# Amplifier Repair. Your input requested!



## envisionelec (Dec 14, 2005)

Should I get back into it?

As many of you know, I own and operate an audio design engineering business. I also work a full time job which leaves me little time for day-to-day tasks. I end up working a lot of very late nights and every weekend. I can't keep up with the demands and so I am finally and seriously considering going full time with my company.

In order to fill the "dead time" when projects are scarce, I want to consider opening a full service car amplifier repair center that focuses on the restoration of older models of amplifiers - and only during the peak season: April through August. I may occasionally restart during other times and warranty repairs would be covered _any_ time. 

I have 20 years experience with expert car amplifier repair. I know how they work, how to design them, and most importantly how to do a clean job without causing further damage to its infrastructure. I even know how to fix damaged PCBs and I'm willing to do it.

I'm also willing to say, "No, I can't do that." 

For instance, I've never worked on a 4kW amplifier. There are shops that specialize in those, but that's not me.  I might learn on my own time, but not on your equipment. That's what the "R&D equipment" column in the accounting ledger is for. 

As I said, I have a lot of first hand experience with the repair, inventory and customer service side of day-to-day operations of a repair shop.

I started my first business at age 15 (1991) called A.C.'s Car Sound. While I did a lot of deck and 4 installs, I most enjoyed repairing car amplifiers. Yeah, at 14. I would hang out at the local Rex Electronics store and convince people that I was competent. I had a big photo album of installations I had done and handed out Xeroxed copies of dot-matrix printed price lists with my parents' phone number on it (that was a fight...). I learned on Pyramid, Boss, Rockwood, Kenford - the flea market stuff. I learned their weak points and educated the customer on issues that would prevent future failures. People liked that. 

In 1995, I began working for a shop in Des Moines, Iowa called Ford and Garland. By 1996, I was performing ALL of their amplifier repair business. At that time, the bench fee was a flat $65 and amplifiers were moving to SMD, especially RF. The big guys, PG and HiFonics were still building monster A/B amps. I successfully repaired _most_ within a day - *without schematics. *

I worked there until 1998 then moved to Car Sound Installation where I worked on more amplifiers by Orion, MTX, Alpine, ESX, PG and all the Korean/Japanese brands. I was getting referrals from other local shops (Audio King, later Ultimate Audio). From 2000 through 2005 I operated a car and home audio specialty repair business from a bedroom in my apartment, focusing on vintage solid-state home audio receivers and amps. I tended to favor the harder designs from Sansui. That was a fun time. I met a lot of really great people during those years.

So here I am. I'm nearly 35 and have a sub-1 year old that is going to need Daddy to make up his mind about his damn business. He wants to go to college, you know. 

Please give me your thoughts on this proposal. You can PM me, or reply to this thread.


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## mdcruz88 (Dec 24, 2010)

If you did, I know I'd send you business!


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## Phreaxer (Oct 8, 2005)

If it's something you enjoy and are good at, do it! 

And if you do decide to get into it more, I have a Clarion APX1000.2 I let the smoke out of years ago. I'd be happy to send it your way to see if it's fixable and at what price.


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## TrickyRicky (Apr 5, 2009)

Heck I have a 700sx that needs repair, pm me a price.


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## ollschool (Nov 21, 2008)

Small world man. All of those good shops other than ford and garland, and car sound are gone. I helped do installs at several of those shops back then, just to help out, and mess with differant equiptment. I must have seen you and talked to you at some point i magine. Been some time ago.


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## envisionelec (Dec 14, 2005)

ollschool said:


> Small world man. All of those good shops other than ford and garland, and car sound are gone. I helped do installs at several of those shops back then, just to help out, and mess with differant equiptment. I must have seen you and talked to you at some point i magine. Been some time ago.


It's possible, but I don't recall anyone coming in just to help out. Both shops were (are) very busy and we didn't have a lot of time for little helpers. No offense. 

Were you in high school at the time? I'm trying to think of who you were. PM me.


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## envisionelec (Dec 14, 2005)

I've received several supporting emails and some with cautionary tales!

I must add: I _already have_ a successful business in audio design engineering called Envision Electronics Design, LLC based in Dayton, OH. If you look it up on Google Places, it's near my house. It's actually in the garage behind the house that I built a couple years ago. The shed shown (and torn down) on Google Earth *isn't* my office!  

And I'm growing. I've finally reached the point where I am having to turn paying work away because my full time job is interfering. [That's bad.] I've hired another engineer to help with some of the digital programming and solid modeling / injection molding work. My business is growing by workd-of-mouth. If you look at my website EnvisionElec.net, Welcome to Envision Electronics!, you wouldn't see much. It's by design: I'm not clamoring for more business yet. 

As a little "downtime" insurance, I am considering the amplifier repair business, short term; mainly because I know I am good at it. If you've ever been to CACO and read Chris from dB-R's posts...I'm a slightly less cynical version of that. I don't charge hourly because I will *never* work on those 'surfboard' Class D amps. I admire what Chris is doing and think I can take up the slack on the types he doesn't mess with - the older amps.


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## envisionelec (Dec 14, 2005)

WOW - the response in PM has been phenomenal . I guess the answer is YES.

I got good news on the engineering business front, too. My biggest client has promised additional work for the remainder of the year. So yeah - it looks like this is happening.

I couldn't be happier.


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## stereojnky (Mar 17, 2008)

Congrats! And good luck on the upcoming business venture.


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## nubz69 (Aug 27, 2005)

If you do start repairing amps, any chance you would be interested in moding a SMPS to work for the amp I PMed you about?


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## envisionelec (Dec 14, 2005)

nubz69 said:


> If you do start repairing amps, any chance you would be interested in moding a SMPS to work for the amp I PMed you about?


Modding an existing design? Sure - that's pretty straightforward. If you need 10A at 18V on a Class A amplifier, though, that's an idle current of 15A.


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## nubz69 (Aug 27, 2005)

I know, we are talking about some serious power drain. I may have the wrong info though. I will have to double check.


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## jbreddawg (Dec 28, 2009)

I think it would be nice to have a serious go to guy for old school amp repair. Thumbs up to you !! 
Advertise through this very website and I'm sure you will have more work then you could ever handle. I know I would send you some.


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## JAX (Jun 2, 2006)

cool, wish I could do it myself


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