Thanks for the review! I was actually curious how one of these looks inside as I've been keeping it in my wishlist. Even with the messy assembly quality this seems to be a good value for money as it meets the specs and provides decent functionality. And I'm pretty sure the company that makes these, will improve the assembly quality on future versions as I've experience this while reviewing different revisions of the Gophert power supplies over the years and each new revision their assembly got cleaner.
Yeah, it's pretty much ideal for my needs. It'll be interesting to see how well it stands up to abuse but it all seems pretty serviceable anyway. You'll have to get hold of one to see how you get on.
@@sdgelectronics I picked up the ET3240 bench DMM from bangood, and it just finally got here. It powers on but just sits at the green East Tester boot screen. I've tried pressing buttons, nothing seems to help. 2 hours later, still at that green boot. Looking forward to a tear down of that East Tester Unit. Trying to find support for this thing isn't very good so far... I have an East Tester DC load as well, ET5410 and am quite happy with how it performs and it does all the specs it says (plus some really good programmability). Hoping I can get something figured out with this bench DMM, or if someone knows how to force a factory reset or has firmware. So far, easttester.com hasn't helped...
Thanks for the review Steve. A DC electronic load is the kind of test gear that you didn't know how useful they can be until you get one. I started with the BK8540 which as a similar form factor but only 150W. Rigol had a sale recently and I broke down and got their DL3021A but it's only rated at 200W. I'd be interested in how this one will actually do long term at draws upwards of 400W for extended periods of time. Having said that most folks don't really need that much dissipation at the hobbyist workbench. I'm interested in your HV DC supplies and look forward to more info from you on them. BTW, rework gel is on the way from Solderking, thanks again for the tip!
Nice to see some good components being implemented in this unit, and with build quality & performance living up to expectations it seems a nice unit for the price. Thanks Steve 👍
I'm pretty happy with it. There's a few limitations regarding the resolution of the DACs or whatever is controlling the load which shows up in constant resistance and constant power modes, but nothing drastic
I have a KP184, some issues: - Off by 20mV or so once hot. - Load positive connected to metal on rear panel (shock hazard). Also it has battery test. Push shift than up.
Thanks for the notes. I've just tested mine - the load positive appears to connect to the heatsink through those MOSFETs, but there is no conductivity to the metal parts on the rear panel. I wonder if something has bridged across?
Thanks Steve! Looks like a pretty good deal for the money. I would imagine that there are some trim pots inside it that can be used to make it more accurate.
Thanks for the great review. At 6:55 I may have spotted a broken solder joint on the front PCB. Above and right of the electrolytic capacitor, in the second row of THT solder joints (counted from the bottom up), there is a very odd looking solder joint.
But... You promised checking low voltage :). Can you test if it can sink the 40A@1.5V? I have cheap loads here that are severely limited below 3V. Thanks for your video.
Nice review thanks. Sounds like great value for money. It would be nice to see how fast it reacts sudden changes on the input, as in, does it adjust the load in a micro controller or is it a proper analog feedback design for all modes.
Thank you for the video. The binding posts, external leads and possible the internal connections are not suited for a 40A current. So ... fail?:) Keep in mind that on/off switching and frequency response characteristics are important measurements for such a device to show.
I agree with you as far as some pretty good gear coming out of China. It seems they are stepping up their game and it is good to see. I have been looking for a DC load and this one looks like it may have a home in my lab. As always thanks for sharing!!
Nice review! I had seen similar units but I have not tried them out yet. I would be interested in seeing what noise this load might introduce into power supply tests. One of my Array units works fine, but causes so much noise on the lines that it is useless for testing PSUs.
Mine just came in last week .. from CZ warehouse so no import duties . first tests seem to be nice .. for the price it's surely is nice addition to the lab..
Pretty nice on! I am awaiting a korad kel-103 myself which i am really exited to get. It looks much more professional than that unit you got there. Sadly not with banana plugs like the one you got which i am really impressed by. Pretty awesome little detail there! I will design a small addon board for the Korad at some point. Something like the one that EEVBlog got for he's rigol load.
@@sdgelectronics when I get it I'll give you a heads up. Even my Co worker is considering buying one and we don't go and buy bad equipment. Anything you want me to check up on for you before you buy it?
