I was loading mine with 12 V and 4 A for about 3 hours and the fan was turning on from time to time for around half a minute. You can definitely hear the fan. The ambient temperature was 25°C.
Nice review.. I bought one about 1mo ago. You forgot to mention the OCP (Over Current Protection). Push and hold the current knob to turn on/off OCP. When on if the current draw goes above the set point (acidental dead short for instance) the output turns off. Press output to reset alarm.
The square hole behind was meant for a USB connector, enabling the PSU to be connected to PC for remote control, that’s what I heard. I’m planning to get one that is 120V 3A for my work though. Btw, the brand i meant was Wanptek, which has a very similar design to what you have there.
Help!! Just got an oscilloscope and learned the importance isolating power supply from the same ground as the oscilloscope. What is the correct way to use a probe on this, the alligator clip on neg and probe in pos? How would this work in circuitly would i always keep the clip on the neg side of the circuit?
I have the same unit. You are correct, I don't think you could find another unit at this price point that has these features that all work so well. I used my dmm and it was ever so slightly more accurate than yours, which is more than enough for me. I am just a bumbling electronics hobbyist. I look forward to the day when I know enough and have progressed far enough to need something better!
Thanks for the video, and I will buy the 30v with 10a output unit through the link on this youtube description, and changing to a 10a unit instead of 5a unit you are reviewing, and hope you will get a credit from Amazon. 🙂. I would like to have 2 questions for you: 1)are the USB voltage and USB current displayed on the screen as well? 2)Have you tested the maximum USB current output, i.e 3.6 amp at 5v, because somewhere on the Amazon page, the description indicated the USB output is 5v at 2amp not 18w.
I appreciate the support of the channel. The USB-output voltage and current are not displayed on the screen, just the voltage and current output through the banana plugs. I did not test to see how much current could be pulled from the USB. I saw the USB charging port as more of a bonus, not something I was specifically shopping for, so I did not rigorously test it.
@@reedpetersen I keep my word, I placed the order thru the Amazon link as shown in the description of this TH-cam. "Order placed, thanks! Confirmation will be sent to your email."
I Just bought this model Thanks this review. But I turned it on and accidentally pressed the output button and the fuse blows. This is normal? Or I get a faulty unit?
Can I have a continuously variable output, perhaps to connect a zero volt fan and increase the voltage to see how much it accelerates and when its noise starts to become annoying? Or can I vary the voltage only if the output is disabled?
9.978v vs 10v is just over 0.2% not 3%, thats really good, and at 30v it's 0.17%, I'm not sure how you could get much better than, I would say its very accurate. 2v noise seems huge though, is that definatly correct? I guess its just a peak at the very high frequency? Might be nice to give a noise figure in dB at say audio frequencies as that would be quite useful to know for a lot of uses. Also its a shame you didnt give us the ripple voltage as I can see you had it plugged into a scope. I like the look of these things but I would be concerned they would be noisier than a traditional psu with wound transformers and voltage regulators. They do seem very good value though.
Yes, it is plenty noisy, especially at high frequency, compared to its beefy linear counterparts. My main reason for measuring this range (MHz) was because this is where the power supply is the noisiest. This is also the basic operating principle of a switching power supply, it uses high frequency switching to give a stable voltage so this is to be expected unless they do a good job filtering the output. And correct, I must have misspoke. 0.2% would be the difference. Quite good for a cheap power supply, yes.
Thanks for the reply, yes that makes sense to test the HF noise. I was wondering how good these would be as a power supply for breadboarding audio circuits, so I was thinking about noise further down the spectrum. Ive realised these are probably overkill though for that sort of thing though as most circuits for audio use way less than an amp. @@reedpetersen
Great Review! Would you be able to test the protective contact of the power supply, i.e. whether there is no voltage on the housing in an emergency? According to my information, this can be a problem with cheap power supplies.
No, I don't think it directly cuts off connection because it oftentimes takes a little bit (half a second or so) to settle down to 0 current from whatever voltage you are supplying. I think it is more of a command to the switching circuit to stop supplying current.
