Where to get these?
 

Alright..don't laugh..I'm a computer weenie and not much of a handy guy. Where can I find the following equipment locally:

- soldering iron
- the heat shrink tube thingy to cover solder wires
- wirestripper/crimper for 4g and down. The ones I have seen for sale goes down to about 14g. I would need it for the 4g power/ground wire right?

and would a volt meter come in handy and why?

In HI, we have Checkers and they don't have any of the above.

Thanks!!

Dude you need a radio shack, or an automotive store. Like advanced auto parts or something like that. You could just order it all on line

ok - as far as all the crap you need - online if you have time ... radioshack if you have no time and money...

As for the volt-meter - what are you testing? whats the install you are trying going to accomplish? are you just wiring some LED's? if so - all you need is a X volt battery - and bingo you can test to make sure the crap is working :)

I didn't know they carry those stuff in RS. I'll have to check.

Yeah.. since I'm in HI, it takes a bit to get here. Thats why i'd try to go local. I'm gonna attempt to install amp, speakers, sub. Someone recommended to have a volt meter handy. I wasn't really sure why.

if you dont know where to get these stuff... chances are you shouldnt be soldering wires...lol

I am going to sadly agree on this one. I mean if you are trying to copy what I do as well as others. It is not easy as I make it look. It takes time and practice. Also I do not use the same quality heat shrink that you get at the store. Google marine grade heat shrink that is the stuff I use. If you are trying to do an install on your on, I would be very careful or let someone else do it. Good Luck

You can't learn unless you try. Let's not forget why these forums are here.

You can find the soldering iron at radio shack or any hobby shop. Expect to pay about 100 bucks for a decent one (you really should have one that has temp controls and not just a plug). You can find shrink wrap at a number of places, Home depot or Lowes sometimes carries the smaller stuff. As far as stripping 4g wire- don't use a pair of pliers, carefully cut the insulation off with a razor blade and just wiggle it off the end, careful not to cut too many strands.

A decent volt meter will help in properly setting your gains and troubleshooting certain things, it's a 'nice to have' but not quite a 'must have'.

definately kind of douchey to act like its a big deal to solder wires. Everybody starts somewhere

Come on, we learn stuff by experimenting. I never soldered anything until 2 years ago when I installed a 12-ish foot hanging fan and the wires were not long enough. I played around with it, fan still going to this day. :tup:

- I have to learn somehow and sometime, better late then never. I'm pretty sure people weren't born with audio installation knowledge embedded...well, except bigaudiofanat :) .

- Thanks for all the answers to my questions. Hope you don't mind, but I'd like to keep asking. I would "practice" (just grab two singles wires and practice soldering, or practice removing the trim, etc) and will only perform the install when I feel confident and efficient.

Thanks for everyone's advices and for helping me with the ABCs of audio :tup:

Good luck man in that case I think you will do fine. Just do not take your trim off and on to many times, and pick up a trim removal tool from auto zone or your local auto parts store. If you need any help please feel free to ask.

PS LOL thanks for that comment ^^

You can get all of those at my local Wal-Mart. I know there is a Wal-Mart in Maui, but not sure exactly where you are.