USB power meter/tester thread - YZXStudio, Power-Z, RDTech and more.

Who knows the best shop to buy from europe?
amazon.com does not ship KAAYEE items to Germany.

I'm also still kind of new here :) But, check out the first lightning cable test videos on my YouTube channel, that shows you one way you can measure voltage drop and calculate the resistance without YZXStudio meters.

Check the thread you started for more info.

There's probably more and better ways, but I don't know those :)

Many thanks KAAYEE!

After google translating the readme.txt I suppose the ZL1100-V100N00-170828.hex is for the old and the ZL1100-V100P00-170828.hex for the new version.

Can the version of the ZL1100 be determined by looking at the PCB or just trying to hold down OK when powering up the meter? Mine says ZL1100 V10 and doesn’t do anything when pressing OK while powering it up. And it doesn’t have the PD trigger as far as I know.

Could you please point out where exactly the short circuit should be made and clarify the updating process?
“Old version of ZL1100: short-circuit power supply next to the two circular pad, then the power Micro port connected to the computer.”

Hi Maukka,

You’re right that the ZL1100V100N00 is for old version and ZL1100-V100P00 is for New version.
I’ve updated the Readme doc to English version for easier way of understanding. You could re-download the ZIP file.

For quick way, I paste it below:

The way to confirm the version of ZL1100 USB Load.

  1. Put the USB Load on the table with fan attached towards the table and display screen upward.
  2. If the Type C port is to the left of the USB plug, it’s the old version.
  3. If the Type C port is to the right of the USB plug, it’s new version.

For the Old Version ZL1100, please use the firmware of: ZL1100-V100N00-170828.hex
The way to flash the firmware:

  1. Please short circuit the two round shape soldering pads that close to the power in Micro USB port of the ZL1100.
  2. Find a charging cable with Micro USB plug. Connect the USB end to PC/Laptop, and the Micro USB end to the power in Micro USB port on the ZL1100.
  3. The ZL1100 will boot to flashing mode with the display screen black out.
  4. Run the flashing software to flash the firmware.

For the New Version ZL1100, please use ZL1100-V100P00-170828.hex firmware.
The way to flash the firmware:

  1. Press and hold the OK button.
  2. Find a charging cable with Micro USB plug. Connect the USB end to PC/Laptop, and the Micro USB end to the power in Micro USB port on the ZL1100.
  3. The ZL1100 will boot to flashing mode with the display screen black out.
  4. Run the flashing software to flash the firmware.

Hope this helps.

Dennis Z.
KAAYEE Tech

Seems I have the old model as I suspected. Starting the ZL1100 in firmware upgrade mode works (screen is blank), but the updater (STM32…exe) is in Chinese. It does recognize the COM8 port, but what baud rate and other settings should I use? Just pressing FLASH does nothing.

The last button in the right is “Start Flahsing”
The one you chose in the pic is “Read the Flash File”.
Will double check with the engineer to get the English software.

Thanks, that worked!

The new interface is uglier than the beta versions though :slight_smile:

Maukka, does the new FW add any new function other than re-arranged menu?

Here’s a google translate of the changelog :wink:

Other than a new voltage/current graphing mode, which seems useless, I don’t see any added features. Also, you need to recalibrate your meter after flashing. At least if you loaded factory defaults before flashing.

Can someone psot pictures to compare the new with the old interface?

So, not really 'worth' the hassle :)

From Taobao website, it seems there’s a new ZL1100 called the ZL1100P, new function added seems to be USB type-C PD trigger.

(I believe the firmware files “N” is for the previous ZL1100, while the “P” firmware is only for the ZL1100P, which is just a very recently released model — noticed Taobao stopped selling the ZL1100 for a few weeks, then when it re-emerged, it became the ZL1100P at a higher price)

That’s just my educated guess… of course, perhaps Kaayee can confirm for more official detail about the new ZL1100P.

Just curious, which one to short-circuit for flashing/updating the ZL1100 firmware — the ones circled in red? (probably not the blue nor the yellow one)
Do they need to keep shorted for the whole duration of flash updating, or only when first connecting to the PC?

Also, which micro-USB to plug and connect to the PC? The power/data micro-USB (labeled “1” in pic above). Or the “2”

The two small round pads next to the power input micro usb on the side (1), which also connects to the pc. The pads are a bit hidden. There’s three, one square and two circular.

The ones circled in red above? I suppose they need to be shorted for the whole duration and not just when first connecting the micro-USB to the PC?

They need to be shorted only while powering the thing up. It can be removed right after.

Those who own the ZL1100, does the fan on the base of the unit impede airflow? If the unit is on a table or other surface, the airflow is blocked, has nowhere to escape, so does the ZL1100 get hot?

There’s an “upadated” ZY 1270. The new version comes with the latest FW and sports a larger screen, it now looks similar to the ZY 1276, the color being the differentiator.
There’s more info on the larger screen, as well as an extra screen, look up ZY 1276 to get an idea on the layout. Seems the new FW is optimised for the larger screen, I’m assuming thats why there are 2 FW’s for the 1270 and 1271, as you can buy the outer panels which has the larger screen cut out.
There’s also an updated ZY 1271 with the same increase in screen size.

I’m planning to order the 1276. I’m not sure I have a use for the extra full-size USB of the 1270. I don’t have much use for the USB-C on the 1276, but I probably will in the future. I’m open to feedback if I’m misguided though.

Any recommendations for a reliable seller that sells the updated 1270 (and actually ships you the updated version and not the older version)?

Yes, Franky Tong. When I bought my 1270 off him (couple weeks ago) I was expecting the older version, where the lcd cutout doesn’t go all the way to the edge.
I was pleasantly surprised to see the updated version when I received it, which was very quick postage. The image on his ebay site is of the older version. I didn’t realise there was a new version until it arrived, I googled and only found 1 picture of the updated version, posted in my previous msg.
You might want to send him a msg before hand just to be sure. His ebay id is f-t-2000