Siglent SDL1000X/SDL1000X-E Electronic Load

[trp806mo]

Is the SDL enough bang for the bucks?

It depends really on your needs and what you are ready to accept or not.

For me, the question is can I found a DC load with a lower price which allows me to manage the output current from a saved waveform or an input with at least 10Khz of bandwidth and which doesn't weigh no less than 10Kg and is 20 years old. Same for the ripple noise, may i find something with, lets say 1% of ripple for current < 5A under 35v.
I don't know so that for the moment, I'm keeping this DC load (in France you have 14 days to return it if you want)
Would I be ready to spend 1K€ and more for a Chroma, Kikusui, TDI , Prodigit, keysight or GW instek to have those functions? right now i can answer no so this C load is an acceptable compromise as i can use it for some other stuff as Li-ion pack qualification.

[Bad_Driver]

Is the SDL enough bang for the bucks?

It depends really on your needs and what you are ready to accept or not.

For me, the question is can I found a DC load with a lower price which allows me to manage the output current from a saved waveform or an input with at least 10Khz of bandwidth and which doesn't weigh no less than 10Kg and is 20 years old. Same for the ripple noise, may i find something with, lets say 1% of ripple for current < 5A under 35v.
I don't know so that for the moment, I'm keeping this DC load (in France you have 14 days to return it if you want)
Would I be ready to spend 1K€ and more for a Chroma, Kikusui, TDI , Prodigit, keysight or GW instek to have those functions? right now i can answer no so this C load is an acceptable compromise as i can use it for some other stuff as Li-ion pack qualification.

Thanks for your answer! I got yesterday my SDL but found not enough time for a deep dive. My main goal
will be PSU and Li-Ion testing.

Upgrading went smooth with some hickups with the LAN connection. At the end PUTTY has done the job.
Same day I got my SPD3303X-E, upgrade went good as well.

So quad thanks to TV84 for my improved SDS2000X, SDG2042, SDL1020X-E, SPD3303X 
I owe you a beer! 

But the SIGLENT software is a nightmare! Look at the perfect matching GUIs attached 
I‘m pretty happy, that most of all SIGLENT device have now a definition in „TESTCONTROLLER“.

Same problem with the hardware front end of my 5 SIGLENT devices. You find any kind of strange ways to enter something - really weird!

[trp806mo]

I didn't understand that you are Siglent fanboys:-DD If you may take some time to check the noise/ripple of your SDL unit, it will be interesting (maximum rate at 2.5A/µs) and highest current possible with your probe.

For the DMM i like the free universal logger interface as i have the same interface for all my DMM (but i didn't check if it's compatible with the Siglent). 

[lundmar]

Hi,

i would like to buy an electronic load and try to consider between the SDL-1021X-E and Rigol DL3121. it is important for me, that i can control the load (easily) via linux bash. currently i use lxi-tools (https://lxi-tools.github.io/). The Rigol states to support the LXI protocol. i assume, that the rigol can be controled via lxi-tools therefore.
does anyone here know, if the Siglent SDL1000X series can be controled by lxi-tools? i had a look into the programing manual (https://int.siglent.com/upload_file/user/SDL1000X/SDL1000X_Programming_Guide_V1.0.pdf) and see there SCPI commands. but i don't see any statement about lxi protocol support.

anyone know, if the SDL1021X-E can be used with lxi bash command?

thanks!
Alectricity

Yes, the SDL1000X should work just fine with lxi-tools for sending SCPI commands via VXI11.
None of Siglents instruments that I know of are LXI certified but most are LXI compatible.

[Bad_Driver]

I didn't understand that you are Siglent fanboys:-DD If you may take some time to check the noise/ripple of your SDL unit, it will be interesting (maximum rate at 2.5A/µs) and highest current possible with your probe.

For the DMM i like the free universal logger interface as i have the same interface for all my DMM (but i didn't check if it's compatible with the Siglent).

To be honest, the "improvement" made only sense for the SDG2042 and the SDS2000X+ but the not yet closed back doors make SIGLENT very interesting for the hobby market and they found a big community during the last years.
The additional randomly jumping last digits for the SDL1020X-E -> 1030X and for the SPD3303X-E -> X are fun, they are nice to see but worthless since they "simulate" a precision the devices do not have. And I don't know if I ever
need the additional 100 W of the SDL since my focus is on the lower end.

