your food started to taste like styrene, your clothes smelled like it everything about you smelled like styrene. It seemed to ooze out of your pours like you had just eaten a jar of pickled garlic.

Anonymous
03-26-2005, 09:08 AM
How about all the burnt fingers from laying damping material, especially the foil lined kind. I know there's a roller for doing that but fingers always worked so much better.

I'll bet all the guys who came from car audio use electrical tape for band aids. Every car guy I know does.

ATOH
03-26-2005, 09:19 AM
The8thst,

What model ID horns do you have? How much do you want for them?

Steve Brown and Chris Yato do have some amazing ideas and still built sound quality cars. There are still sound quality competitions but it seems to have gone the way of eccentric home audio and USAC has taken over most of it, which means SPL SPL SPL. USAC always was about SPL.

Man there are some LOUD cars. Imagine a house system that has an SPL level of 170+ db. When I started most cars couldn't even get to 150. That's still CRAZY loud. I remember going to shows and seeing women standing next to these vans and cars with their hair flying up when the bass notes would hit.

Shadowman68
04-07-2005, 08:41 PM
Any of you car stereo guy know where I might be able to pick up a mobile repeater for a UHF or VHF 2 way radio. My father in-law has a dozen or so farm trucks with 2 ways in them. He wants to mount a mobile repeater and antenna on his truck so he can be a go between when some of the guys are out of range.

Shadowman68
04-07-2005, 08:45 PM
I'll bet all the guys who came from car audio use electrical tape for band aids. Every car guy I know does.

I still do, who has time to go to the safety kit in the truck. I always have a roll of tape in my pocket or on my tool belt. Or like my Dad used to say, Just rub some dirt on it and get back in there.
As any father in here can tell you, the only bandaids in the house either have scooby doo or dora the explorer on them.

Shadowman68
04-07-2005, 08:57 PM
Where is Chris Yato now, That guy is the Mcgyver of car audio. After he left Alpine, he just disappeared.

ATOH
04-08-2005, 12:08 AM
Don't forget Shrek, Spiderman, and any other character my kids like at the time while at Wal-Mart :-)

2 way UHF? There's a HUGE catalog that I can't seem to put my finger on the name of that you can get all of that stuff from, at wholesale. One of my former co-workers had worked in 2 way before. He brought us into this company for cellular products. I'll see if I can find out for you.

I believe you could even get a cellular repeater for on top of your building (like they have on top of malls). Not that you would want to do that though, since it's not approved by your cellular provider as part of their network...

I'll find out and provide you with info soon.

ATOH
04-08-2005, 02:14 AM
I've PM'ed it to you. Not sure if I should share that here in the public area.

The8thst
04-08-2005, 08:01 AM
Don't forget Shrek, Spiderman, and any other character my kids like at the time while at Wal-Mart :-)

2 way UHF? There's a HUGE catalog that I can't seem to put my finger on the name of that you can get all of that stuff from, at wholesale. One of my former co-workers had worked in 2 way before. He brought us into this company for cellular products. I'll see if I can find out for you.

I believe you could even get a cellular repeater for on top of your building (like they have on top of malls). Not that you would want to do that though, since it's not approved by your cellular provider as part of their network...

I'll find out and provide you with info soon.

Would you mind sending me the name of the catalog as well? I have been looking for a good external cellphone antenna for the darn basements that have no signal.
I used to have one that I would just hang out a window and plug into the phone, but can't find another one like it.

ATOH
04-08-2005, 10:56 PM
Shadowman68 & The8thst ,

Had you heard of them before? There are things in that catalog that I had never even thought of before looking at it.

Shadowman68
04-09-2005, 12:20 AM
I havent heard of them before, no. I havent been able to find what Im looking for yet. Im not even sure if im looking for the right damn thing. Just going off a description from the father in law. From what I can gather its just a great big antenna that mounts to the back of the truck, like a whip, but bigger, more rigid. I guess search and rescue teams use them.

The8thst
04-09-2005, 11:11 AM
No, I hadn't heard of the catalog before, but they sure do have some really nice stuff that is usually tough to find.

djnorm
04-09-2005, 08:19 PM
Me too... (or would it just be easier to post it in the verified area?)

Thanks,

Norm

ATOH
04-10-2005, 12:27 AM
Posting in the verified area would make more sense. I have yet to fax anything to Gary so shadowman you'll have to do it, if you don't mind.

Shadowman68
04-10-2005, 01:43 AM
I could do that.

djnorm
04-10-2005, 08:05 AM
Thanks - cool resource