/ZPB30A1_Firmware

Open-Source firmware for the ZPB30A1 electronic load (WIP)

Primary LanguageCGNU General Public License v3.0GPL-3.0

ZPB30A1 Firmware

This repository is there to build an open-source firmware for the ZPB30A1 electronic load.

The original firmware is protected and therefore could not been read and improved partially. ⚠️ They also activated the write protection, so unfortunately you have to replace the IC on the board. But the processors are available at almost no cost on the same platform you bought the load on ;-) (or up to a quadruple of the price at regular distributors)

So if you plan to buy a load like this and want to "upgrade", consider ordering the processor and a cheap STLink V2 too (if you haven't got one already).

Hacked

Hardware

The ZPB30A1 uses a STM8S005K6 running at 16 MHz with an external 12 MHz crystal and internal 128 kHz.

Processor specifications

  • 32 kByte Flash
  • 2 kByte RAM
  • 128 Byte EEPROM
  • External interrupts in almost all pins
  • Up to 6 analog inputs in LQFP32 package
  • 2x 16 Bit, 1x 8 Bit timers
  • UART, SPI, I2C

Pinout

Pinout Table
Pin Pin Name Direction Function Note
1 NRST IN PUP NRST Connect to ST-Link
2 PA1 XIN Crystal 12 MHz
3 PA2 XOUT Crystal 12 MHz
4 VSS PWR GND Ground
5 VCAP PAS VCAP 1uF for internal 1.8V regulator
6 VDD PWR Vcc 5V
7 VDDIO PWR Vcc 5V
8 PF4/AIN12 -/- NC Ground
9 VDDA PWR Vcc 5V (via PCB inductor)
10 VSSA PWR GND Ground
11 PB5/AIN5 IN PUP Encoder 2 Frontpanel
12 PB4/AIN4 IN PUP Encoder 1 Frontpanel
13 PB3/AIN3 IN Analog Input voltage VIN / 3
14 PB2/AIN2 IN Analog Sense voltage 0.137565 V * V_SENSE + 0.0965910 V
15 PB1/AIN1 IN Analog Load voltage 0.121221 V * V_POWER + 0.0847433 V (real offset voltage by 510k : 10k would be ~0.0961538 V)
16 PB0/AIN0 IN Analog Thermistor input 135.5 - .12778 * ADC
17 PE5 OUT Enable Must be LOW to enable load regulation, otherwise MOSFET stays off (no load)
18 PC1/T1C1 OUT PWM I-Set I = 12.9027 * DUTY_PERCENT + 0.0130276 (800Hz)
19 PC2/T1C2 IN PUP Overload detect LOW when SET I is higher than the source can deliver
20 PC3/T1C3 IN PUP Encoder Button Frontpanel
21 PC4/T1C4 IN PUP Run Button Frontpanel
22 PC5/SCK OUT Soft-I2C SCK Frontpanel
23 PC6/MOSI I/O Soft-I2C SDA1 Frontpanel
24 PC7/MISO I/O Soft-I2C SDA2 Frontpanel
25 PD0/T3C2 OUT PWM FAN PWM speed control, 50 kHz, 1/3 duty on idle
26 PD1/SWIM PROG SWIM Connect to ST-Link
27 PD2/T3C1 OUT PWM F 50 kHz 50% duty
28 PD3/T2C2 IN PUP Voltage OK LOW when VIN > 9.6 V
29 PD4/T2C1 OUT PWM Buzzer 2.364 kHz 50% duty
30 PD5/U2TX OUT Tx 115200 baud 8n1
31 PD6/U2RX IN Rx 115200 baud 8n1
32 PD7/TLI IN L Interrupt

I-SET runs now at 571 Hz, which gives also good results.

Software

It seems like they have activated the Read Out Protection, so when running a flash readout, it just dumps zeros. Using STVP-STM32 on Windows confirmed my guess and made it even worse. So not only the ROP is set, the write protection is also set. So there neither real software reverse engineering possible nor can you recycle the existing processor. Software needed to be build from scratch.

As there are just a few compilers out there and just one open source solution, we'll be using Small Device C Compiler (SDCC).

Functions

Development started using a STM8S Discovery, which is using a STM8S003K3. This is incompatible with the 005 on the load, as UART2 is UART1, PWM on FAN is not available and there are no internal PullUps on the encoder pins.

  • Different modes:
    • CC (Constant Current, as default)
    • CW (Constant Power)
    • CR (Constant Resistance)
    • BAT (Battery capacity test)
  • Continous output of data via UART
  • Logging of Ah, Wh, J (?) in every mode
  • Adjusting shunt resistance (if replaced with e.g. 100 mΩ for an offset as low as 20 mA instead of 200 mA, not the resistance itself but the value in software)
    • ℹ️ Not needed, we can safely trim the current down to almost 0 mA by PWM
  • Toggle beeper, auto shutdown
    • Currently no beeper active
  • Nice menus even though we got just that small seven segments

Specifications

Param Range Value
Voltage Input 0-30 V ± 0.3% ± 20 mV (oversampling the 10 bit ADC to get 12 fake bit)
Current control 0-10 A ± 0.1% ± 1 mA
Temperature 30-90°C ± 1.5 °C

Due to multiplication of the tolerances in constant power and constant resistance mode no concrete specifications are given.

Original Software

Error codes
Code Meaning
Err1 Ultra-high voltage for battery capacity testing. [whatever this should be]
Err2 VBATT < VTHRESHOLD, reversed or not connected
Err3 Line resistance to high; The set current can't be delivered
Err4 Circuit failed somewhere somehow. [Unknown error]
Err6 Input voltage is inapropiate (12V/0.5A), if using a correct power supply, check PB3 and PD3 for shorts or open contacts
Otp Over temperature protection [if everything is cool, check the thermistor value @ 25°C / 77°F]
Ert Temperature sensore failure or temperature too low
ouP Overvoltage Protection [Sense can measure 35 V max]
oPP Transient power protection [Peaks?]