Today I finally received a DP832 lab power supply from Batronix Europe.
After going through all the reviews and possible issues on the forum, I found one rather annoying undocumented issue, the problem is with the banana plugs!!
,
The banana plugs are incredibly hard to unscrew OR tighten (some so tight they feel liked they super glued tight) , this mechanical issue is found on CH-2 and CH-3 (CH-1 is slightly course not too bad, the ground banana plug is OK and probably the smoothest as I can physically spin freely tight the plug. (The way it should be!!)
See attachment. for the following issues.
1) The banana plug hole alignment.. why so much offset on the hole ?
2) The banana plug is slightly skew ..results in the inability to smoothly unscrew or tighten.
In the mean time I used a temporary solution, as the hard banana on the DP832 was hurting my fingers.
Can anyone confirm this issue? should I return the unit?
I don't have that problem on mine. The connectors are straight and the screw caps loosen and tighten easily.
However the screw caps will always be a bit loose and when loose can look like they are offset a bit... it looks like your plug-in dual connectors fit OK, so it doesn't appear they are *that* far off.
I tend to think perhaps your unit took a whack to the front. The banana jacks stick out furthest, and a clumsy shipping company could easily kick the box or drop it and cause the damage you're seeing.
If it bothers you - return it. I've had 2 DP832's and neither had this issue.
However the screw caps will always be a bit loose and when loose can look like they are offset a bit... it looks like your plug-in dual connectors fit OK, so it doesn't appear they are *that* far off.
After a few hours of playing with the unit (burn-in time), the banana connectors seems to show signs from feeling like super glued tight banana plugs to a "course feeling", its still not the best.. but better than before..it looks like they burning-in maybe? (I know this is very unacceptable) but its not detrimental.
I tend to think perhaps your unit took a whack to the front. The banana jacks stick out furthest, and a clumsy shipping company could easily kick the box or drop it and cause the damage you're seeing.
I thought so too, it might be a miss handled DHL consignment but those connectors are not as a result of miss handled bend force and looks and feels more like bad QA on Rigol`s side.
I don't think we have a Rigol agent in South Africa? and if the return to Europe is at my expensive, no way I'm paying for that.. I can tolerate a minor issue like this. I've seen worse issues reported here.
My DP832 should arrive tomorrow, also from Batronix so it should be from the same batch as yours. I'll let you know if it has the same issue. Hopefully you were just unlucky
My DP832 should arrive tomorrow, also from Batronix so it should be from the same batch as yours. I'll let you know if it has the same issue. Hopefully you were just unlucky
Thanks let us know, yeah unlucky, I didn't imagine the banana plugs would have been an issue. But that's China QA for you.. its like spinning the wheel of fortune.
It looks almost as if the caps weren't threaded on straight...
More likely it was dropped on its face. They look bent to me.
Mine are fine. I suggest you get a replacement.
Those banana sockets look pretty cheap to me. The plastic doesn't even look fully opaque.
Edit: dropped a TTi PL on the front and nothing happened.
It does like shipping damage, how was the packaging?
Those banana sockets look pretty cheap to me. The plastic doesn't even look fully opaque.
Edit: dropped a TTi PL on the front and nothing happened.
I cannot comment on the cheap plugs.. but the strength of these plug feels good (I can confirm its very tough and not a standard diameter compared to the loose batch of banana plugs I have on my desk), its as if the plugs hasn't been threaded correctly and the more I screw them and unscrew them they cutting thread. its better than yesterday but still physically feels very course.
It does like shipping damage, how was the packaging?
Packaging was OK. besides the unit has large rubber protective feet on the front and back, the claim of shipping miss-handling is not the issue here, this is a factory QA fault.. I'm trying to ascertain how serious this is. I sent support an email so im waiting for feedback.
Other than that the unit works fine.
Hi diyaudio,
This dus not look good...
I think it felt on its face, send it back.
The banana plug hole on these units are a little tight, but all my profesional banana plug's fits, these are Hirschmann and MC brand.
A picture of my unit...
Kind regarts,
Blackdog
My DP832 just arrived, which as mentioned also came from Batronix and so should be the same batch as the problem one.
It looks totally fine to me and there's not any issues with my Pomona banana plug to croc clips. The only double banana plug thing I have is the thermocouple for my multimeter, so I just tried it across all the jacks and there were no alignment issues.
Considering how the thing is packed in the box, I don't think that it could be shipping damage without visible signs on the box itself.
I can take a picture of mine if you want me to, but it basically looks like the one blackdog posted.
Hi diyaudio,
This dus not look good...
I think it felt on its face, send it back.
