^ what store you in adam? i rock 1402 American Fork, UT....

x2 on what adam has said. there are pros and cons to big boxes vs ma n pop shops, so do yourself a favor and shop around for a technician that you know knows his/her stuff

course your prob recognize my avatar from watercooler too ;)

 

i will back the both of you up... back in the day i used to be the install manager.. when they still had install managers at bby... not install seniors or whatever..... i have been doing it for seemingly forever... since i was 14 working for my brother when he owned a shop. now just because there have been horror stories from bby and cc doesn't make it nonexistent everywhere else... i have been running a private shop for just over 3 years now and you should see some of the work that has come in from other private shops... its like someone just slapped the crap out of me and said "instead of me paying you to do a good job, i paid some retard double and i got a whole headache of issues for you to figure out and fix..." jesus... i know some guys that are damn fine installers that work for both BBY and CC... most of them are there for job security and the benefits.. then again... i know some total morons that i wonder why they have tools in their hand at actually pretty well known private shops.... its all a crap shoot... that why you should always do your homework before you have anything done to your car... so no more bashing bby installers just for being bby installers...

 

oh yeah and i forgot... personally i feel that the MECP program has become a sort of... false advertising...

just because your MECP cert doesn't necessarily mean you know stuff about cars... i feel its proof you know how to read, memorize and take tests... i am not bashing you adam... but i have had multiple kids come in saying "hey i am MECP cert.. i know what i am doing" so i say ok.. prove it... 99% of them couldnt tell their a$$ from a hole in the ground...

i feel to be at least a decent installer you need hands on training... that's why i feel very strongly about apprenticeships.. we usually take in one or two every year...

i personally am advanced cert, but its about to expire here in nov... i most likely will not retake or go for master.

 

I'm in 207..Peoria, IL

And i agree w/ the whole MECP thing...it doesn't necessarily prove that you know your stuff BUT it at least shows that it's somewhere in your head so at least that's one step ahead of someone who doesn't have the crap in their head lol. I've been an installer for coming up on 5 years now but I am leaving next month because I was just hired as a Poice Officer by Peoria PD and I start October 20th and go the academy on the 27th. Im very happy about that seeing as that's what I have my bachelor's degree in (law enforcement) but I can honestly say that I am going to miss doing install work. It's so much fun, laid back, and you get to work on all types of cars (I've done an Aston Martin, Maserati, and several tuner cars pushing 600+HP). Anyway I appreciate the comments guys...thank you.

 

congrats adam, nice work

i've been with best bizzle for 4 years next month (hellz yeah anniversary!) and i love it fo sho

i don't entirely agree with you on the mecp thing tho.... there has been rant after rant after rant about this, and i don't wanna start another one of those.... however i will say that any tech with mecp training would've known what to look for immediately with a problem like the one that started this original thread.

in my own experience, my mecp certs have helped tremendously in my troubleshooting skills... what people tend to overlook is also what is stated in the front page of every mecp manual, "this is not a how-to guide"

mecp certification doesn't teach a tech HOW to perform installs, but HOW to perfect your understanding of mobile electronics and develop your own style while following electrical theory and guidelines. it proves professionalism and dedication of the tech, and is what differentiates the professional from the back-yard-hack-shack

/rant, glad you got your bump back in your trunk son ;)

 

well said foose..i agree

 

I don't understand your post, are you disagreeing with what he said? If so, please provide a technical explanation so people can understand why you feel that way.

 

it's not the lack of power necessarily that will blow the sub..it's the distortion from trying to crank a smaller amp up that will. So, in basic terms (not necessarily true in all applications) running a 200w amp at FULL gain (everything maxed out) on a 500w sub will blow it faster than running a 1000w amp at 1/2 gain. The higher you crank your amp, the more distortion gets through to the sub. It's kind of like when you replace your factory speakers but keep the stock deck. The new speakers can handle WAY more than what that stock deck puts out. But if you crank that stock deck up all the way, it sound like garbage (distortion)..that's not because you're over pushing the speakers...your over pushing the stock deck. This is why people wonder how they blew their new aftermarket speakers with their crappy stock deck. Same thing w/ the small amp...

 

^ I know, but let's see what "mike6789k" has to say about your post., as I was asking for him to indicate why he disagrees with what foose801 stated.

 

Store 549... 4 years. And the person said that underpowering subs does NOT blow them needs to learn more about it.

 

I'm curious about this statement. As Nodset asked for a explanation from the other guy, I'd like one from Mattieg as to why underpowering a sub will blow them.

Not being a *****, I'm just wondering how you got to that conclusion. Because merely underpowering a sub will not blow it.....sending the sub a clipped signal will blow it.

 

But not having sufficient power to a sub increases the likelihood of sending a "clipped signal" (distortion) to it which increases the chances of blowing it. There is a direct correlation to underpowering a sub and the likelihood of blowing it. I think my post above was pretty informative on this matter...

 

I know you did, and I already knew that info. I'm just curious as to why mattieg would make that statement without any relative info given to prove his point.

 

PM him and ask him

 

i work at best buy too as a full time installer. im mecp basic and the other tech is mecp advanced.