Review of DP50V5A & DPS3012 bench top power supply modules, best bang for the buck around!

There was some discussion in this thread about benchtop power supplies: CC CV module for bench power suply

And in the L6 thread about high powered battery chargers.

These can be used as a nice battery charger so I figured this was the best place to put a review about them.

So I figured I could knock out 2 birds with one stone with a quick and dirty review of the DP and DPS series of power supply modules. Be warned, I didn’t have time for lots of pretty pictures and hard data but it gets the point across.

Here are some of the things talked about in this thread hanging out together:

So since I no longer have access to the electronics equipment of days past, I figured it was time to get some of my own. Been slowly collecting things here and there and seeing just how good the china knock off’s can be.

With some careful buying I have come to find that you can get some surprisingly good stuff for the money. And some things are are no more then paper weights.

Another item that was well worth the cost was the 852D soldering / hot air station. The temperature control is a must if soldering more then a handful of times, while not the quality of a real hakko unit, it works quite well with the main shortcoming being the 60W iron taking a fair amount of time to heat up and a few minor issues that are easy to work around.

While I have some fluke 77 multimeters they are older models (but still dead on accurate) and don’t have a lot of the more advanced functions. Plus a bit more resolution is nice, so I got an UT139C which is also GREAT, super precise and agrees with the flukes across the board. The best part for LED testing is that the diode test mode has just enough power to light a 3v led in a moon mode for testing.


Add in some nice test leads from ebay (I got these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/321150607043) and you have a great little setup for testing small flashlight drivers.

Power supply review starts here

So then the next thing I wanted was a benchtop power supply that was stable.

I started out with a basic analog setup from something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-DC-CC-CV-Buck-Converter-Step-down-Power-Supply-Module-7-32V-to-0-8-28V-12A-DE-/281834805104?hash=item419ea9d770:g:FAkAAOSwLnlWni0J

The module itself worked fine, it outputted the voltage and amperage it said it would. On the scope the output was not perfect but acceptable. As a fixed power supply for a project it works great. For a benchtop power supply it is dangerous since you never know what the voltage or current is set to until you turn it on, leading to the death of an LED.

I started out trying to find some meters for it to allow me to see what is going on but that would not solve the issue of not knowing what it was set to until it was turned on. To get past this hurdle was doable but it would be ugly and impractical.

So thats when I started looking into benchtop power supply options. I wanted at least 5 amps of current capability to test LED’s. This proved very hard to find on a budget. All the pre-made ones max out around 3A for less then $60-70.

I then stumbled onto the DP50V5A while surfing banggood. After some searching I found that the manufacture has a direct sales store on aliexpress with some other neat things as well.

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/923042

I could find exactly ZERO info on this unit at the time but aliexpress is truly a zero risk buying market so I figured worst case if it didn’t work I would get my money back.

So a bit under 2 weeks later it showed up and I proceeded to install it into an ATX power supply, the only downside to this is that it is limited to 11V output. This is enough for LED testing though so I was not worried.

I have to say I am truly shocked at how well it works. The meters on the unit are dead on spec. It does exactly what you want and how you want it. Constant voltage and constant current both work flawlessly as well.

I have some minor beefs with the firmware in the DP series but it was improved in the DPS some. My biggest complaint is the single control wheel, a second wheel with each directly connected to current and voltage would make it easier to adjust things but it is not a deal breaker.

When scoping out the signal from the module it was perfectly clean (well down to what my cheap scope can measure anyways). No ripple or noise.

For under $30 it was truly a bargain that I was immensely happy with.

So I then saw that they had released the DPS3012 awhile later, well that would be quite nice to have a bit more amperage for testing plus I planned to use a better power supply that would give me the full 30V and it didn’t need the diode to charge batteries.

So I snagged one of them during the introduction sale and proceeded to make an acrylic box to house it.

