The 150db Club!

September 2008
As a warm-up for the upcoming MECA SC State Finals, Team DMTC traveled across town to see their good friends at Elite Audio who were hosting another competition in their "Show Off" series. Our 2000 Lexus RX300 SPL project vehicle, affectionaltely known as "The Beast" by team members,  did not disappoint us and officially broke the 150dB barrier. 


In addition to winning the Radical X-2 SPL category with a score of 150.2dB, once again the Lexus came home with the "SPL - Best in Show" award. Also returning to the lanes, was Team DMTC's very own Josh Heckel. Josh, who is a recent graduate and MECP certified, won his category in the SPL "Street" divison. Last but not least, our very own Mr. Lipp won the "Most Improved" award in the SQL competition.


Many thanks to the students that could attend. Their help and enthusiam makes competing not only exciting, but fun. And of course, thanks to our SPL sponsors - Kicker, Monster Cable, Tsunami, Boston Acoustics, Xstatic, and Optima - we could not do it with out you!

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NewYear, New Project, New Sponsors and an Old Friend

August 2008
Classes will begin soon here at the Daniel Morgan Technology Center, and with a new school year comes a new Team DMTC project car. Once again our sister program here at Daniel Morgan, Automotive Technology, has donated a beautiful vehicle for us to work on. As you can see below, it is a well maintained late model Ford Mustang.


This time we will be concentrating on Sound Quality, while continuing our tradition of sharp looking installs. With this new project, comes help from some new friends and the continued support of team's original sponsor. 

This project vehicle will feature a head unit courtesy of our new friends at Alpine Electronics. That head unit will be supplying signal to an awesome new five channel amp driving matching door speakers and subs provided by our newest friend, Memphis Car Audio. 

Just in case you were wondering who Team DMTC's original sponsor is, and how we are going to connect together all of the great euipment listed above, the answer is the same to both questions - Monster Cable. The great folks at Monster have supported us from the very beginning. To Monster, and all our great sponsors, thank you so much; we couldn't do it without you!

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Seven DMTC Students Acheive MECP Certification

May 2008
The Mobile Electronics Department at Daniel Morgan Technology Center is proud to announce that seven students have passed their national certification exam in Mobile Electronics. The students who achieved their “Basic” Mobile Electronics Certification are Justin Abernathy, Jared Clark, Jeff Gilmer, Joshua Heckel, Jose Paniagua, Hector Lopez and Nicolas Rodriguez. 


The Mobile Electronics Certified Professional program is the only nationally recognized program that certifies mobile electronics installers and sales people on the installation techniques and capabilities of automotive information technology, entertainment, navigation and safety/security systems. Mobile Electronics at Daniel Morgan is the only program in the country to offer this opportunity to high school students.

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Team DMTC shines at Awards Day!

May 2008
DMTCs Award's Day was a great time for the accomplishments of Mobile Electronics students to shine. Joshua Heckel was selected as the program's "Student-of-theYear" and also recieved a $500 scholarship. Also recieving a $500 scholarship was Steven Gentry. In addition, Jared Clark was recognized for being the first official job plaement for the program after he secured a job in Spartanburg's Best Buy install bay. Overall, the program had 12 "completers" this year according to the state standards.


May 2008
Yes, that number is correct. Team DMTCs SPL project performed extremely well at our first annual MECA "Rock the School House" competition. Our Lexus RX300 project won both the Radical X-2 category in the SPL competition, as well as the DB2 category in the "Drive-By" competition. The same vehicle, affectionately known as "The Beast" among team members, also won the "Best in Show" trophy.


In addition to the success of our SPL vehicle, Team DMTCs Cadillac did fairly well in the SQL competition. Most exciting of all, was the first place finish by team member Josh Heckel in the "Amatuer Street" division of the the SPL contest. Josh also scored a second place finish in the "Drive-By" contest. Way to go Josh!


Team DMTC would like to thank all the competitors at our first MECA event. Next year's "Rock the School House" should be even bigger and better than this year. A special "thanks" goes out to MECA Commissioner Steve Stern for all his help in organizing this event, and all the great folks at Elite Audio for judging our first contest. As with all of our friends in the Mobile Electronics industry, we could not do it without you!