@@reedpetersen Thanks! I understand that is a "soft" button. Question was more about its working function. I want to upgrade my old linear 305d power supply with this function, and may be with a SC button for adjusting amps. Direct on front panel.
The noise on he output voltage would concern me for the widest use. A liner power supply with fixed 3.3volt and 5 volt Terminas and an adjustable 0 to 30 volt output channel at even one amp would cover most work in the electronics lab, obviously adjustable current limiting on all channels is escentual. One of the things to look at on any bench supply is the output capacitance and how quickly the current limits, how quickly the voltage recovers and with what overshoot. Smps tend to have large output capacitance to reduce the fluctuations. Those big capacitors are just waiting to dump into your delicate masterpiece. Why not check out the above with your scope and compare with one of your linear supplies. I bet the peak output current of a given setting, say 100mA has a spike more like 3 times that and the voltage recovering overshoots by more than you would like, it would be interesting to see. I agree we are talking a budget psu here, but, two digits after the decimal point that are meaningless due to the output fluctuations may lead you to think it looks better than it is especially if the current limit is for all intense and purposes nothing more than protecting the psu itself.
I bought this power supply, but I can not manually override it to constant current mode. After set it to 4.2v at 1.0amp, then the power supply will charge the batteries at 4.2v at around 0.4amp only (even the batteries are connected in parallel not in series and they are almost empties at low voltage), then the power supply will reduce to 0.1amp, and it does take a long time to finish charging the batteries!!! Anyone has any ideas to force this power supply to charge at a constant current mode 1.0amp until the batteries reach at 4.2volt? Thanks
Battery's voltage may goes high quckly. So, the maximum current can only be voltage difference over internal resistance. Measure voltage on battery when charging to see if it is like this.
@@omurolmez0 Thanks for your reply. Even the measured voltage is closed to 4v, but the charging current (as shown on the power supply) is dropping slowly to 0.1amp. If I disconnect charging the units, then the battery (in this case I am charging Stray Cat repellers in parallel, to repel the stray cats pooping all over our yards) will die real quick. Therefore I have to leave charging up to 10 hours in-order to fill up the repeller's battery.
Yes, you can charge batteries. CC mode works well for this. No reverse voltage protection, as it is a general use power supply not specifically meant for charging batteries. It is up to the user to add some application-specific protection where needed.
per disabilitare il cicalino , ""Il carattere è configurabile. Basta premere il pulsante di uscita per cinque secondi per accedere a un massimo di sei sezioni di configurazione sequenziali, come indicato nel manuale di istruzioni. Con il pulsante di regolazione della tensione, stiamo premendo e saltando dall'elenco di configurazione e una delle cose che ho fatto è stata nella sezione 4 dedicata al cicalino, per eliminare il segnale acustico che viene emesso di default nel mio caso quando giro i pulsanti. Il che mi è sembrato piuttosto fastidioso. Tutto quello che devi fare è ruotare la manopola della tensione e selezionare 0, ovvero non viene emesso alcun segnale acustico, e una volta raggiunta la fine dell'elenco di configurazione, selezionare premendo nuovamente il pulsante di tensione per salvare le modifiche""
This power supply does not operate in constant current mode.. It does, however, demonstrate the ability to set an upper current threshold limit. Were this able to operate in a constant current mode, for example, shorting the leads and adjusting the current to 0.001A ie; (1 milliamp)- and thereafter connecting a load of 1000 ohms across the (+) and (-) output terminals SHOULD indicate 1 volt. It does not. I own this same power supply, albeit it is the 60V/5A model. Let's say the load is actually 1234 ohms rather than 1000 ohms, therefore this DC power supply supply should (and this equipment does not) slew the voltage across the load to 1.234 Volts. In my experience this manufacturer supplies (no pun intended) a solid product meeting the OEM's specification. The constant current foible I examined seems honest and attributable to the vagaries of the Chinese (Mandarin?) languages translation to English. This OEM even included a very nicely attempted explanation of how to set the power supply upper current limit threshold.. I believe many technicians and technologists are not typically exposed to 'Constant Current' functionality in higher-end bench power supplies (Agilent, Lambda, etc) while the verbiage 'constant current' has been heqar bandied about by more senior staff. Another term for 'constant current' is a 'force-and-measure' type circuit which seems more common in the EU and large corporate development labs. Mr. Peterson provided a very professional presentation here and should be commended.
