USB Power Delivery Tester
For troubleshooting USB ports and USB chargers
- Test the power delivery capability of USB ports, Thunderbolt ports, USB chargers, and USB power banks.
- Check if a USB host is capable of delivering its maximum specified wattage without failing.
- Detect the wattage a USB charger (wall-wart) claims to support, which in turn controls the charging speed of mobile phones and other USB connected battery devices.
- Check that voltage levels remain within specification under high load.
- Measure the exact power usage of USB devices.
- Use it with the USB 3.0 Loopback Plug, to test communication speed, data integrity, and power delivery of USB ports simultaneously.
- QC4+ and PPS support available in model PM125.
Diagnose USB power
Tests the power delivery capability of USB ports up to 100Watts according to USB Battery Charging 1.2 and USB Power Delivery standards.
Tests the power delivery capability of USB chargers (Detects proprietary chargers and adjusts the maximum current accordingly).
Negotiates voltage levels with host PD controller chip to switch between different voltage levels. Dissipates 50 watts continuously, and up to 100 watts for short periods.
Current can be adjusted with milliamp precision using rotary encoder or via software.
Measure electrical ripple at 1kHz.
Measure the capacity of USB power banks and battery packs in mAh.
Test communication speed, data integrity, and power delivery of USB ports simultaneously.
Create step loads which adjust the amount of current drawn quickly to see if the charger can react safely to the sudden change.
Built-in protection against overcurrent, over voltage, over temperature and ESD.
Isolated USB Monitoring port which protects the monitoring machine.
Controllable and configurable over USB interface. The API which allows you to change the load, read the current and voltage levels and Update the LCD contents.
Bootloader which allows updating the firmware in field.
Python Script example is now included.
Power Delivery Protocol Analyzer records and displays the power delivery messages sent to and from the USB Charger. Use this to check that the USB charger complies with protocol standards via a visual interface.
Power Delivery Protocol Message Generator creates power delivery messages and sends them to the USB charger. Test how the charger reacts and responds to both custom valid and invalid messages.
USB Power Delivery
USB-PD ('PD' stands for 'Power Delivery') is a universal standard that can fast-charge a variety of devices that use USB-C to deliver increased power (more than 7.5 W) to devices with greater power demands. Devices can request higher currents and supply voltages from compliant USB-PD hosts, for example a phone may request 15W of power, where a laptop might request 45W.
Quick Charge is a proprietary charging protocol developed by Qualcomm, which is used to manage power delivered to a range of devices by USB. It achieves this by having these devices communicate with the power supply and negotiate an appropriate and increased voltage, which results in faster charging. Quick Charge 4+ is the latest version of this technology and can support between 3V-21V at 100W (20v/5A).
Programmable Power Supply (PPS) capability allows for incremental changes in voltage and current. PPS allows the adapter to have a variable output voltage by communicating with the device being charged, optimising charging conditions relative to each device.
An E-Marked cable (electronically marked cable) is a USB Type-C cable that uses a marker chip to provide the cable's characteristics e.g. its current carrying capability, its performance, vendor identification, etc. E-Marked chips are required when:
- The current through the cable will exceed 3A
- The data transmission exceeds 5Gbps
- Alternate modes are required
Reviews
Safety Precautions
Do not touch or cover heatsink during operation as it can reach high temperatures, which could result in burns or failure of the USB PD Tester.
Do not block the operation of the fans & allow good airflow. Allow at least 10cm of air gap around the back of the fans. Also ensure there is airflow under the device.
Only use the USB PD tester with devices that claim compliance with the USB standards. A catastrophic failure of the device under test can result in the shorting of mains power to the USB cable. Which can both destroy the USB PD Tester and present a serious electrocution hazard.
The USB PD Tester is not a consumer device. It was designed for use by qualified electrical engineers.
Always have someone monitor the testing in case the device under test suddenly fails. Do not start a test and walk away.
Some USB power supplies are known to not fully comply with the USB standards. Some also do not comply with relevant electrical standards in the countries where they are sold. Faulty or poorly designed devices can be dangerous! The USB PD Tester may expose design and manufacturing flaws in the device when putting the device under high load. The result can be catastrophic failure of the device under test. Which in turn can lead to fire, melting of the device under test, smoke, electrical shorts and even destruction of the USB PD tester itself.
Do not draw more current from the device than it claims to support. The port might be damaged as a result, or over current protection might lead to the port shutting down.
Related hardware