February 2008
Every January, in the sparkle of the Las Vegas lights, the largest consumer electronics show in the country occurs. It is called the Consumer Electronics Show, or CES for short, and it has become the place to be in the Mobile Electronics industry once a year. All the big manufacturers come to the show to "wow" retailers and the competition with their latest equipment.

Also in attendance at this event are all the major organizations involved with the Mobile Electronics world. Among these organizations is the fine folks from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) who sponsor the only nationally recognized certification in our field - the Mobile Electronics Certified Professional (MECP) program. During their time at CES, the CEA sponsors a large meeting for everyone involved in the MECP program from across the country.

It was during this meeting that Team DMTC, and their Instructor, was recognized for their unique involvement in this program. Daniel Morgan Technology Center is the only public school in the country offering a program which helps high school students prepare to take the MECP-Basic exam. This exam is rapidly becoming a requirement to work in the fast paced world of Mobile Electronics.

This was a great honor to go along with our first year success in the MECP program. Last spring, three seniors in DMTCs Mobile Electronics program passed their "Basic" exam in the MECP program. Our hope is that this year the number will be even bigger. Many thanks go out to all the wonderful people from CEAs MECP program. Without their help, our success and this recognition would not be possible. 
January 2008
Team DMTC is proud to announce they will sponsor their first annual "Rock the School House!" MECA car audio competition on May 3, 2008. Planning is underway to have both SPL and SQL competitions running simultaneously. With the help of MECA Commissioner Steve Stern, competitors from all over the Southeast will converge on the Daniel Morgan Technology Center for a day of fun and excitement.

In addition to seasoned competitors, this competition will allow us to put all of our hard work to the test. We will be entering our 1986 Caddy in the SQL "Modified" class and our 2000 Lexus into the MECAs unique "Pressure Class" system on the SPL side of the house. Mr. Lipp might even see how his 2002 Saturn can do in the SQL "Street" division.

The primary goal of this competition is to expose our students, and the local community, to the professional world of Mobile Electronics competition. This event will not only allow us to get recognition for our program, but will also allow us to get some much needed recognition for our sponsors. Our hope is that we can get both local and national media coverage, in addition to the continuing coverage here on this webpage.

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December 2007
Work on Team DMTCs big SPL project is in full swing. The interior has been sound-proofed and the power and signal lines are starting to go into place. In addition, the box design is complete and construction of the first of two sub-woofer enclosures should be complete soon. As with most projects though, we had some missing pieces. In our case, since we were breaking new ground, there were lots of missing pieces. With the help of an old friend and a new friend, most of those gaps have been filled.

Our first missing piece was obvious. We still had no four channel amp or full-range door speakers to go along with all that bass. It seemed obvious to turn to Boston Acoustics to help add some sound quality to our already impressive bass supply. Their equipment is well known for superior quality and performance. The great folks at Boston were very generous and supplied us with a set of coaxials for the front and rear, along with a beautiful 4-channel amp to drive them.

The other thing we noticed as we began to lay out our cable and connectors, is that we had underestimated our needs when we first asked for assistance from Monster Cable. Last school year, when this project was just a dream, the generous people at Monster were our first big sponsor. They sent us what we thought was everything we needed to complete this major undertaking. When we realized recently that we were short some connectors and power wire, once again our old friends at Monster came through for us.

We can never say "Thank You" enough to all of our sponsors. They have helped make the dream of using car audio for teaching electronics into a reality. One of our main goals after finishing our latest project is to get more recognition for our friends like Boston and Monster. Stay posted to this website, and hopefully your favorite car audio publication, to see details of the completed vehicle along with many thanks going out to all of our generous industry friends!

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November 2007
Mobile Electronics students from the Daniel Morgan Technology Center visited a plant  in Lyman today that is a showcase for the modern day use of robotics in the manufacturing process. The fine folks at SEW-Eurodrive really rolled out the red carpet for our students.

