Compare some types of USB Meter such as FNB48, AVHzY CT3, UD18...

[dophuc]

Hello everyone,

Sorry if this topic is not suitable for "Test equipments" forum/board.
When you want to check a charger for mobile phone, laptop, check the capacity of the power bank, cable resistance..., if using devices such as DMM or DC load, Scope... seems a bit heavy. Fortunately, there are some things that are made to make life simpler. I mean USB meter, USB test or sometimes also called USB Multimeter.
I have several types of USB meters and will show you what they can do. Types of USB Testers on the market are quite diverse, but they can also be divided into a few main types as follows
1. USB tester simple type:
Only display function of voltage, current, capacity, time
2. USB tester (+ protection settings):
In addition to displaying information such as type 1, there is also the ability to set Cut off OV, OC, UV modes to help the device not have a sudden voltage increase or discharge the battery excessively. Example USB type UD18, UD24...
3. USB Multimeter:
The universal USB meter can check the charging standard (protocol) of the charger; trigger the charger (or power bank) to output the required voltage and current; check cable internal resistance; check ripple noise; connection to computer software to record Charging data, firmware upgrade; run apps written in LUA... Some types like Shizuku (also known as KT002, AVHzY CT3), FNB38, FNB48, WEB-U2, YZX Studio...

FNB48, AVHzY CT3 have higher accuracy than simple USB meter type (capable of displaying about 1,000,000 counts though accuracy not tested with calibrated equipment) 

FNB48 is slightly more noisy than Shizuku when displaying Vbus Oscillosope

Using through C-C filter (0.1uF + 10uF) FNB48 is a bit better but still not as good as Shizuku

Compare FNB48 with Shizuku, these two use pretty much the same hardware

Shizuku's UI

FNB48's UI

Use USB Test to check the charging Protocol

Check PDO

Check if the cable has an E-Marker chip (with a chip that supports 5A 100w charging, without a chip that supports up to 60W)

Even though it's just a USB meter, it's also fun to use with devices like the UTG962E




Or to test the power, ripple noise of the adapter provided for the UTG962E

[Markus2801A]

Thanks for your effort on testing and posting here!

Have you heard of the new "Witrn U3 uSB Tester"? --> https://www.witrn.com/?p=92

Kind Regards
Markus :-)

[BILLPOD]

Good Morning Dophuc,   I love these little USB testers and have several of them.   One of my favorite uses is recording mAH when
charging devices, in order to get a feel of battery health.  I have checked their accuracy and some are surprisingly close to readings on my best DMMs, (Fluke, Brymen, Keithley).  But some are just 'in-the-ballpark'.   I don't have a list of my makes and models, but I see many come with several names, so knowing who made them is impossible.   But as you say, they are handy
and fun to play with.
 

[Tjuurko]

The oscilloscope is built in FNB48 with a very bad "closed" entrance.
The signal with a frequency of 1 kHz is already very "cut".

[BILLPOD]

Dophuc,  I did not know about the  Shizuku (also known as KT002, AVHzY).  I like the specs. and now have one on order from Aliexpress, ($46USD). Thanks for the heads-up.  

[DaJMasta]

The oscilloscope is built in FNB48 with a very bad "closed" entrance.
The signal with a frequency of 1 kHz is already very "cut".
(Attachment Link)

To be fair, it looks like they're AC coupling with a low value capacitor and of course that wouldn't be worth much with a 1kHz signal.  I don't really know what bandwidth they're concerned with, but definitely an oversight (or maybe there's a broken trace/pad giving you a high pass response?)if it's looking down to DC.

[dophuc]

Test voltage accuracy of several types of USB Meter with MAX MX584 KH voltage reference device
https://youtu.be/Sfpz14UrM1k