Thanks for bringing the FNC88 to my attention, TheIntruder. :THUMBS-UP:
I couldn't resist to ordering one for $ 12.80. I will probably use it in my next reviews of flashlights with USB-C port for testing PD charging and reverse charging ("powerbank mode").
Yeah, it’s cheap enough to take a chance, so I’m going to order one as well.
It has a few issues, but there’s nothing else in that price range that’s comparable, and so does the RD.
USB-C, and its implementation, have had bumps, and is a moving target, but I’m glad to have at least hobbyist-level tools available, for not a lot of dough.
Oh that is a very interesting site, thanks for sharing!!
+1 :+1:
This is a good addition to HKJ’s tests and reviews. Thanks a lot for letting us know.
Received my FNC88. Two weeks from order to delivery, so not too shabby. Had read lots of complaints about Newgistics/Pitney Bowes, but it passed through their hands quickly, and bypassing the USPS system, except for the last mile, was probably a good thing, with its current delays.
My unit has firmware v2.20, so the screens conform to those pictured in the manual, and not the older ones used in some of the sales material.
Everything seems to function correctly, and the while I still wish the display was larger, it’s more readable than I thought it would be, and not like the similarly sized, but awful monochrome displays found on the cheap “J7” style meters.
The power adapter I’m testing claims to be PD 3.0 spec, but not PPS. However, the FNC88 does report PD 3.0 and non-fixed voltage APDOs, so it might actually support PPS, but given the loosey-goosey nature of these types of electronics, that can only be considered a guess.
It does what I needed it to do, and given the price, I’m happy, as long as it doesn’t crap out within a short period. The price actually dropped down to $12 even after that winter sale ended, but that’s AX for ya.
Just got my FNIRSI FNB28 and FNC88. These meters are tiny! Agreed with what TheIntruder said, and to add:
For the price I probably shouldn’t be complaining ($10 and $12 respectively), but the build quality is really lacking. The PCB are thin and flexible, the male USB port was wobbly from the factory, the screen on the FNC88 isn’t installed straight and the screws on both meters appear to be torqued down by a 1 year old infant. Soldering job on the components seem ok, but they used the least amount of solder possible for the masks.
Although they seem to execute the functions well: PD trigger, bidirectional read, output volt select, protocol detection, data line sensing and offline 5 group storage, these are very light duty meters to casual testing chargers and devices. Definitely not on the same level as compared to a YZXstudio or AVZhy meter. I wouldn’t test a 3A load for extended periods of time. They also give you a very cheap feel because of the generic times new roman font, which I believe is the default english font for chinese OS and programming platforms.
Surprisingly, they ship these in their own case and then inside a foam box, better packed than 95% of the stuff I’ve bough overseas, and arrived extremely quick given the current circumstances.
I don’t recommend these for any serious testing task, but again you shouldn’t be spending $10 if you needed real testing equipment. But for most people I guess these work just fine, one of the worst things with PD is the charge rate uncertainty, I have a HP spectre 14” laptop that is really picky with the chargers and even detects when the charger has something else connected to it and reduces the charge rate. This small meter is perfect for that task.
I didn’t disassemble my example for examination, but on the surface, nothing is askew, or loose.
Nor I have handled one of the higher end meters, so I can’t compare their build quality, but I do find it ironic that none of them can be bothered with even a rudimentary case molding, when the cheapest meters do. At least that would alleviate some of the need to handle the bare-PCB style meters with kid gloves, regardless of price. More than once, my fingers have slipped and done an LCD mashing like kids do when curious. Look at the neat effect when pressing on the screen!
USB-C and PD are a can of worms, so it’s nice to at least have a cheap way to help sort it out.
I picked up the FNB38 during the winter sale and it arrived a week or two ago. I’ll hopefully be able to put it through it’s paces soon.
While looking for more info about the FNIRSI USB meters, I came across their webpage here, which has firmware and PDF manual for their various USB meters (plus some other measuring instruments).
Looks like the FNB48 is their most advanced meter (seems to be the bigger brother of the FNB38).
FNC88 is their type-C meter
FNB28 is their basic meter but still has some features (like protocol detection)
and FNB18 is the very basic meter.