Back to your request:
My strongest PSU delivers 18A but is a switching one with a lot of ripple. I got an idea with my bunch of 18650 cells, this way I could avoid any kind of "source noise". But it will take some time.
I built a low noise amplifier (batterie driven) for serious noise measurements of PSU during the last weeks with a BW of 10 Hz ... 100 kHz. With my high end 192 kHz 24 bit audio interface and software I can also get the noise spectrums up to 90 kHz.

[oz2cpu]

SDL1020X-E PROBLEM
i got two units, one with sw V1.1.1.21R2 (works)
and one with V1.1.1.21 (dont work)
problem explained :
power on the unit, CC mode, current set to 500mA, turn load on,
it loads 700mA !!
playing with the current adjustment is how i am able to "cure" this problem, and then it go into corrent current load level,
and it stays there for the rest of my working day, power it down, and up again, I get this problem again.. all the time..

so I figured, maybe this is a known software problem, since my new unit dont act like this,
lets upgrade it :-)
got the file, did the upgrade, it ended with a FAILURE !!
now at power on it say error,
and it reads 0V and it NOT able to load anyting..
basicly i got a bricked unit.. please help ??
see attached pictures, the unit also say HW version ID 00-00-000

edit : added video
youtu.be/C2KpPUQAxL4
and
youtu.be/5J7C0EtM32g

[tv84]

Wouldn't it be better to do an upgrade with no model changes? Just to check it in "official" conditions...

[oz2cpu]

that is a valid point, so i downgraded it to stock 1020X-E and confirmed it was done ok,
then tried software upgrade again, still NOT working..
anyone else dare to try this ??

[oz2cpu]

news : still not able to perform software upgrade, it always end with FAILED
but this time i took the previous version : SDL1000X_X-E_1.1.1.21_EN
and it also said fail, but somehow it managed to reset all errors in the eeprom and adc, so now my unit reboot fine, and works fine,
my sw version is now the original, but my wierd +200mA error seems to be compleetly gone
so this means i have a unit that refuse to perform sw upgrade, it is also a needed feature, so i assume it can still be called defective ?
any of you tried to software upgrade via usb ?
from what version, to what version ?

[tv84]

Repeat the SDL1000X_X-E_1.1.1.21_EN upgrade.

If all goes well then try again SDL1000X_X-E_1.1.1.21R2.

[oz2cpu]

i allready tried a few times, repeating will not solve it..
no one else tried to upgrade their load sw ?
maybe it is a general thing ? the upgrade feature dont work ?

[tautech]

i allready tried a few times, repeating will not solve it..
no one else tried to upgrade their load sw ?
maybe it is a general thing ? the upgrade feature dont work ?

Did one a week ago no problems. Previous > latest.

One needs question your FW source and/or USB stick.
Factory site:
https://int.siglent.com/download/firmwares/?CateIdss=12
Only trusted USB sticks used and only 8GB or less.
Care must be taken there are no OS upgrades of any sort are on the USB stick as if a reboot is done with the USB stick still inserted the instrument will look for OS updates.

Our normal procedure > install FW and when instrument asks for reboot remove USB stick before powering OFF.
For instruments with auto reboot after FW upgrades ensure there is no OS update on the USB stick.

[oz2cpu]

here we go

YAY finally passed sw upgrade..

update: https://youtu.be/_jKpY3x45QYin
this new updated video :
new bug found : the usb stick too fast bug, only on some sticks.
sw upgrading done: file length too long (not a bug, but easy detail to fix)
the good old current 0mA or 200-300 off, bug is back,
and system forget settings bug, also still show up now and then.

and more : it seems like the current bug is clearly worse, the first time i power it on, the longer my unit was powered off,
is it a temperature thing ? or a time thing ?

[oz2cpu]

SOLVED !!

It is a Temperature Thing !! this unit dont like cold
just a tiny bit under normal room temperature, and it fail to read settings, and also fail to write and modify,
This also explains why the firmware update failed on a cold day, and why it worked on a hot day where I have been using the unit a bit first..

