By James Chevrette
Here are ten takeaways from the MasterTech Expo held earlier this month in Mesa, AZ. We offer tips provided at some of the classes and trends we observed.
In the class, “Want to Ensure Long Term Success?” Mark Miller said a tip for attracting a higher end clientel is to feature high end installs on your website. (1) “Post pictures of the vehicles and customers you want in your store. I am not saying to turn other customers in your store away, only post the customers’ [installs] you want to attract.” Another detail he mentioned: (2) “If you’re taking pictures during the installation process, give the area a quick clean-up. No dust, bits of stripped wire, or wire ties.”
Here’s an obvious but goodie tip from Dave “Fishman” Rivera, (3) “If a customer cannot see what you can do, how do you expect to get paid for it?” He emphasized the importance of a demo vehicle to highlight your skills.
(4) When working on an EV, rather than tying into the 12 volt accessory battery, use a 48V to 12V adaptor and plug into the main battery to attach accessories. You can do this with parts purchased on Amazon, said Ray West and Tony D’Amore in their EV Evolution course. (5) Both stressed the importance of having a true EV charger in the bay, not a portable or “float” charger. (West learned this the hard way bricking an EV he worked on). These chargers are commonly called Level 2 chargers such as Wall Box.
(6) We better start learning about spatial audio technology and how to interface with it. Andy Wehmeyer and German Schulmeister’s training on multichannel and immersive audio said 80 percent of vehicles on the market today ship with some form of spatial audio. One installation tip–if you have a 12 channel system, amplify each channel.
Some Industry Trends
(7) The need for teaching the fundamentals in car audio remains as important as ever in 2026. At the Elettromedia presentation with Ken Ward, the room was packed to capacity.
(8) Nostalgia resonates with many generations in car audio. Wayne Harris of Orion and Rockford Fosgate fame debuted his refurbished 1960 Cadillac Terminator Hearse featuring a rotating amplifier rack, three massive subwoofers and what might be the world’s first back-up camera, attracting much attention.
(9) People love watching competitors and manufacturers build and create. Attendees’ eyes were glued to the MasterTech Expo Build-Off, Clean Wire Challenge and a live bike installation done by Elettromedia USA.
(10) It was exciting to see the next generation compete using the latest installation techniques. Watching competitors employ 3D printing, lasers, and modern methods was almost like hearing a new language. For many veterans, these tools simply did not exist when they were working in the installation bay. It was fantastic to see our industry evolving.
Photo: At the Escort training, built-in radar was one main topics discussed at the show.