I did a USB-PD charge overnight on a FireFlies with 2 amp USB-C charging. Monitored it with the FNISRI FNB38 and overall it went well, outside of my inexperience with these things.
The one thing I haven’t been able to figure out… getting data off of the thing. It’s got 5 data log slots, and there’s a USB-HID port for connecting to a computer and doing data transfer, but there’s absolutely no instructions on how to do so. It doesn’t show up as storage device, so that’s out. The “data transfer” option in settings is enabled. I was able to use FNIRSI’s firmware update tool to update to the latest firmware, so I know connectivity is working. I’m wondering if you need some specific piece of software that they don’t mention. Does anyone have experience with that?
My FNIRSI FNC88 arrived yesterday. I bought it for $ 12.80 on AliExpress. So far, everything seems fine. The item was packed very well in styrofoam. I did not test all the functionalities yet but only attached it to my Astrolux charger. I will be using it for any upcoming reviews of flashlights with USB-C port.
Wondering which one is better
the power-Z KT001 or the Witrn X-MFI? I’ve read the X-MFI does autodetection of protocols, including MFI verification. Does the KT001 do this as well?
I can’t seem to get a Witrn X-MFI anywhere (ebay, Banggood, Aliexpress), all the sellers seem to have a listing, but none actually have it. The last seller emailed me to tell me the manufacturer he gets it from stopped making it.
From my limited knowledge, it seems like the Witrn one has the most features. All I want to do is to be able to autodetect QC 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, PD and MFI when I plug it into a USB charger to confirm what the charger claims.
I find that some usb tester have some issues one being that they are directional and if the gender is not correct and you hook up the way the connectors it might not read the current and some of them are flaky at best and not always wanting to turn on with out trying it several times to get it to turn on
Some USB C charger are not always completely honest about what they can negotiate different voltage values I have seen some that say that they can do nine volts but can some say that they can do 15 volts it only shows 12 volts
I have seen some battery packs that say that they can do different voltages and even them can not always do all the ones listed and some of them share the same port for charging and discharging the battery pack some ports are charging some ports are for power output only
Unfortunately it trial and error before you find ones that can do what is claimed I wish that this was not the case
There are newer Type C testers which are supposed to be bi-directional. I haven’t tested them though, partly due to price (these were 30+ $US), partly due to lack of details or reviews.
I also don’t really know what to do with testers, I’d rather buy a proper multimeter beforehand.
These tester are very nice if you can get one that works correctly with USB C but this where the problem starts not all of them work correctly the way they are presented
Hi,
Im looking to purchase a multi (type c + micro) usb volt meter, any suggestions which one to go for?
Typical use is to test power to and from mobiles / usb devices, personal devices.
I’m not that well-versed with how USB-C (in particular, USB-C that has PD or Power Delivery) works. I think that may be one of the reasons why some USB-C testers will not display information unless there is a USB load (or a USB-PD device) on one end.
From my limited understanding (note: might be wrong, because these are only from what I remember reading about them).
For USB-C with PD power source (whether it’s a USB-PD power adapter or a USB-PD powerbank), if a device (or USB tester) is not requesting some kind of power (I think there is some “handshake protocol” or some such thing that happens), then the USB-PD power source will not give power to the device or USB tester, thus the tester “doesn’t work”.
Some USB-C testers will have a “PD switch” to enable/disable — I think this place the tester in a mode where it will request power, however, this might also mean it won’t be properly monitoring (I could be wrong here in my understanding) the energy flowing since supposedly the USB-C tester is just monitoring the flow of current, and not the main one requesting power.
Although I think it could be some USB-C testers may also not be properly negotiating the USB-C PD protocols (??).
I’m not well versed in these things, but I recently got a Fnirsi FNB38 which has both USB-A and USB-C ports. It has worked well so far, as long as you’re not looking to transfer the data off of it like some models offer.
Is there currently any usb tester better than the power z km001?
focusing on the amperage and voltage data acquisition capabilities in the pc software.
Many computer and cell phone technicians use this usb tester to measure the consumption of a device that is being repaired, but the software is never well translated at least into English
and it would be good more precision and samples per second(max 1000 sps ).
This ultraportable device is not meant to take 1000 measurements per seconds. One is fair enough. I would recommend you a bench multimeter or digital oscilloscope. A thousand accurate measurements per second require high rank equipment.