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

EDC Gear for Flashlight Carriers USB Power Devices
134

The firmware changelog is as follows (translated from Chinese, courtesy of Google Translate)

[update: I reformatted it, and fixed some wordings, hopefully making it slightly easier to read]

big display screen firmware
ZY1270 'large color' meter, dual USB female, green.
ZY1271 'flying dragon' meter, single USB female, dual Type-C port, red.
ZY1276 'large blue' meter, new fast charge trigger, blue.


V3.33-170613beta
solved a few calibration writing errors bug.

V3.33-170609beta
increased the screen display area,
optimized part of the page display,
optimized curve automatic range effect,
added ability to change to Chinese interface in the Language system settings,
optimized the System Settings display,
added 4-direction rotation in 3-parameter display page - long press to adjust.

V3.33-170618beta
added Serial Port Upload function,
simplified the Setup Menu by removing a few useless functions,
change some bugs.

V3.33-170622beta
fixed PD Listening mode current 0 bug,
optimized fast charge trigger interface automatically release fast charge,
optimized PD monitoring stability.

V3.33-170627beta
fixed off-screen does not calculate the capacity.
fixed the old version current display error during low temperature bug.

V3.33-170711beta
fixed minor interface garbled bug.

V3.33-170715beta
fixed Clear Record Data shows the error code 015 bug,
fixed high power parameter overflow bug.

V3.33-170726beta
added fast charge trigger direct operation on next power up
optimized possible PD flashing screen bug.

V3.33-170727beta
added support for the yellow ZY1273 to upgrade to this version.

V3.33-170730beta
added Huawei SCP-4.5V2A decoy trigger,
fixed Samsung AFC triggering stability.

V3.35C-171022
added E-Marker line test,
added Apple mFi line test,
added Apple 2.4A mode,
added PD Packet Capture details,
fixed PD3.0-PPS compatibility,
fixed D+ D- pull-up causing ip6518 bug,
optimized PD capture speed and PD trigger stability,
new automatic test shows PD maximum power function.

V3.35C-171023
solved a screen flashes after automatic blank screen bug.

V3.35C-171024
solved a factory test mode bug,
solved a PD trigger bug.

V3.35D-171102
optimized Auto-Detection Mode PD Power display compatibility
solved a PD history problem where misoperation may cause the device when unplugged not to return to 5V bug (PD bug has nothing to do with me).

V3.35E-171110
fixed Netease 65W charger PD Trigger blank screen does not work bug,
optimized the automatic protocol detection display order.

V3.35E-171117
added black gold ZY1275 support.

V3.35E-171120
PD interface screen and Automatic Detection interface screen now displays PD2.0 or PD3.0 protocol.

V3.35F-171129
optimized SCP trigger can output 4.5V5A constant current,
optimized the three-parameter display interface 12.5FPS high-speed refresh.

V3.35G-171211
fixed a calibration data lost flashing 0 can not start bug.

V3.35H-171221
added Samsung AFC 12V detection in automatic protocol detection,
optimized some AFC detection stability,
fixed automatic Protocol Detection PD power 100W display as 10W bug.

V3.35H-171224
solved a slow D+ D- curve wrong range bug.


Be careful not to flash incorrectly.
If the flash is wrong, please replace the -1 or -2 suffix and try to re-flash.
This version does not support DIY LOGO upgrade boot screen.

135

Nice find on the ZY127x firmware repository.

Here is a link to the official ST Microelectronics hosted ST-LINK/ STM32 programming utility v4.2.0 - http://www.st.com/en/development-tools/stsw-link004.html

The ST provided windows signed drivers and a firmware update for the ST Link V2 programmer can be found at the bottom at that page. These appear to work for the non ST branded programmers.

Off to ebay/amazon for an st-link v2 and some pogo pins…

136

I notice that Banggood now has the ZY1276 USB meter for sale.

What makes me curious is the back panel shows some extra that are not present on mine (though mine is the one without Bluetooth):


(image is copied from Banggood’s product page for the ZY1276)

There are 2 holes marked On/Off with a Bluetooth icon, so I presume this is the picture of a ZY1276 with the Bluetooth communication module — so there’s a toggle to turn it on and off?

And on the side opposite the USB male connector, there are an additional 6 more holes with a label “CHG” (charge??) — any guesses as to what this might be for? (those are not present on mine)

(Could it be for an internal or external battery for the ZY1276 so it does not drain a minimal current from the USB power device? That could make the ZY1276 self-powered and perhaps more accurate for measuring other devices that have lower voltage — in my test, with a “USB power supply”, eg. a drained 18650 with USB-connector-to-battery-holder, the ZY1276 screen starts getting very dim when below something like 2.9v, I think the screen won’t display at all at around 2.6v — also, the voltage is likely not accurate since the ZY1276 is getting power to power itself). An external power would make it useful in these (not-real-USB-devices) testing purposes.

137

Well, we'll know soon enough, I ordered one yesterday :)

I also got some more UPM's in : Power-Z KM001, RuiDeng UM24C and that WEB-U3MFi I mentioned earlier...

138

How’s the Power-Z KM001? Maybe you can do a short “quick look” of its features (another message thread or youtube video…) I think HKJ has not yet done a full review of it yet (though I remember him saying he has already ordered it.)

