Products > Test Equipment

Korad KA3005P power supply: UI changes

(1/12) > >>

ebastler:
Just a quick update on this popular low-cost power supply: I just received one of these, ordered via Welectron in Germany, after a long wait for a new shipment to arrive from China. Compared to what I have seen in videos and written reviews, Korad have made some improvements to the user interface:

* The M5 LED (5th memory, which did not have its own key anyway) has been replaced by a LOCK LED. I believe this was in the original version too, and at some point got replaced by the M5 LED.

* Significant improvement: A short press of the "Lock" button enters a mode where you can adjust voltage or current via the encoder and arrow buttons without any timeout. There were many complaints about the short timeout in earlier versions. To lock and unlock the keypad, a long press on Lock is needed.
* Unchanged: The behavior of the "memory" buttons. Any change to the current or voltage setting will immediately change that memory preset.
* Changed? It is easy to accidentally tap one of the M1..M4 buttons and set the Korad to a different output voltage. But it automatically switches its output OFF whenever you switch to a differen memory preset, so you don't fry your load. Not sure whether this behavior is new? I don't recall seeing it mentioned, but have not watched out for it in the reviews.
* Cosmetics: The sheet metal enclosure is now charcoal-colored. The 7-segment display for voltage is green, current display is red. The status LEDs for "ON" and "constant voltage" are green, the others remain red.
* My KA3005P still came with binding posts (with standard pitch), not the stupid safety jacks shown in some photos. Nice!Overall, I am happy to see that Korad continues to make incremental improvements to this product. I have not looked inside and have not measured any output behavior yet. Let's hope that they did not change anything for the worse!

YurkshireLad:
Is there any way to tell which version a vendor is selling? Or is it a crap shoot (except for physical changes to the exterior)?

hexreader:
You forgot to mention the feature that this PSU is (in)famous for.

Is the fan any quieter?

I live near an airport and I would like to be able to hear the military jets taking off with full after-burners - without the Korad fan noise drowning them out  ;)

MikeK:

--- Quote from: ebastler on April 12, 2021, 09:27:06 am ---
* Unchanged: The behavior of the "memory" buttons. Any change to the current or voltage setting will immediately change that memory preset.
--- End quote ---

This one is very annoying.  And at odds with common sense and proper behavior.  Essentially, you have to give up one of the presets so that it can become the "current setting".  "Current" meaning time, not electricity.

If I manually tune the radio in my car it doesn't change the presets.  Nor should it!  Changing the power supply preset should be just like the car radio...long press to save.

ebastler:

--- Quote from: YurkshireLad on April 12, 2021, 11:43:58 am ---Is there any way to tell which version a vendor is selling? Or is it a crap shoot (except for physical changes to the exterior)?

--- End quote ---

The model number is unchanged, KA3005P, and I would not trust the vendors to update the pictures on their websites. So I would specifically ask the vendor about the changes which are visible externally -- the "LOCK" instead of "M5" label on the LED is visible with the unit turned off, and the green digits for the voltage are obvious when it is turned on.


--- Quote from: hexreader on April 12, 2021, 11:51:05 am ---Is the fan any quieter?

--- End quote ---

Under light load the fan is very quiet -- much less audible than my Siglent SDG2042X, which in turn is much quieter than the Rigol DS1000Z scope. When I short the outputs in the 30V/5A setting, the fan gets cranked up gradually and does become louder than the Rigol -- but I can still tell whether the Rigol fan is on or off, it does not get drowned out.

The noise one hears under load is from the airflow, not from the fan bearing, and is not unpleasant in pitch to my ears. The fan speed control is temperature-dependent, not simply derived from the voltage/current draw. It is not "nervous" but ramps up and down gradually. Hence I would say Korad did a decent job within the constraints of the fan size.


--- Quote from: MikeK on April 12, 2021, 12:25:11 pm ---This one [memory button behavior] is very annoying.  And at odds with common sense and proper behavior.  Essentially, you have to give up one of the presets so that it can become the "current setting".  "Current" meaning time, not electricity.

If I manually tune the radio in my car it doesn't change the presets.  Nor should it!  Changing the power supply preset should be just like the car radio...long press to save.

--- End quote ---

Yes, that one is a disappointment. Seems that it would have been very easy to improve via a software change -- e.g. by requiring a long press of a memory button to save the current setting to it. Maybe next year... ;-)

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

There was an error while thanking
Thanking...
Go to full version
Powered by SMFPacks Advanced Attachments Uploader Mod