FNIRSI® FNB58 USB Fast Charge Tester

Recently bought the soldering station but my workshop is not heated and it's been -20 Celsius here for past one and half month. So I didn't test it yet properly, my hands are freezing off. But i'm sure it's great. I think it's fantastic that you can bring to market these products at reasonable prices accessible to us - DIY enthusiasts. Good job! Most definitely recommended.

The user manual leaves a lot to be desired, and does not make it clear what real-life uses the FNB58 has. Here are some of the most useful features I've found from my testing.

• Read USB-C Cable E-Marker Chips: Higher-end USB-C cables have an embedded IC chip that reports capabilities of the cable to the PD power source. This allows the power source to provide higher voltage and wattage through the cable for higher-powered devices, up to the limits of the cable. If there is no chip in the cable, your expensive new USB power adapter will only be able to supply up to 60W of power instead of the 240W you paid for! The “Toolbox” option “USB-C Cable” quickly and easily reads this chip, if present, so you'll know what that cable supports.

• Read Charger Protocol Capabilities: Use the “Fast Charge” menu and pick "Automatic Detection" to test for USB charger capabilities, like PD, Apple, Battery Charging (BC), Samsung, Huawei, or QC (Qualcomm) fast-charge protocols.

• Fast Charge Triggering: Higher-voltage power protocols from the above can then be triggered, changing the output voltage and current settings on the USB power wires. Some of the protocols (like the PD or QC 3.0) have variable voltage adjustments, so you can set the output voltage to anything between the protocol limits (like 3.3V-20V) in 0.02V increments. You can thus even use the FNB58 and an appropriate charger as a variable power supply for small low-power projects!

TEST RESULTS AND IMAGES

The "USB-C Cable" screen photo here shows the results of testing a USB Type-C cable that DOES have an E-Marker Chip embedded in the cable's connector. Plug the Type-C cable to be tested into either the Type-C “IN” or “OUT” port. Only one end of the cable needs to be plugged in for this test. Use the rocker switch on top to navigate to the Application page. Select the Toolbox option, then select “USB-C Cable” (or “USB-C E-Marker” on earlier firmware).
This will display the values embedded in the cable’s E-Marker chip, which provides the USB power source with the capabilities of the cable like cable speed (example: “USB 3.2 Gen2”), cable length specification, max cable voltage and current, hardware and firmware levels, and cable vendor ID. If the cable can handle it, the power source may select higher voltage and power for higher-powered devices. Without this chip and the resulting negotiation with the power source, output is limited to 60W (some USB power sources have the option of providing up to 240W).

The image here with three screen-shots shows the different capabilities between ports on the same charger. Chargers often support different USB power protocols and protocol values, depending on the port being used. For example, this photo shows three USB-C ports (C1 – C3, top to bottom) on the same charger, each with a different set of protocols and supported voltage/power values. Note the discrepancy between the label on the charger (last photo) and the values being read by the tester. When triggering the protocols (see below), what I was able to get out of the charger were the voltages listed on the tester, not always what was printed on the back of the charger. Some of the values are limited because of the standard for the protocol, like the BC 1.2 (DCP), which limits the output to 5V at 1.5A. But the labeling on the charger can mislead you about what output you’ll actually be able get from it! The FNB58 "Fast Charge" option's "Automatic Detection" feature displays the power source's supported protocols, and their voltage limits for each USB port. This also helps clear up some discrepancies between the charger's specs and the actual port output.

The image with the multi-meter at the top shows the results of one of my power source output tests. Once the available fast-charge protocols have been detected (like above), you can "trigger" any of the protocols with the FNB58, to set a specific output voltage. I did physically test the output of the charger after triggering the protocol, to verify the charger actually did change output voltage. My multi-meter tests correlated closely to the output voltages shown on the tester after triggering the protocol settings. The voltage manually selected in the tester is shown outlined on the left of the tester’s screen (10.00V here). The actual voltage as measured by the tester is shown with the green background on the screen in the upper right (10.239V here). The external voltage measured by the multi-meter here is fairly close, at 10.28V. Each protocol has different voltage selection options. To test these, navigate to the Application page of the FNB58, select the Fast Charge option, then the PD Trigger option.

I summarized much of what I learned and tested, and put it in a rudimentary task-based guide. My "FNIRSI FNB58 User Guide" PDF document is on my Google Drive at:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MzvOOb8jC7ObAeWJSTv7WX55WE5nnVAH/view?usp=sharing

With the number of USB versions and connection types, this pocket size device is very helpful in measuring voltage and current by supply and load. Smart charging devices can draw up to 12 VDC. Seeing amp readings can verify charge cycles. Especially useful over a range of legacy devices.

Device doesn't have support for PC - but fear not, I made some, and it works pretty dang well over USB and Bluetooth! Enjoy and ping me on github with issues you encounter.

https://github.com/blakelton/FNIRSI-FNB-Web-Server

Helpful for diagnosing cables and evaluating charger performance.