Test/review of Electronic load ZKE EBD-USB

Both with Windows 7 & 10 machines, with 1.8.5 Build 2016-08-25 & 1.8.5 Build 2016-03-10. Compatibility settings, Admin rights, nothing seems to work. The program will just crash after a minute regardless of whether the tester is connected or not.

Strangely 1.8.0 works fine, but does not work with the EBD-USB+, detects it as an EBD-USB model and cannot increase the current beyond 0.

I am running the 2016-03-10 build as it can be seen in my screen dumps and I did not do anything special to get it working, just installed it.

Running the 2016-03-20 build of V1.8.5 on Windows 10. Never had any problems.

Running v1.8.5 en_0310 on an old WinXP nettop, and as you may have seen, it runs for days…

Thanks everyone for the feedback, I finally figured it out after much trial and error.

Turns out turning on the CPU’s Data Execution Prevention causes v1.8.5 to crash after about a minute. Either adding the eb.exe to the exception list or changing it back to the default “essential Windows programs and services” made it work properly.

FYI the latest Build 2016-08-25 can be downloaded here. I have no idea what has changed though. The cut off timer for the Single Test does not seem to be working.

http://pan.baidu.com/s/1o8jepAi

So better to stay with the older version, then?

No idea if it was working previously, haven’t really used the older builds much.

interesting gadget, i got one two:

http://wsq.discuz.com/?siteid=263858267&c=index&a=viewthread&tid=9673

maybe there is three version with display screen at bottom:

http://www.chongdiantou.com/thread-10561-1-1.html

i must say that i am not satisfied with the software. the energy calculations are a bit off, one can easily cross check with Excel. and the 0.5Hz timer isn't regular either, it may be a problem with how the interface protocol has been implemented either in the PC software or in the gadget firmware or it is a deeper problem, originating from the USB-to-Serial driver or us using USB cables for EBD-USB+.

you guys can check with your preferred spreadsheet program: the energy calculated and displayed by the ZKE software is notably incorrect. the capacity is correct, the energy isn't.

if there is interest, i could upload my test run data in *.xlsx sheet form.

There’s no discrepancy between the mAh and Wh numbers on mine. I’ll have to check the timer though.

I discharged a couple of power banks at 1A, both were perfectly voltage regulated (no deviation or sag at the end):

#1
3h 26m 12s and the results show 3436 mAh / 17.49 Wh which matches at the indicated and steady 5.09 volts.

#2
4h 12m 56s 4215 mAh / 20.70 Wh at 4.91 volts.

Let the meter run for 10 minutes at 1 amp discharge (power bank’s output at 4.907 volts). Matches the stopwatch in my phone. Exported csv file gives me 167 mAh/818 mWh after calculation, software screen reports 167mAh/818mWh. No problems here.

oh okay, thanks. I will do some tests on another computer. the energy discrepancy becomes visible at 40Wh, i.e. discharging a full 4x18650 powerbank.

do you have such data *.csv?

I checked some longer logs and you are right, the sampling rate is not 0.5 Hz but shows a drift of 0.76%. That’s why the Wh doesn’t match if you calculate the Wh by assuming that the samples are taken every 2 seconds. I think the software takes this into account and reports correct values. Also the time column in the csv file reflects this. You get matching results if you calculate the Wh column as (amps*voltage*(2/3600)*1.0076).

I’ll try a longer discharge with a higher capacity power bank to see if the timer in the software (and the resulting csv file) is correct.

edit: yes, the software clock and the time column in the csv file are correct, the sampling rate just isn’t exactly 2 seconds

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!

Hi all,

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

pipifax: that’s true for me too, using the Continue button seems to alter the Wh values, making them incorrect.

I’m using a ZKE EBD-USB+ and software version v1.8.5 (build 2017-06-05).

(latest version is from the official website:

http://www.zketech.com/nd.jsp?id=15#\_np=101_304

clicking the “English version download” button leads to download page:

http://pan.baidu.com/s/1nv1CvcX )

Hope they correct this software bug, otherwise, won’t be able to use the Continue button and expect correct readings…

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…)

Just sharing some stuff I saw elsewhere:

a built-in display for the EBD-USB or EBD-USB+ (so these useful USB load tester/meters can be used while not connected to a PC)

EBD Enhancer Kanade:
http://www.chongdiantou.com/thread-12015-1-1.html

http://www.chongdiantou.com/thread-13267-1-1.html (lots of pictures inside)
(so basically it makes the EBD-USB similar to the YZXStudio ZL1100 load tester which has a built-in display)

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…