Leading the tour, and taking time out from his busy schedule, was Assistant Plant Manager - Chuck Chandler. Mr. Chandler's patient approach and wealth of expertise kept the tour group engaged throughout our extended visit to this state-of-the-art facility.


Throughout the tour Mr. Chandler continually emphasized the importance of math skills in the modern workplace. He drove this point home with a story of how one misplaced decimal point cost the company $50,000!

When our tour was over, SEW-Eurodrive put an exclamation point on our trip by giving each student a beautiful pen with the company logo on it. Our thanks go out to this great company, and Mr. Chandler, for continuing to support career and technical education and the workforce of tomorrow.

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November 2007
For the second year in a row, the great folks at Best Buy paid a visit to Daniel Morgan Technology Center and Team DMTC. In a hope to highlight the demands and rewards of a technical career, two of the top employees from Spartanburg's Best Buy store came to talk to the new class of Mobile Electronics students.

Speaking were Regional Services Manger Aaron Pridmore and Lead Mobile Installer Donnie Weeks. Mr. Pridmore is not only a Broome High School graduate, but also a Daniel Morgan Technology Center completer in Building Construction. Mr. Weeks has been installing car stereos for almost a decade, including some time doing "custom" installs on competition style cars before joining Best Buy.


These two professionals not only bought reality to a future technical career, but also talked about what is required to obtain and keep a good job with great companies like Best Buy. In addition, both men also emphasized the importance of the MECP certification in the Mobile Electronics field. Mr. Weeks is an "Advanced" MECP certified technician who is preparing to test for the "Master" level in this program.

We can't thank these two gentlemen enough for their time and perspective. It is crucial for students of all types to hear as much as they can about the "real world" that awaits them after graduation. Who better to bring this to life for Mobile Electronics students than the professionals from Best Buy!

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A Big Thank You to Scosche Industries and All Our Sponsors

October 2007
It is a well known fact that the budgets in most public school systems are limited. This problem is compounded in the career centers where our children receive specialized skill training. Preparing students for technical employment requires modern machinery along with expensive tools and test equipment. Educators rely on the generosity of industry to supplement tax dollars so programs remain up-to-date and relevant.

Things are no different here at the Daniel Morgan Technology Center, the home of Team DMTC. Mobile Electronics equipment is expensive and constantly changing. We have always relied on help from the leaders in car audio and electronics to help us keep our program on the cutting edge while living within our budget constraints.

We have already received help from numerous great companies including Monster Cable, Xstatic Batcaps, and Kicker. In addition, everyone at MECP and MECA have been extremely supportive of our efforts from the very start. Recently one of our new friends, Scosche Industries, really surprised us with a generous gift.


The fine folks at Scosche had already graciously given us access to their great line of car audio reference materials. For this we were, and still are, extremely grateful. Then are new friends went "above and beyond" and donated two boxes of entry level test equipment and SPL meters for our students!

We know we can never thank our sponsors enough. Without them, we would not be where we are today. All of our sponsors are proving that they really do care about our children and their education. Please support the fine folks at Monster, Xstatic, Kicker and Scosche. It is companies like these that have made the mobile electronics industry what it is today.

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Three DMTC Students Acheive MECP Certification

May 2007
The Mobile Electronics Department at Daniel Morgan Technology Center is proud to announce that three graduating seniors have passed their national certification exam in Mobile Electronics. This was quite an accomplishment for the students considering the program is supposed to last for two years, and since they were seniors, they only had the benefit of one year of study.

The three students who achieved the “Basic” Mobile Electronics Certification are Spartanburg High School seniors Martin Wright & Matthew White and Broome High School senior Shawn Finley. All three of these gentleman excelled during there short time in the Mobile Electronics program. All three are also headed for engineering school after graduation, with both Matthew and Shawn pursuing Electrical Engineering at Clemson, while Martin pursues Mechanical Engineering in North Carolina.


The Mobile Electronics Certified Professional program is the only nationally recognized program that certifies mobile electronics installers and sales people on the installation techniques and capabilities of automotive information technology, entertainment, navigation and safety/security systems. Owned and operated by the Consumer Electronics Association, the program has certified more than 25,000 installers since its creation in 1991.