I have been putting both units outside, inside, warmed up, recycled power, various test repeat times,
i even made my own intermistic climate chamber :-) to make it 31C, stable and regulated.
it is clearly a temperature thing..
one chip inside one of my loads, works perfectly, all the time, when a bit over room temp hot,
to find out exactly what ic this is.. i need to open the unit, how ever it is new and still under warranty,
just too bad, i love to perforform the research, but maybe it is better to have the unit replaced?
unless they tell me I can open and perform the research for them ??

attached two thermal pictures from this morning, wow only 19 to 20 C in my lab in the early morning, that is a bit cold..
and the unit under test was keept at 31 to 32 C in a nice isolated way,
with a 3D printer heat plate under it, and a sensor and power regulator

[colorado.rob]

Got an early Christmas present today -- the SDL1020X-E arrived and is on the network.

@Tautech -- one request to Siglent: Please add support for the SCreenDumP (SCDP) SCPI command to the SDL1000X. I was rather disappointed to find it missing from the programming guide.

The odd thing is that when I send the command, I get a success code, but then 0 bytes are returned.  I was hoping that, like with the SDM3065X, it might be an undocumented command.

[tautech]

Got an early Christmas present today -- the SDL1020X-E arrived and is on the network.

@Tautech -- one request to Siglent: Please add support for the SCreenDumP (SCDP) SCPI command to the SDL1000X. I was rather disappointed to find it missing from the programming guide.

The odd thing is that when I send the command, I get a success code, but then 0 bytes are returned.  I was hoping that, like with the SDM3065X, it might be an undocumented command.

Requested.

FYI as a result of the great work by Defpom SDL models are now supported by HKJ's great program:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/program-that-can-log-from-many-multimeters/

[colorado.rob]

A couple of observation on the SDL1020X-E.  The size is perfect for my needs.  It perfectly matches the length of my Aim/TTi MX100TP DC power supply.

The readback voltage as an SDL1020X-E is bang on in the 36V range and off by about 10mV in the 150V range.  I am using a precision voltage reference and an SDM3065X to measure voltage.

Of course I tried to get the added readout precision by updating the model code via SCPI.  However, after doing so, two problems are noticeable.  The first is that the voltage reading is off by 1-2mV in the 36V range and 12-15mV in the 150V range.  Higher precision with less accuracy is not a net gain for me.  The second problem is that the voltage readout is rather noisy -- to the point that the added precision does not provide much useful information.  I am seeing about 500-700uV changes on the voltage readout of the SDL, and noise of 1uV (@10PLC) on the SDM.  The noise in the SDL readout seems to decrease slightly for higher voltages.

Increasing the SDL's averaging setting (Utility|Config|Aver) from the default 9 to 14 reduces the noisy readout to 200-300uV.

Is the noisy readout something that occurs with the X model as well?  Are there any settings that can minimize this beyond increasing the "averaging" setting to 14?  What is the frequency of measurement?  Is there way to convert the averaging setting in the SDL to PLCs.  I didn't see any aperture or PLC settings in the user guide or programming manual.  I understand this is a DC Load and not a DMM, but having similar features to improve resolution and power line noise immunity would be helpful.

I just took a look at the KISS Analog video on the SDL1020X and the last digit of his voltage readouts seems to jump around a bit, if maybe slightly less than mine when set the to default "9" for averaging. I don't know how steady his voltage source is, so it's not possible to make a judgement from that.

Regarding the different voltage reading, is there a different calibration table used for the X vs X-E models?

And to be clear, from my reading of the datasheet, I understand that all of the above is within the specs of the instrument, even for the X model.

[GnomeZA]

I looked at the firmware for a bit and the device type and power limit can be conveniently set via SCPI:

Code: [Select]

SYSTem:DEVICE:PRODUCTUG:ID 1
SYSTem:DEVICE:POWERUG 300

Gives me 4 digits of resolution and a power limit of 300 watts on my SDL1020X-E.

Just to add for some newbies, this worked for me on a SDL1020X-E I got last week.

To execute this I connected the load to ethernet, set it to DHCP (or static IP if that is your thing).  Connected to it using telnet (but netcat/etc. will work also) on port 5024 and then pasted those two commands.  Reboot the device and bob's your uncle.

For the experienced guys, this may be obvious but there is shockingly little information online suggesting what and how SCPI works (or at least when I googled).  My day job is software engineer, so when I noticed a post of someone using nc, I realized the protocol was essentially equivalent to telnet.  Most sites wanted me to download apps which didn't support the device and so on.  Super frustrating.

Hopefully above helps future readers out.