I'm not sure this is the case. I have seen that when I put it into constant current mode to, say, charge a battery, the current hits its upper threshold, and the voltage "floats" based on the resistance of the load attached. You can also see this in the video when I connect the light bar: the voltage doesn't make it to the set voltage, but instead the power supply outputs as much voltage as needed to push through about 5 Amps of current. I am not sure it is good at this at low currents (to your example, 1 mA might not work well) simply due to the imprecision of this supply, but I do believe CC mode works based on my understanding. I read NI's manual on power supplies (located at download.ni.com/evaluation/pxi/Power_Supply_Fundmentals.pdf ) and it seems that this power supply behaves properly in constant-current mode based on their description.
CC mode works just fine. I set V=30V and A=150mA on mine. As soon as I connected a 43R 3W resistor, the voltage adjusts down to 6.53V and the current stays fixed at 150mA. If yours isn't behaving like this there's something wrong with it.
Thank you for posting this!
Bought the NANKADF 30V/10A power supply in january 2024 and am glad that it wasn't the worst buy out there :D
Thanks for the comments about the fan.
I was worried that there's something wrong with my NANKADF power supply because the fan never started...
I was loading mine with 12 V and 4 A for about 3 hours and the fan was turning on from time to time for around half a minute. You can definitely hear the fan. The ambient temperature was 25°C.
Nice review.. I bought one about 1mo ago. You forgot to mention the OCP (Over Current Protection). Push and hold the current knob to turn on/off OCP. When on if the current draw goes above the set point (acidental dead short for instance) the output turns off. Press output to reset alarm.
The square hole behind was meant for a USB connector, enabling the PSU to be connected to PC for remote control, that’s what I heard. I’m planning to get one that is 120V 3A for my work though. Btw, the brand i meant was Wanptek, which has a very similar design to what you have there.
Is switching power supply is go for laptops repairing?
Help!! Just got an oscilloscope and learned the importance isolating power supply from the same ground as the oscilloscope. What is the correct way to use a probe on this, the alligator clip on neg and probe in pos? How would this work in circuitly would i always keep the clip on the neg side of the circuit?
I have the same unit. You are correct, I don't think you could find another unit at this price point that has these features that all work so well. I used my dmm and it was ever so slightly more accurate than yours, which is more than enough for me. I am just a bumbling electronics hobbyist. I look forward to the day when I know enough and have progressed far enough to need something better!
Thanks for the video, and I will buy the 30v with 10a output unit through the link on this youtube description, and changing to a 10a unit instead of 5a unit you are reviewing, and hope you will get a credit from Amazon. 🙂. I would like to have 2 questions for you: 1)are the USB voltage and USB current displayed on the screen as well? 2)Have you tested the maximum USB current output, i.e 3.6 amp at 5v, because somewhere on the Amazon page, the description indicated the USB output is 5v at 2amp not 18w.
I appreciate the support of the channel.
The USB-output voltage and current are not displayed on the screen, just the voltage and current output through the banana plugs. I did not test to see how much current could be pulled from the USB. I saw the USB charging port as more of a bonus, not something I was specifically shopping for, so I did not rigorously test it.
@@reedpetersen I keep my word, I placed the order thru the Amazon link as shown in the description of this TH-cam. "Order placed, thanks!
Confirmation will be sent to your email."
great video helped a lot
thanks great video. Could you do a teardown of it?
I Just bought this model Thanks this review. But I turned it on and accidentally pressed the output button and the fuse blows. This is normal? Or I get a faulty unit?
