A USB meter is an affordable tool for checking the proper functioning of USB ports and devices such as a charger or power bank. An ideal tool if you like to repair your accessories!
But if you want to go deeper into diagnosis and repair, and you have a little bigger budget, you should get your hands on a full-featured USB multimeter with all sorts of functions, the ability to record data to that of determining if your cables support high-power charging.
For this, I recommend the tester USB Fnirsi FNB58.
Technical characteristics of the Fnirsi FNB58 USB tester
- TFT screen: 2-inch color LCD with a very wide viewing angle
- : USB-A, micro-USB and Type-C ports
- Test voltage: 4 – 28V
- Test intensity: 0 – 7A
- Test power: 0 – 120W
- Support trigger detection of various fast charging protocols: QC2.0/QC3.0 trigger (Quick Charge), FCP/SCP trigger (Huawei), AFC trigger (Adaptive Quick Charge), PD2.0/3.0 trigger (Power Delibery), VOOC/WARP trigger (Oppo, OnePlus), Super VOOC 1.0/2.0 trigger (Oppo)
- Cable chip reader: USB E-Mark (specific chip)
- data reader DASH type cable (OnePlus)
The FNB58 is an all-in-one USB tester for USB-A, micro-USB and USB-C ports. You can plug it directly into a USB-A port, as well as microUSB and USB-C ports using cables.
Its screen is of the 2-inch TFT LCD type. It is clear and bright. And far outperforms many other USB multimeters on the market and makes the displayed information easier to read.
Image: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET.
Thanks to an integrated orientation sensor, the FNB58 automatically adjusts the display according to the orientation of the device. The tester features an intuitive rocker switch and back button for efficient navigation.
Image: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET.
But this simplicity hides great capabilities, and I advise you to familiarize yourself with the user manual, because this gadget is very complex to the point of displaying seemingly frightening warnings at times.
Image: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET.
One of the features of the FNB58 that I particularly like is the on-screen display of voltage and current curves in real time, which gives me an immediate idea of what the multimeter is detecting. This can significantly speed up the diagnosis. For intermittent faults, the meter can store up to nine hours of data in the form of a curve.
Image: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET.
Another useful feature is the ability to read data from the E-mark chip found in quality USB-C cables. This chip allows the cable to communicate with the devices it connects to, providing information about the cable’s capabilities, power capacity, and supported features.
Reading the capabilities of USB-C cables from the E-mark chip. Image: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET.
Fnirsi’s FNB58 USB tester is a powerful, versatile and relatively affordable USB tester at around $60. It not only provides the usual data (volts and amps), but it can also display this information in the form of a curve, and even log data for several hours. It can read data from E-mark and DASH cables, perform stress tests of certain cables (which helps discover internal damage to otherwise invisible cables), display the charging protocols used, and much more.
This list of features is far from exhaustive.
The display is one of the best I’ve seen on a USB tester, and the user interface is simple. But this meter still has a lot more to offer, and I highly recommend reading and re-reading its manual, and spending some time experimenting with uses of this multimeter, to discover all it can do.
Source: ZDNet.com