[Swake]

Thanks GnomaZA, that is indeed very helpful and interesting information.   

[Johnny B Good]

 I've just ordered an SDL1020X-E ten minutes ago from Telonic Instruments and I'm expecting its delivery tomorrow morning.

[Johnny B Good]

 It turned up at 11am and I've had it running a 197W load for the past 45 minutes (as of 12:14). It all seems to check out ok from a cursory test. It's an expensive way to check out a sub 40 quid 30 volt 10 amp bench power supply, a Longwei LW-K3010D which gratifyingly, displays voltage and current on its 4 digit displays within +0.017% for voltage and +0.255% for amps at the 30 volt mark.

 The voltage readings between the SDL1020X-E and the SDM3065X agree to within 0.05% which, considering that Siglent had used an SDM3065X to calibrate it in the first place, is within specification. Now all I have to do is figure out how to upgrade it to a 1030X-E.  Not unsurprisingly, it's already at the latest FW version (v1.1.1.21R2) which post dates the SDL_FW.bin file by 7 months - is it still safe to use this bin file?

[Johnny B Good]

 I reviewed the relevant posts (circa #147) and tried telneting using PuTTY (ip address plus port 5025 as mentioned by oz2cpu) and successfully connected. I tried the SCPI commands mentioned by atimos

SYSTem:DEVICE:PRODUCTUG:ID 1
SYSTem:DEVICE:POWERUG 300

I had to type them into PuTTY's console since pasting wouldn't work for me. I waited for the obligatory ten seconds or so before rechecking the system info page before power cycling it. It rebooted with no signs of this upgrade attempt and subsequent telnet sessions now fail with a PuTTY fatal error pop up message box showing:

"Unable to open connection to http://192.168.0.203: Name or service not known."

Clicking the OK button closes the whole PuTTY session rather than just the error message box and I have to fire it up all over again if I want another go.

 It rather looks as though the latest FW version has closed this SCPI 'backdoor'.

 I may have made an error or else missed the boat on that particular method extolled by atimos. If there is an update on hacking to the SDL1030X-E feature set, perhaps someone can offer me a hint, via a PM if needs be... pretty please? 

[EDIT] O yeah, I forgot to mention that the HW version id in my example still reads as 03.03.020. Also, after setting the LAN address manually, it still shows in my router's device list and passed the ping tests so it's not an IP address issue I'm seeing with PuTTY.

[Momchilo]

I may have made an error or else missed the boat on that particular method extolled by atimos. If there is an update on hacking to the SDL1030X-E feature set, perhaps someone can offer me a hint, via a PM if needs be... pretty please? 

[EDIT] O yeah, I forgot to mention that the HW version id in my example still reads as 03.03.020. Also, after setting the LAN address manually, it still shows in my router's device list and passed the ping tests so it's not an IP address issue I'm seeing with PuTTY.

Do other SCPI commands work?

[mawyatt]

Anyone know if there is a self calibration feature?

Search for Calibration didn't turn up anything.

Best,

[Johnny B Good]

 I can't establish any more telnet sessions to repeat the very first session where I'd sent those first two SCPI commands. I didn't see any responses echoed back but from what I'd read, this wasn't any surprise. At least at that point, I wasn't getting any PuTTY error messages, fatal or otherwise...

 Arghh! It was the http:// prefix that was the problem! 

 I'd just tried running Putty from a winXP VM (host is Linux Mint) and got the windows flavour of that fatal error. When I went to the Linux version and looked at the address I'd stored for an SSH connection to my file server, I noticed it didn't have the http:// prefix, so I edited the saved telnet session I'd created for the SDL, deleting the prefix and voila! no fatal error popup box. I then copied the commands and went to the windows PuTTY which does allow pasting into it, did the same IP address edit and reran those commands (both lines!).

 It seems to have worked as far as raising the max power limit goes but the ID upgrade hasn't altered the model number in system info. However, I'm now seeing 4 decimal place values, apropos of which, if you want to increase the amps units, the quickest way to reach the units digit is to "Go Round The Horn" - click on the right arrow, it wraps back around to the leftmost digit.

 I obviously need to study a bit more before I can change the product ID displayed by system info (or perhaps it isn't worth worrying about?).

[EDIT] Cracked it!  This last hurdle to updating the model number to SDL1030X being overcome thanks to Defpom's contribution.