Can I have a continuously variable output, perhaps to connect a zero volt fan and increase the voltage to see how much it accelerates and when its noise starts to become annoying? Or can I vary the voltage only if the output is disabled?
9.978v vs 10v is just over 0.2% not 3%, thats really good, and at 30v it's 0.17%, I'm not sure how you could get much better than, I would say its very accurate. 2v noise seems huge though, is that definatly correct? I guess its just a peak at the very high frequency? Might be nice to give a noise figure in dB at say audio frequencies as that would be quite useful to know for a lot of uses. Also its a shame you didnt give us the ripple voltage as I can see you had it plugged into a scope. I like the look of these things but I would be concerned they would be noisier than a traditional psu with wound transformers and voltage regulators. They do seem very good value though.
Yes, it is plenty noisy, especially at high frequency, compared to its beefy linear counterparts. My main reason for measuring this range (MHz) was because this is where the power supply is the noisiest. This is also the basic operating principle of a switching power supply, it uses high frequency switching to give a stable voltage so this is to be expected unless they do a good job filtering the output.
And correct, I must have misspoke. 0.2% would be the difference. Quite good for a cheap power supply, yes.
Thanks for the reply, yes that makes sense to test the HF noise. I was wondering how good these would be as a power supply for breadboarding audio circuits, so I was thinking about noise further down the spectrum. Ive realised these are probably overkill though for that sort of thing though as most circuits for audio use way less than an amp. @@reedpetersen
Great Review!
Would you be able to test the protective contact of the power supply, i.e. whether there is no voltage on the housing in an emergency? According to my information, this can be a problem with cheap power supplies.
What is the green exit for?
It's the ground connection. That's also connected to the ground terminal of the power socket you've pluged it in to.
That hole in the back looks like a spot for a power switch.
Output button is just a knob, that cuts off positive wire from connection? Or I'm wrong?
No, I don't think it directly cuts off connection because it oftentimes takes a little bit (half a second or so) to settle down to 0 current from whatever voltage you are supplying. I think it is more of a command to the switching circuit to stop supplying current.
@@reedpetersen Thanks! I understand that is a "soft" button. Question was more about its working function.
I want to upgrade my old linear 305d power supply with this function, and may be with a SC button for adjusting amps. Direct on front panel.
Can you please suggest an affordable low noise switching power supply please? I'm new and want to make circuits for audio.
Is the usb output controled by the voltage/current knobs?
no
Hi are you still happy with power supply?
Yes I am! None of the features have stopped working yet, and I use it on a weekly basis.
@@reedpetersen Thanks.
The noise on he output voltage would concern me for the widest use. A liner power supply with fixed 3.3volt and 5 volt Terminas and an adjustable 0 to 30 volt output channel at even one amp would cover most work in the electronics lab, obviously adjustable current limiting on all channels is escentual.
One of the things to look at on any bench supply is the output capacitance and how quickly the current limits, how quickly the voltage recovers and with what overshoot. Smps tend to have large output capacitance to reduce the fluctuations. Those big capacitors are just waiting to dump into your delicate masterpiece.
Why not check out the above with your scope and compare with one of your linear supplies. I bet the peak output current of a given setting, say 100mA has a spike more like 3 times that and the voltage recovering overshoots by more than you would like, it would be interesting to see. I agree we are talking a budget psu here, but, two digits after the decimal point that are meaningless due to the output fluctuations may lead you to think it looks better than it is especially if the current limit is for all intense and purposes nothing more than protecting the psu itself.
I bought this power supply, but I can not manually override it to constant current mode. After set it to 4.2v at 1.0amp, then the power supply will charge the batteries at 4.2v at around 0.4amp only (even the batteries are connected in parallel not in series and they are almost empties at low voltage), then the power supply will reduce to 0.1amp, and it does take a long time to finish charging the batteries!!! Anyone has any ideas to force this power supply to charge at a constant current mode 1.0amp until the batteries reach at 4.2volt? Thanks
Battery's voltage may goes high quckly. So, the maximum current can only be voltage difference over internal resistance. Measure voltage on battery when charging to see if it is like this.
