• You can now help support WorldwideDX when you shop on Amazon at no additional cost to you! Simply follow this Shop on Amazon link first and a portion of any purchase is sent to WorldwideDX to help with site costs.

CarlBuilt Ct400

Farmer Brown

Well-Known Member
Aug 28, 2019
100
206
53
59
Hello to All,

I had been thinking about buying a 6 pill Hi-Drive amp for my old pickup truck. But looking at Carl's products, I like the Ct400, 2 driving 4 with a 2 watt DK.

I seen one of his test on a 2x6 and it went to 1900 pep, surely the 2x4 would pep at 1100-1200. Is anyone running one of his 2x4 amps or in the past?

He has such great reading and instruction. After reading it, I concluded that I would need to do way more set-up for a 6 pill hidrive than with the 2x4.
 
  • Like
Reactions: S&W357

What radio are you running? Mobile or base? Never been a fan of the 2x4 amplifiers. The straight 4 pill amp will work better with many different radio's. Not sure what video's you are talking about but 1100-1200 watts from a 2x4 is pure fantasy. You would have to volt the piss out of that amp and with the final choices today I doubt they will last long like that. There is more to sounding good then a number on a watt meter.
 
What radio are you running? Mobile or base? Never been a fan of the 2x4 amplifiers. The straight 4 pill amp will work better with many different radio's. Not sure what video's you are talking about but 1100-1200 watts from a 2x4 is pure fantasy. You would have to volt the piss out of that amp and with the final choices today I doubt they will last long like that. There is more to sounding good then a number on a watt meter.
Exactly
 
  • Like
Reactions: NZ8N
The 2 pill section will way overdrive the 4 pill section. The 2 pill driver would work better on an 8 pill final and still might be too much. The idea behind with 2 pill driver is to have lots of headroom with a low peak radio, not to drive the 2 pill to full power. Yeah people do it, but how does it sound and how long does it last? The HG pills won't take the abuse that the Toshiba will so that makes it more likely to have problems. What radio will you be using?
 
The 2 pill section will way overdrive the 4 pill section. The 2 pill driver would work better on an 8 pill final and still might be too much. The idea behind with 2 pill driver is to have lots of headroom with a low peak radio, not to drive the 2 pill to full power. Yeah people do it, but how does it sound and how long does it last? The HG pills won't take the abuse that the Toshiba will so that makes it more likely to have problems. What radio will you be using?
Even 4 Toshibas wont take the abuse of 1100 ghost watts let alone hg. 100 watts pep PER PILL, thats it. Want more buy bigger.
Well, so much for carl built. Just another pile of bullshit.
 
Personally, I would not buy a 2x4. I would buy a 1x4 1x2290 driving 4x2879.

When I was hauling freight, I had a DaveMade 1x4 that I ran for about seven years. It did have Toshiba transistors. Dead key on single final radio set at two watts, and I could hammer it hours on end. Sold it for more than I paid for it when I retired from driving.
 
Thank you all for your responses, and to Recap, I watched a test video on CarlBuilt's Facebook, of him testing a 2x6 @ 1900 PEP and I think 400 watts average. I put down what I reasoned a 2x4 might do compaired to the 2x6 test. I could not find any test on the 2x4 amp on his FB page. I do not know Carl, nor his reputation, but it was me and not him that speculated about the pep wattage of the 2x4 amp.
Anyhow, the answer to what radio that I would run is probably the Uniden Grant @ 2 watts if I was to go with a 2x4 amp. It is the Grant that still looks like a President, but has Uniden guts.
Most all of my equipment is old enough to have the better parts, I do not have experience with these weaker finals and mosfets, I may be better served with running one of my Grey's or one of the Texas Stars and just be satisfied with that. I've never had any of them fail so far as I have the radio and amp matched and always run good coax and antennas.
With all of the good finals not being made anymore, I have no idea of what to do.
 
Personally, I would not buy a 2x4. I would buy a 1x4 1x2290 driving 4x2879.

When I was hauling freight, I had a DaveMade 1x4 that I ran for about seven years. It did have Toshiba transistors. Dead key on single final radio set at two watts, and I could hammer it hours on end. Sold it for more than I paid for it when I retired from driving.

Goodness that would be a great find, something like you had. I have a lot of Driver friends that I talk to from my base most mornings. It's so great to hear from someone after it's been years since I've talked to them.
 

dxChat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
  • dxBot:
    Tucker442 has left the room.
  • @ BJ radionut:
    LIVE 10:00 AM EST :cool:
  • @ Charles Edwards:
    I'm looking for factory settings 1 through 59 for a AT 5555 n2 or AT500 M2 I only wrote down half the values feel like a idiot I need help will be appreciated