well be it as it may with regard to the inaccuracy of the 0.5Hz timer, there is an actual serious bug in the software regarding energy. it occurs whenever one needs to work with the 'Continue'-button. during a full test run, when the powerbank is almost depleted, there are instances where the user is forced to hit the 'Stop'-button and then the 'Continue'-button, for example the powerbank cannot deliver constant 2amp USB power anymore and therefore shuts down operation. so you would resume the test with a 0.5amp load.
hitting the 'Continue'-button somehow sets the energy back by several Wh's or mWh's, depending on idunno. if you don't pay attention, you will not notice it. i could confirm the existence of the bug on 2 different WinPC's. this bug is the major reason why the reported energy value at the end of a long non-primitive test run looks notably lower than it is in reality.
one cannot trust the reported energy value, if the full test run did include the use of the 'Continue'-button!
I realise this is a bit old, but my findings may be of use to other EBD info searchers.
I have the same energy error readings on one of their latest EBD Mini version M03+
What I’m finding is the energy mw/hr calculations are all based on the intitial battery start voltage only. (Discharge Mode)
My test is with the actual hardware 7-segment display readings only. No PC software being used.
So with a 4 volt battery start voltage and drawing a constant current of 200 ma, the energy reading after one hour is precisely 800 mwh, even though the battery voltage has dropped a fair bit during that test hour.
If the battery voltage had not decreased at all over the test hour, then sure, 800 mwh would be correct, but this is not the case.
Total energy should be less than 800 mwh with a falling battery voltage.
Cheers
Any idea if changing the pre-included fan of the ZKE-EBD USB+ would affect the voltage/current readings in the PC software?
I accidentally bumped my EBD-USB+ while it’s running and one of the ‘blades’ of the fan broke off. It’s still functioning, but the fan doesn’t spin well. I’m looking to replace the fan but I doubt I may be able to find one exactly like it (40x40x10mm, 5vDC). I wonder if a slightly higher current 5vDC fan will affect results (the fan is being powered by the micro-USB port that’s connected to the PC and not by the USB power input, right?)
just a small update, I have replaced the original fan of my EBD-USB+ (I’m very poor at soldering… so it’s not a good job) and it seems to function normally again. I hope the current load measurement is not affected by changing the fan (I got an ADDA fan with the same dimensions and voltage, but the original fan of the EBD-USB+ does not seem to have a current rating labeled on it…)
and someone modded the above so that the display is on the side instead of opposite the fan (which makes it more convenient to use): http://www.chongdiantou.com/thread-17354-1-1.html (lots of pictures inside)
that modification display for the EBD-USB seems to be called “Kanade”, based on the images (is this related to the “Kotomi Pro” USB meter??), but I can’t seem to find further info about them, so maybe these are just “experimental” products and not really commercially available…
EBD-USB allows easy control and logging with PC software, but won’t work without a PC; it is both a USB meter and also a load tester.
ZL1100 has a built-in tiny display (but still need an independent power source) and can also have its data logged into a PC, but there’s no pre-made software to automatically make graphs from those data. This is only a load tester (although it has some added functions, like USB protocol detection). Additionally it can be used to test wire resistance (USB cable).
The EBD-USB can also be used to check cable resistance, but you have to do the calculations yourself, whereas the ZL1100 automatically calculates it for you onscreen.
The ZL1100 can be used to check USB Type-C, but I’m not sure if it has much further use. The ZL1100P is supposed to add USB Type-C PD (power delivery) testing, so if that function really works, then I suppose it’s one of the first USB PD load tester (are there any other USB Power Delivery load testers out there [for non-professionals] ?)
In the above review, I don’t seem to notice reference to update the firmware of the EBD-USB+.
From browsing around, the procedure is as follows:
disconnect micro-USB cable from the EBD-USB+
there are four holes on the bottom of the EBD-USB+, short the outermost holes with a piece of wire
3) connect the micro-USB cable from PC to EBD-USB+
4) run the EB Tester Software, but do not press “Connect”
5) Menu: System => Firmware Update = Identify
6) if #2 above was done (shorted wire), clicking Identify will show the model “EBD-USB+” (if not shown, then maybe not done correctly)
7) press “Update” button.
8) remove the shorted wire before Connecting and using the EBD-USB+ again
click the rectangular box with down arrow (5.3M) to download the software package (it’s on the same line as “eb_v1.8.5en_0605.rar”)
In my case, my EBD-USB+ came with v3.2 (it’s partly shown on the lower right corner box of the EB Tester software).
After I updated, it’s still v3.2 (I think the firmware file is part of the EB Tester software package)
I don’t know the “changelog” between updated firmware and previous firmware (if any)…
EB Tester software usage notes (based on my testing and browsing), that may not be readily obvious:
- in the graph, dragging the “Current” and “Voltage” labels, one can reposition the labels onscreen
- in the Auto-Test, double-clicking the Run Data will expand/shrink the chart table
- right-clicking on the graph will show data values for that position
left-click and dragging on the graph will ‘zoom in’ that portion of the graph
Pardon if this is OT; but if you want to use the tester without being phsically connected to your PC you could try a ESP8266 module with ESP-Link firmware and a virtual com port.
Set ESP-link firmware to 9600 baud and 8E1 parity. (Not the "normal" 8N1!) And establish a virutal com port with HW groups VSP (single port version is free for personal use).
Downside seems to be that it requires futher trickery to work properly. I had to "overwrite" one of my bluetooth COM ports with the virutal one (no idea why that was allowed, its not allowed with non bluetooth ports) as the only ones listed in EB software are other Prolific2303 serial ports and bluetooth ports (and only COM ports below 20?). Alternatively its possible to start EB tester software, and remap the prolific COM port, and then create a vitual with the same number; pain in the * to do each time you start the EB tester software though.
Just wire the ESP8266 in parallell with the PL2303 chip, providing it with 5V, GND and take the Tx/Rx pins over to the ESP8266 and off you go.
Both ESP module like wemos d1 mini and the PL2303 use 3.3v logic level, but probably better to supply 5v than 3.3v to the PL2303. (or more to the point, not load the PL2303 3.3v regulator with the ESP)
I soldedered from PL2303 to Wemos D1 mini:
Pin 1 to GND
Pin 2 to Tx Pin 7 to 5v
Pin 4 to Rx
(Or just get a 3.3v HC05 module and wire that in as well, might work without trickery but I havent tested it. PL2303 pin 8 has 3.3v output for a BT module - provided PL2303 is fed 5v ofc)
As usual, there’s no changelog, and comparing the file sizes of the previous one and this new one, there’s only minor difference, so we’re not sure what’s added (perhaps just added support for some new ZKE Tech devices…)
Thanks for pointing out, the software download web page appears to have been changed to another page on the same website here: 电脑联机软件下载 - 灼智科技（ZKETECH）_np=7_302
Just found this forum and your post about the EBD-USB. I have one and have used it to load batteries under test. I have also seen others using it to monitor batteries while being charged, i.e. monitoring and graphing the voltage and current of the battery being charged. I would also like to use it to monitor batteries during charge but I have found no information anywhere as to how to do this. A few videos show that the female connector on the side of the EBD-USB is used for battery charge monitoring but no connection details. Any information would be welcome. Thank You