@@omurolmez0 Thanks for your reply. Even the measured voltage is closed to 4v, but the charging current (as shown on the power supply) is dropping slowly to 0.1amp. If I disconnect charging the units, then the battery (in this case I am charging Stray Cat repellers in parallel, to repel the stray cats pooping all over our yards) will die real quick. Therefore I have to leave charging up to 10 hours in-order to fill up the repeller's battery.
Thanks for the review. Can batteries charge with it? Any reverse voltage protection?
Yes, you can charge batteries. CC mode works well for this. No reverse voltage protection, as it is a general use power supply not specifically meant for charging batteries. It is up to the user to add some application-specific protection where needed.
Nicely done. Subbed.
The square hole in the back is for a power switch. Mine has one as we as the soft button on the front.
per disabilitare il cicalino , ""Il carattere è configurabile. Basta premere il pulsante di uscita per cinque secondi per accedere a un massimo di sei sezioni di configurazione sequenziali, come indicato nel manuale di istruzioni. Con il pulsante di regolazione della tensione, stiamo premendo e saltando dall'elenco di configurazione e una delle cose che ho fatto è stata nella sezione 4 dedicata al cicalino, per eliminare il segnale acustico che viene emesso di default nel mio caso quando giro i pulsanti. Il che mi è sembrato piuttosto fastidioso. Tutto quello che devi fare è ruotare la manopola della tensione e selezionare 0, ovvero non viene emesso alcun segnale acustico, e una volta raggiunta la fine dell'elenco di configurazione, selezionare premendo nuovamente il pulsante di tensione per salvare le modifiche""
❤❤❤
This power supply does not operate in constant current mode.. It does, however, demonstrate the ability to set an upper current threshold limit. Were this able to operate in a constant current mode, for example, shorting the leads and adjusting the current to 0.001A ie; (1 milliamp)- and thereafter connecting a load of 1000 ohms across the (+) and (-) output terminals SHOULD indicate 1 volt. It does not. I own this same power supply, albeit it is the 60V/5A model.
Let's say the load is actually 1234 ohms rather than 1000 ohms, therefore this DC power supply supply should (and this equipment does not) slew the voltage across the load to 1.234 Volts. In my experience this manufacturer supplies (no pun intended) a solid product meeting the OEM's specification. The constant current foible I examined seems honest and attributable to the vagaries of the Chinese (Mandarin?) languages translation to English. This OEM even included a very nicely attempted explanation of how to set the power supply upper current limit threshold.. I believe many technicians and technologists are not typically exposed to 'Constant Current' functionality in higher-end bench power supplies (Agilent, Lambda, etc) while the verbiage 'constant current' has been heqar bandied about by more senior staff. Another term for 'constant current' is a 'force-and-measure' type circuit which seems more common in the EU and large corporate development labs. Mr. Peterson provided a very professional presentation here and should be commended.
I'm not sure this is the case. I have seen that when I put it into constant current mode to, say, charge a battery, the current hits its upper threshold, and the voltage "floats" based on the resistance of the load attached. You can also see this in the video when I connect the light bar: the voltage doesn't make it to the set voltage, but instead the power supply outputs as much voltage as needed to push through about 5 Amps of current. I am not sure it is good at this at low currents (to your example, 1 mA might not work well) simply due to the imprecision of this supply, but I do believe CC mode works based on my understanding.
I read NI's manual on power supplies (located at download.ni.com/evaluation/pxi/Power_Supply_Fundmentals.pdf ) and it seems that this power supply behaves properly in constant-current mode based on their description.
CC mode works just fine. I set V=30V and A=150mA on mine. As soon as I connected a 43R 3W resistor, the voltage adjusts down to 6.53V and the current stays fixed at 150mA. If yours isn't behaving like this there's something wrong with it.
Everything is so cheap on this unit I'm not sure the unit will last very long at maximum load. Why displaying 4 numbert when you can hold only 2?