It does claim to have battery capacity testing function so maybe it has hidden modes that aren't documented anywhere how to use them? I'd love to see a follow up on this regarding any other functions and the RS-232 and pass/fail etc. at some point...
What is it about the IRFP250? It is used in many loads in spite of having crap SOA (like nearly all power mosfets these days), or is that why they use 3 of them where one proper spec'd one should do the job EASY ...I smell CARGO CULT design here!
I'm guessing they already fixed the noise/stability problems that this model used to have? There were several reports and perhaps the solution for those with older units is probably here: www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/fixing-an-manufacturer-issue-of-the-kunkin-kp184-electronic-load/
Bottom openings are not EN 62368 compliant and I spot many other non-compliances. This is essentially an unsafe device and illegal to import in most of non third world countries....
Great video, would love to see a video on the repair of the other power supply!
Thanks for the review! I was actually curious how one of these looks inside as I've been keeping it in my wishlist. Even with the messy assembly quality this seems to be a good value for money as it meets the specs and provides decent functionality. And I'm pretty sure the company that makes these, will improve the assembly quality on future versions as I've experience this while reviewing different revisions of the Gophert power supplies over the years and each new revision their assembly got cleaner.
Yeah, it's pretty much ideal for my needs. It'll be interesting to see how well it stands up to abuse but it all seems pretty serviceable anyway. You'll have to get hold of one to see how you get on.
Good review, Steve. I'm looking forward to you tearing down and testing that new multi-meter.
I'll be interested to see what's inside. In the ranges that I quickly tested, it's exactly aligned with Ians PDVS2mini so a good start!
@@sdgelectronics I picked up the ET3240 bench DMM from bangood, and it just finally got here. It powers on but just sits at the green East Tester boot screen. I've tried pressing buttons, nothing seems to help. 2 hours later, still at that green boot. Looking forward to a tear down of that East Tester Unit. Trying to find support for this thing isn't very good so far... I have an East Tester DC load as well, ET5410 and am quite happy with how it performs and it does all the specs it says (plus some really good programmability). Hoping I can get something figured out with this bench DMM, or if someone knows how to force a factory reset or has firmware. So far, easttester.com hasn't helped...
Thanks for the review Steve. A DC electronic load is the kind of test gear that you didn't know how useful they can be until you get one. I started with the BK8540 which as a similar form factor but only 150W. Rigol had a sale recently and I broke down and got their DL3021A but it's only rated at 200W. I'd be interested in how this one will actually do long term at draws upwards of 400W for extended periods of time. Having said that most folks don't really need that much dissipation at the hobbyist workbench. I'm interested in your HV DC supplies and look forward to more info from you on them. BTW, rework gel is on the way from Solderking, thanks again for the tip!
It is a good piece of bench equipment. I specifically like the constant resistance mode, something usually omitted in similar electronic DC loads.
Nice to see some good components being implemented in this unit, and with build quality & performance living up to expectations it seems a nice unit for the price. Thanks Steve 👍
I'm pretty happy with it. There's a few limitations regarding the resolution of the DACs or whatever is controlling the load which shows up in constant resistance and constant power modes, but nothing drastic
The ET3340 looks very well for a full review :)
Callibration can be done by holding the arrow up button while powering it on via the switch on the back
I have a KP184, some issues:
- Off by 20mV or so once hot.
- Load positive connected to metal on rear panel (shock hazard).
Also it has battery test. Push shift than up.
Thanks for the notes. I've just tested mine - the load positive appears to connect to the heatsink through those MOSFETs, but there is no conductivity to the metal parts on the rear panel. I wonder if something has bridged across?
@@sdgelectronics Test the screws that hold the heatsink in place.
These reviews are really nice, very knowledgable, appreciate the comments on the individual components, ala mp and adc, very detailed.
Looking forward to the review of the multimeter!
For the money it looks worthy of consideration, along with the possible programming option. Good review, thanks!
Thanks Steve! Looks like a pretty good deal for the money. I would imagine that there are some trim pots inside it that can be used to make it more accurate.