I power it with a “48 volt” power supply from ebay. Luckily these are usually adjustable to some extent and I have the voltage set to ~36v.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?\_from=R40&\_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR3.TRC2.A0.H0.X48v+power+supply.TRS0&\_nkw=48v+power+supply&\_sacat=0

These are not nearly as stable as the ATX power supply obviously and there is a fair amount of ripple voltage on the output going to the module. It shows the quality of the module that it is able to completely eliminate the ripple and output a great stable voltage.

Total for the power supply and module was a bit over $40 for 30V and 12 amps, that would cost at least 3x the price from a pre-made power supply.

The DPS series does improve the firmware noticeably, The biggest advantage is that you can get directly to the voltage and current settings by pressing the top or bottom yellow buttons respectively instead of having to scroll through them with the set button.

Although it leaves the digit you were adjusting WAY too fast, like 20 seconds. This is my largest complaint for the DPS model (well besides also wanting 2 control knobs). Once again it is just something you learn to work around.

This unit also has a super stable output and very accurate meters. Although slightly less so then the DP50V5A, which it states in the specs it would. Mine seems to be calibrated about .06-.08 volts off but besides that it tracks within spec vs my DMM across the range.

Overall I am VERY happy with this one as well. I find myself using this one more simply because it is easier to adjust the voltage/amperage.

They now have the DPS5015, which is a 50v 15A version of the DPS. This is what I would have got if it had been released at the time, for the extra few bucks might a well have the extra head room, plus the heat sink it larger.

Speaking of the heatsinks the DPS3012 does a good job of keeping things cool enough but they still get warm at high currents, particularly the shunts, so if you will be using it with high currents for extended periods I would add another fan blowing over the shunts/board, just because I like things to stay cool as possible.

Overall both of them are am amazing bang for the buck and I highly recommend them. If given the choice get the DPS series, they are nicer to use.

For flashlights I would go with the DPS5015 as the amperage allows you to charge batteries very fast and easy (make sure not to charge with more current they they are rated!!!).

Any questions, feel free to ask!

I know that was a little wordy and I lied when I said quick above, so here are some more pictures of the acrylic case to help your lack of visual stimulus.







Very nice job, Bravo! :+1:

That is very nicely done! I need to do something like that.

I could use one of these at work, need a good 24V capable power supply! Great review, thank you for the time spent writing it up and posting the pics…

Thanks for the review :+1: Good info to have :student:

Glad that someone finds this useful!

Oh yeah, I forgot to post the link to the aliexpress store that sells these

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/923042

They have some neat voltage meters and other toys as well, I am using one of the 2 wire volt meters on my battery charging bank so I can see the exact voltage of the cells that are charging and I can simply insert a cell real quick to take a voltage reading.

If anyone wants I can upload the template I made for the acrylic case, although you will most likely have to edit it to match the fan and power switch you use.

The stock fan is a 5V unit BTW, so an extra fan should also be 5v. In my case I only had a 12v laying around, it still works but naturally it doesn’t blow as hard as I would like. The fans also appear to be PWM controlled as they increase speed when it gets hotter.

If you do make a box like this know that hot glue works great but looks bad. lol

Also don’t glue on the top panel, that way you can get back inside should you need to at a later date.

Sweet build and info Texas_Ace. BLF all the way.

How do you cut the plexiglass to size? I think I cut some once with a sabre saw and it was a fairly messy process.

Nice review and well build equipment!
Just one question, why didn’t you solder the connections? It will make it a lot more reliable, and has lower resistance.

I am lucky to have access to a laser cutter which is what I use to cut basically anything but metal. It works great and is perfect every time once you have the settings right. There are places online you can order them from as well but more and more “makerspaces” are popping up at libraries and other places around town.

You can check and see if there is a local one near you. Or even there are lots of guys on craigslist that will do laser cutting as well. The acrylic can be purchased from home depot.

Everything is soldered actually, the connectors are used for the banana plugs partly due to those cheap plugs melting if you try to solder directly to them and to make them removable if needed at a later date. They are soldered to the wire though. I tested it and there was basically no resistance between the connector and the plug so I was not worried.