I’ve made a quick video on how the ZY1276 USB meter tests Lightning cables for Apple mFi compliance:

139

I'v been working on a video for a while now, but the manual I have is written so densely/translated very badly, I don't understand much of it. On top of that, in that manual, screens are show that mine doesn't have.

And the software that you can get for it, is partially in Chinese, so that's another hurdle :)

I have tried to contact the guys behind the meters at chargerlab, but they won't answer...

Ah, nice.... I have that WEB-U3MFi that can do that, it's got a dedicated lightning port.
Don't have a manual at all for this one :)

140

Ah, that would be a first, I haven’t seen a USB meter with dedicated Lightning port yet…

141

I'm workin' on a video about it, but as I don't even have a manual, there is a lot of trial and error :)

142

Updated:
Mine has this a different back panel with the BT on/off wording. The back side is empty except for pads and traces for several components including a large section for what I assume is a BT module similar to the other ZY127x series… but I believe the layout and component/pad count are different.

Adding pics:

143

UPDATE

Hey guys as per dodge_911’s suggestion I’m making this thread a new place to discuss all sorts of USB power testing devices. YZXstudio meters are good but many new options have showed up recently from brands like Power-Z, AVHzY, Kotomi, RUIDENG and more.

Feel free to ask about any USB power meter/tester!

I received the AVHzY CT-2 also known as Kotomi Premium a few days ago and will post a mini review very soon. But I’m going to tell you right away if you’re thinking about spending $50 for the ZY1276 do consider the ZVHzY first. It is $20 more but offers a lot more than the YZX, including 3 slot 3750pt offline logging, MFi authentication (USB A), QC2/3.0 trigger, PD listener and much easier UI navigation. Most importantly Win10 x64 compatible driver and software that is easy to operate. It also comes with a USB dummy load, it’s not a ZL1000 but it works for most tasks.

144

I like that it can monitor input voltages starting from 0.1V if externally powered. And no power draw from the DUT. Is there CSV or other plaintext export in the Windows software?

145

PC Communication is managed by “KotomiApp” application which already draws a very nice graph for you, and CSV export is like this:

This file is generated by Kotomi PC software
Time Voltage Current Energy Capacity Energy Proportion Capacity Proportion
0day00:00:00 14.6970V 2.3494A 0.0959Wh 0.0065Ah 0.12% 0.12%
etc etc…

KotomiApp screenshot:

146

I’m also inserting some links for people to quickly find where to buy popular meters, can you help with suggestions which are less than $20?

So far I got these:

Quick links to popular power meters:
-$20 and less
-RUIDENG UM24: USB-A/Micro, QC, Bluetooth (opt), Offline logging: Banggood
-Kewesi: USB-A, QC: Banggood
-Daniu: USB-A/C, QC, OTG: Banggood

-Eversame (Ironically same as many other generic testers but from Amazon, with prime): Amazon

-$20 and up
-YZXStudio ZY1276: USB-A/Micro/C, QC, PD, Bluetooth (Opt): Ebay, Banggood
-AVHzY CT-2 / Kotomi Premium: USB-A/Micro/C, QC, PD, PC Comm, Offline Log: Amazon
-Power-Z KM001: USB-A/Micro/C, QC, PD, PC Comm, Offline Log: Banggood, Ebay

147

And probably cheapest here (zy1276 <$39): https://www.fasttech.com/search?yzxstudio

148

Do you have a link for that software? And for that matter, one for the meter too :)

I think that app will work with my power-z km001 as well...

And thanks for taking my suggestion ;)

149

The AVHzY version was the one cheapest for me with prime shipping, and I figured they might be the same compared to kotomi premium and the larger power-Z, but with the aluminum plate (which is awesome).

https://www.amazon.com/AVHzY-Multimeter-Current-Detector-Capacity/dp/B073R7YRM9

However the Power-Z KM001 software doesn’t detect the CT-2, which could mean the same viceversa. Kotomi software can be downloaded directly from AVHzy.com

150

There's an upgrade to the RuiDeng UM24C :

more info : https://www.banggood.com/Bakeey-UM25C-USB-2_0-Color-LCD-Display-Type-C-Voltage-Current-Cable-Resistance-Tester-Measure-p-1267797.html

Looks like they added Type-C ports...

151

Anybody got some decent manuals for the Power-Z KM-001 and KT-001?
I found one for the KM-001, but that's so densely translated that making sense of it is a bit of a chore.

For the KT-001 I can only find the Chinese one, which presents the same problem when I translate it with google Translate :)

152

Since the AVHzY CT-2 is supposed to be equivalent to the Kotomi / Power-Z KT-001, perhaps you can use that as a reference?

download link for AVHzY is here:

153

Hello there!

I been looking for these testers and can’t decide which one would be best for me. To the first question… With Power-Z KM001 they advert that nice windows app, which makes nice graph. Is that app compatible with also KT001? Or maybe even with other brands than Power-Z, like AVHzY CT-2? Also, if I understood right, none of those mentioned above has bluetooth? So if I want also bluetooth, would my options be YZXstudio 1276 or WEB-U3 SE? And what are their difference?

Thanks for help!

Edit: Does Power-Z KT001 support same firmware as AVHzY CT-2?