I picked up this 4 pill a few weeks ago, 8 gauge wired straight to the battery, I can't get this thing to swing more than 100w. I'm driving it with a 980ssb but I have even tried driving it with a 2 pill and still won't swing more than 100w. I'm no amp builder and don't have the tools to test pills or caps but I paid 300 for it so I'm hoping maybe I'm just not driving it enough? Is 13.4 volts not enough? Or should I be looking at sending this amp out for repair and dropping more cheddar?
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low output from this 4 pill
- Thread starter JimboSlice
- Start date
My condolences, but that has got to be some of the worst soldering I've ever seen ! And it looks to have been assembled out of the dregs of somebody's parts box ! Surprised it makes any power at all.
Yeah looks like it used to be an 8 pill, like i said I'm not an amp builder and
I'm still trying to learn about these components, im a diesel mechanic by trade so this world of capacitors and transistors is way new to me, from what i have read it could be as simple as one of the caps being bad.
It looks rough
Put a swr meter between the radio and the amp and see what the input swr is, if the input tune is off the radio may be struggling to drive it so look at that.
It looks like it was remote keyed when it was a 8 transistor amp.
That's about bare bones as it gets.
No bias for SSB
73
Jeff
Put a swr meter between the radio and the amp and see what the input swr is, if the input tune is off the radio may be struggling to drive it so look at that.
It looks like it was remote keyed when it was a 8 transistor amp.
That's about bare bones as it gets.
No bias for SSB
73
Jeff
guess I got scammed? I should have just ordered a fat boy 4 pill, is it worth sending this out to get turned back into an 8 pill and get ssb bias added? also I have no clue what that might cost.
Not only is there no bias, there's also no filtering on the power line, minimal RF bypass caps to ground, and no protection diode on the relay.
I wonder if you could take a picture of the bottom so we can see the heatsink (if there is one).
For $300 you could buy a brand new RM Italy amp........
I wonder if you could take a picture of the bottom so we can see the heatsink (if there is one).
For $300 you could buy a brand new RM Italy amp........
stock radio swinging 10 watts into the amp, just under 1.5 swr on my dosy when running radio to meter to amp. The 2 pill I tried driving it with last night swings 50 watts, and it only bumped the output to around 140-150w, I can't imagine this thing wants to see 100w input but I am not an expert by any means still very novice
Is it worth sending this to an amp builder and have them turn it back into an 8 pill and add the ssb bias and the other essentials that appear to be missing? could you give me a ballpark of what that might cost just so I have an idea if this thing is a paperweight or not?
Sorry but I wouldn't sink a single penny into it ! It would cost far more to upgrade it to an 8 pill and add the missing parts than it would to buy a new amp. And even if it could be upgraded it's still likely to be a nasty splatterbox with bad audio.
Better to buy something new, that works properly, doesn't create interference, and sounds good on the air.
The world of second hand CB amps is a real minefield........
Better to buy something new, that works properly, doesn't create interference, and sounds good on the air.
The world of second hand CB amps is a real minefield........
well thanks for the advice, I emailed MR BBI to see what he would do with it
I did get some contacts with it people said it sounded alright but the receive through the amp kinda sucked, muffled everyone out
Man. What is it with amps and people getting scammed recently. Sorry someone sold you that. They unfortunately took advantage of you. I am not an expert either (BBI certainly is) but I'd have to concur with earlier posters. Don't put another dime in that. Pull the pills if they test good at least you get some parts out of it. Depends how interested you are in building but you could try building your own with those pills if good and maybe the heat sink and start over with new board and everything else. Likely wouldn't be cost effective so it depends if you enjoy that sort of thing as compared to just writing it off and as others said just get a RM Italy. Rebuilding / repairing by someone else will likely reach or exceed the purchase price by the time you factor shipping, parts and labor.
I feel your pain buddy. At first thought when reading the title I thought a new texas star struck again.
Mine at least looked good at first sight but yours looks rough from the start. Man that soldering makes the texas stars solder look good.
Mine at least looked good at first sight but yours looks rough from the start. Man that soldering makes the texas stars solder look good.
I have been wanting to get into building them but its a bit of a learning curve for me. The "info" that is considered super basic to most doesn't get covered in videos a lot so Iv found myself guessing as to how certain components work or what purpose they serve in a circuit, I feel I don't fully understand how these transistor amps work and trying to build one might end badly. On a side note where can i purchase the Fatboy products 4 pill i have seen good things about those amps but cannot find a retailer.
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