I could not figure out a better way of describing that without making a long post even longer.

Basically to adjust the voltage/currant you press the set button (or the volt/currant button on the DPS) and it starts the first digit of the volts/current setting blinking.

While it is blinking you can adjust it with the control knob. To go to the next digit you press in on the control knob.

The issue is that after about a minute on the DP but only a few seconds on the DPS the digit stops blinking and in order to make another adjustment you have to press the set button and scroll over to the digit you want again.

Not a major deal but quite annoying when making lots of changes to the same digit.

Far as course/fine adjustment it is not a potentiometer, it is a digital control wheel. Each “click” of the wheel around, moves the selected digit 1 point +/-. You can select whatever digit you want to adjust so it can be as fine or course as you want it to be.

Each spin of the wheel feels like 40 “clicks”, so you could move the digit by 40 points if desired in a single spin (it will automatically adjust the next digit to the left accordingly once you reach 0 or 9 respectively and keep turning the wheel)

Nice build. Thanks for posting it up. :+1:

Great information!!! Very very valuable to just about everything we do in flashlights.
Thanks again!!! :beer: :+1:

Glad people are finding it useful! It was so much value for the money I just had to share it.

Thank you very much for your picture . yes, this is my poduct DPS3012 (http://www.aliexpress.com/item/RD-DPS3012-Constant-Voltage-current-Step-down-Programmable-Power-Supply-module-buck-Voltage-converter-color-LCD/32685179404.html?spm=2114.12010108.1000023.36.j3OU6C) and DP50V5A (http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/RD-DP50V5A-Constant-Voltage-current-Step-down-Programmable-Power-Supply-module-buck-Voltage-converter-color-LCD/923042_32596330856.html?spm=2114.10010108.1000023.41.ggrhsq). the quality is very good , we design this . we are manufacturer
if there is anyone like it , you can go my shop to tell me , I give you 2-3 usd discount …
and this is powerful one DPS5015 (http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/RD-DPS5015-Constant-Voltage-current-Step-down-Programmable-digital-Power-Supply-buck-Voltage-converter-color-LCD/923042_32702714880.html?spm=2114.10010108.1000023.37.QcZ5nX)
Please contact me

we are designer. if you like it , you can go to my shop. when your order , you can leave a message to say you are from BLF. I will give you 2-3 discount for you except DPS5005
DPS3012 (http://www.aliexpress.com/item/RD-DPS3012-Constant-Voltage-current-Step-… (link is external) (link is external)) and DP50V5A (Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com (link is external) (link is external)).
and this is powerful one DPS5015 (Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com (link is external) (link is external))
Please contact me

24V? what’s your current range? , there are 3A, 5A, 12A,and 15A, which you need
we are the designer . we can tell me , I can help you to choose

Good to see another manufacture personally getting involved with BLF! I think someone must have sent you a PM?

You can view and reply to PM’s by clicking the “messages” link on the left hand side of the screen.

While you are here I did have an idea that would be very unique and useful for these high powered power supplies.

It would be very cool if you have a separate voltage sensing input for the unit. This way you could connect it to the end of the main power leads and read the voltage after all the voltage loss in the wires.

Here is why:

For example I am using 14 gauge leads that are 1m long. They loose about .03 volts per amp, so if I am sending 10 amps through the wires it drops .3 volts or so. if I used cheaper leads the voltage drop can be as high as .15 volts per amp which would be 1.5 volts @ 10 amps.

If you had a separate input for sensing the voltage with a separate pair of wires then the power supply could automatically adjust the voltage so that the voltage at the end of the wires is always correct.

My RC battery charger does this and it works VERY well and greatly improves accuracy and performance, particularly with low quality wires.

This would be a revolutionary feature.

^
The above seems a lot to follow in a different language.

I would like to hear what he might have that could utilize the power of one of these (51.x volts and 57 amps of clean power):