Thanks for the great review. At 6:55 I may have spotted a broken solder joint on the front PCB. Above and right of the electrolytic capacitor, in the second row of THT solder joints (counted from the bottom up), there is a very odd looking solder joint.
But... You promised checking low voltage :). Can you test if it can sink the 40A@1.5V? I have cheap loads here that are severely limited below 3V. Thanks for your video.
Nice review thanks. Sounds like great value for money. It would be nice to see how fast it reacts sudden changes on the input, as in, does it adjust the load in a micro controller or is it a proper analog feedback design for all modes.
Thank you for the video.
The binding posts, external leads and possible the internal connections are not suited for a 40A current. So ... fail?:)
Keep in mind that on/off switching and frequency response characteristics are important measurements for such a device to show.
I agree with you as far as some pretty good gear coming out of China. It seems they are stepping up their game and it is good to see. I have been looking for a DC load and this one looks like it may have a home in my lab. As always thanks for sharing!!
Nice review! I had seen similar units but I have not tried them out yet. I would be interested in seeing what noise this load might introduce into power supply tests. One of my Array units works fine, but causes so much noise on the lines that it is useless for testing PSUs.
I'll see if I can measure it
I just reviewed the east tester ET4401 LCR meter, I found that to be pretty good too!
Yeah, I saw that. I'm looking forward to putting mine in to some proper use for some coil winding. Thanks
Mine just came in last week .. from CZ warehouse so no import duties . first tests seem to be nice .. for the price it's surely is nice addition to the lab..
Looks like a nice bit of kit,,,,, Thanks for sharing.
mee too, they are so expensive!, $140 is actually reasonable, nice
I had my heart on the TTI LD400P, but it's too expensive for the use it would get here really
Excellent review! My humble thanks.
Great video as always Steve
Pretty nice on! I am awaiting a korad kel-103 myself which i am really exited to get. It looks much more professional than that unit you got there. Sadly not with banana plugs like the one you got which i am really impressed by. Pretty awesome little detail there!
I will design a small addon board for the Korad at some point. Something like the one that EEVBlog got for he's rigol load.
I have that one on my list too as another potential one to try
@@sdgelectronics when I get it I'll give you a heads up. Even my Co worker is considering buying one and we don't go and buy bad equipment. Anything you want me to check up on for you before you buy it?
Seems there's been quite a price hike on this, cannot currently find one for under £200 🙁
A quick question, how do they do the CV CP and CR regulation? Is it analog or digital? The STM32F030 is not the fastest uC for this job in my opinion
While in CC mode, are you able to limit the maximum voltage?
I purchased one of these and when I turn it on, all the display lights are on and none responsive. Any Idea what I should look for? Thanks
It does claim to have battery capacity testing function so maybe it has hidden modes that aren't documented anywhere how to use them?
I'd love to see a follow up on this regarding any other functions and the RS-232 and pass/fail etc. at some point...
I will be trying as I have some specific tests I need to perform later on this year
Yes, the serial interface could be really useful
HI Which is better the Kunkin KP184 or the ET5410A+?
That angled connector near the buzzer and mosfet doesn't look right. 6:50
Does it support basic serial scpi command sets? Or is it a proprietary thing that needs the driver software?
Thanks
What is it about the IRFP250? It is used in many loads in spite of having crap SOA (like nearly all power mosfets these days), or is that why they use 3 of them where one proper spec'd one should do the job EASY ...I smell CARGO CULT design here!
KP184 compatible software here: www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/serial-to-usb-on-kunkin-kp184-electronic-load/msg2775990/#msg2775990
@9:13 To jump to the most satisfying part of the video.
I'm guessing they already fixed the noise/stability problems that this model used to have?
There were several reports and perhaps the solution for those with older units is probably here:
www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/fixing-an-manufacturer-issue-of-the-kunkin-kp184-electronic-load/
Very interesting - I'll see if that's applicable
I hope this is a very low cost unit, it's performance and accuracy are crap from what your tests show.
Bottom openings are not EN 62368 compliant and I spot many other non-compliances. This is essentially an unsafe device and illegal to import in most of non third world countries....
As far as I'm aware, 62368 doesn't apply to lab equipment.