The banana plug hole on these units are a little tight, but all my profesional banana plug's fits, these are Hirschmann and MC brand.
A picture of my unit...
Kind regarts,
Blackdog
Hi Blackdog
Looking at your unit the banana plugs looks straight at first glance, straight and no signs of alignment issues (compared to mine). I don't think my unit feel on its face (rubber front feet and rear protects it from issues like this, do note I removed mine, to mount my unit under my desk), I just got unlucky.
Thanks for the update, appreciate the effort.
My DP832 just arrived, which as mentioned also came from Batronix and so should be the same batch as the problem one.
It looks totally fine to me and there's not any issues with my Pomona banana plug to croc clips. The only double banana plug thing I have is the thermocouple for my multimeter, so I just tried it across all the jacks and there were no alignment issues.
Considering how the thing is packed in the box, I don't think that it could be shipping damage without visible signs on the box itself.
I can take a picture of mine if you want me to, but it basically looks like the one blackdog posted.
Thanks for the update, I got unlucky bah!
I got unlucky bah!
No. You are making your own misfortune.
There are many, many 832 owners on here that have not had this problem. If your packaging wasn't damaged then I suspect your unit was damaged in some warehouse and repackaged before shipping.
I got unlucky bah!
No. You are making your own misfortune.
There are many, many 832 owners on here that have not had this problem. If your packaging wasn't damaged then I suspect your unit was damaged in some warehouse and repackaged before shipping.
Nope, it is unlucky. I had a similar problem with my unit from last month, and an even worse problem with a unit received this week. I just spoke with Rigol and they confirmed that it's a production issue that they are working on resolving.
I got unlucky bah!
No. You are making your own misfortune.
That`s just craziest thing I heard. Care to elaborate?
Great, I knew someone in the world had such an issue, and this confirms its NOT A SHIPPING ISSUE.
Response from Batronix support,
I am glad you received your device.
I just talked to Rigol about this issue. According to them, this problem should have been solved a long time ago. I am very surprised that this still happens.
They told me that you can easily use a drilling head ( 3,8mm) and carefully widen the plugs. Rigol says this won´t do anything bad to the device.
I am very sorry for any inconvenience caused.
Please let me know if it works.Seriously? Drill into a new power supply I just bought. WTF?
Great, I knew someone in the world had such an issue, and this confirms its NOT A SHIPPING ISSUE.
Response from Batronix support,
I am glad you received your device.
I just talked to Rigol about this issue. According to them, this problem should have been solved a long time ago. I am very surprised that this still happens.
They told me that you can easily use a drilling head ( 3,8mm) and carefully widen the plugs. Rigol says this won´t do anything bad to the device.
I am very sorry for any inconvenience caused.
Please let me know if it works.
Batronix is confused. Their instructions are for a separate issue where Rigol received a set of plugs that were not drilled out to the right tolerances to fit a standard banana plug, it was too tight for larger plugs to fit. This is NOT related to your issue.
I thought so too, it might be a miss handled DHL consignment but those connectors are not as a result of miss handled bend force and looks and feels more like bad QA on Rigol`s side.
I don't think we have a Rigol agent in South Africa? and if the return to Europe is at my expensive, no way I'm paying for that.. I can tolerate a minor issue like this. I've seen worse issues reported here.
There is a Rigol Agent in South Africa.
http://www.rigol.com/html/about/contact.shtmlBut I would not expect much help... buying somewhere else and requesting locally help...
Great, I knew someone in the world had such an issue, and this confirms its NOT A SHIPPING ISSUE.
Response from Batronix support,
I am glad you received your device.
I just talked to Rigol about this issue. According to them, this problem should have been solved a long time ago. I am very surprised that this still happens.
They told me that you can easily use a drilling head ( 3,8mm) and carefully widen the plugs. Rigol says this won´t do anything bad to the device.
I am very sorry for any inconvenience caused.
Please let me know if it works.
Batronix is confused. Their instructions are for a separate issue where Rigol received a set of plugs that were not drilled out to the right tolerances to fit a standard banana plug, it was too tight for larger plugs to fit. This is NOT related to your issue.
I agree, I'm thinking Rigol probably attempted to brute force fix all DP832 issues and in the process damaged the threading on the banana screw terminals (on some random units without doing proper QA) Its NOT hard to imagine this...think about the 5V regulator heat-sink issue that made it out the door. its one thing onto the next.
For the too-tight binding post issue it seems wrong that they would recommend just "drilling them out". Don't most binding posts have some kind of protective plating? It seems drilling would remove the plated coating which would lead to possible corrosion or other problems down the road.
This is usually when I resort to VISA + purchase insurance.