Tell us and our members who you are, what you like and why you became a member of this site.
We welcome all new members and hope to see you around a lot!
I'm Chet Travirca from Mississippi. My handle is catman. I'm a leading authority on everything. I've always been that way because I learned a long time ago that people just love to show how smart they are when confronting ignorance and you don't learn much only talking about things you really do know everything about.
Being a glutton for enlightenment I have found the perfect place for it here because I'd be willing to bet there's no one here that knows less about all this stuff than I do. I've busted plenty of knuckles on everything from log trucks to fishing boats and I'm comfortable with basic mechanical knowledge but I'll admit when I had to change from my spark plug gap tool to a computer, some years ago, I started to be at the mercy of those who had embraced the computer with more love and affection than I'll ever have for it. I bought a scanner and I already have the basic tools voltmeter, testing light and such but I'm in uncharted waters here and to be quite honest just a little bit overwhelmed. I'm just looking to become proficient enough at diagnostics not to be taken advantage of basically. I've already learned way more than I was expecting in this short of period of time and in no small way because of this excellent website. The only thing I'm intimidated by at this point is, looking forward, at some of the more advanced equipment that I'll need. You could easily drop two or three grand on diagnostic equipment and it looks like some of the programs you need to access to are fee-based and don't come cheap. The Gm package for my Savannah van and Express van is a couple of hundred bucks a week so at some point the cost-effectiveness of doing this by myself it's going to have to be left in the hands of the experts. I can accept that but that shouldn't keep me from getting proficient enough to be able to diagnose and actually repair many of the little issues that will pop up as they relate to these computers. Thanks ahead of time for your patience, I'll try not to ask too many stupid questions. I've survived this long in life by meeting ignorance eyeball to eyeball but never have been able to stand the least bit of stupidity, especially when it's self generated and so it's something I try to avoid at all costs.
I try to be perfect, but sometimes I'm not.
Welcome to the community. You don't need to break the bank to become proficient in drivability and electronic system diagnostics, but at the same time, the investment is not insignificant.
I probably have less tools than any other tech I know (driveability or otherwise) and I'm pretty successful. That's not to say I don't want a Pico scope with all the toys to go with it...
Thanks for the reply.
At 70 years old I'm not expecting a long career in auto diagnostics! LoL
But I couldn't be happier for finding this website. I've already learned so much that has been helpful. I've never been afraid to spend money on good tools if I was actually going to use them. On so many jobs and in every career the tools can literally make or break it in many cases.
I hope that I do get smart enough here to invest in some really good tools that'll mean I will not only have reached my goal but I might be able to help others as well.
catman...ttyl
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