Nice product overall. Two stars off because the shipped product was not quite the same as what is shown on the Amazon sales listing, the instruction sheet is terrible, the Type C port doesn't seem to work, the iphone5s port works inconsistently, the USB-A connection is keyed, and the microUSB power supply interface seems to have little utility.
My tester did not have the white independent power supply interface and the slider for the system power supply switch. Mine only had the microUSB power supply interface. Also, that microUSB interface was located under the board, like the other ports, not mounted pointing vertically upward off the board.
The instruction sheet doesn't tell you anything about how to use the device. For example, the green bare wire port is called a "single wiring terminal or aluminum battery power supply testing port" . What is an aluminum battery power supply testing port? The various ports are called "xxx data cable port". Now perhaps you might want to transfer data while testing some device, but really, the primary function is as a load tester, not a USB hub.
I also can't get the Type C power input port to function when I connect my Type C PD power bank to the DROK. The load tester doesn't power up at all -- dark display and no fan action. I also tested the DROK's Type C port with my Type C PD 30W wall charger, and that also didn't work. I can't say conclusively, though, that the problem is with the DROK's Type C port or if it is the power bank and the wall charger.
The iphone5s power input port works when I use an Apple wall charger or an Anker 26800 PD power bank and either an Apple Lightning cable or an Amazon Basics Lightning cable. But if I use an Anker IQ 2-port USB wall charger, then the DROK doesn't power up. Not sure why. The Anker wall charger works fine recharging/powering iphones (4, 5, and 6), ipads, other random smartphones, USB-based battery chargers, digital cameras, and power banks. Since the Anker works fine recharging various Apple products, it's not clear to me if the fault is with the Anker or the DROK.
The USB-A connection is keyed, so that depending on the orientation of the USB-A connector of the device to be tested, either the device or the DROK has to be upside down. The manual calls this a "USB Type-C available for reversed USB connection". It's neither Type C nor reversible.
The microUSB power supply interface connection remains a mystery to me. I tried two different power banks and three different wall chargers with that connection. All that happens is that the display powers up and shows 0.04V and 0A. Not even the fan spins up (normally, as soon as I power up the DROK, whether through the big USB-A connection or through one of the ports on the side, the fan turns on). So then I thought that maybe the microUSB interface provides power just to the display and fan, and thus can help reduce the parasitic power draw of those components when doing the load testing, so that the V/A measurements on the display are more accurate. But that doesn't look like it's the case either (I hooked up two power banks to the DROK, one through the USB-A port and one through the microUSB interface), but the load measurements weren't any more accurate (I compared the V/A/Wh data from the display to the numbers on a PortaPow Premium USB + DC Power Monitor, and checked the PortaPow's voltage reading against a 5V reference standard that I have -- PortaPow read 5.0030V vs the reference standard's 5.0036V).
Edit: Further testing of the microUSB power supply interface. When you apply power to this interface, it looks like the DROK load tester acts as a voltage meter below 3V (I assume, I haven't put it on a DC bench power supply yet to vary the voltage above and below 3V). But I don't get any load testing activity (i.e., turning the silver knobs doesn't do anything). I powered the microUSB interface with a 5V/2A USB source. The display showed 0.04V and 0.00A. I assume that this was the OLED display load. The fan did not come on. I then connected a fresh Eneloop NiMH cell to the green single wiring terminal. The display then read 1.36V and 0.00A and no fan movement. Even after rotating the coarse load knob, I still got 0.00A (and no fan activity). When I connected an 18650 Li-ion instead, I got 4.08V and around 0.09-0.16A right off (fluctuating amps, and the fan spun up). Now turning the coarse load knob increased the load (I went up to about 1A load just as a test). Seems odd that the DROK would use this microUSB interface so that the tester can become a 0-3V voltage meter only.
Edit: I tested the DROK with a USB power bank connected to the microUSB power supply interface and a DC bench power supply connected to the green single wire terminal. The DROK started to be able to adjust the load (current) when the DC bench power supply delivered ~2V. Below that and the DROK read only the voltage at the single wire terminal (which agreed closely with the voltage on the bench power supply's display). Turning the silver load adjustment knobs had no effect.
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I found this dummy load to be a very good value for the money. Many others don’t have the acrylic window on the bottom or the built in power meter. It’s not the most accurate meter and it’s made to look like an OLED display, but the amount of light given out at different angles and even negative affect should be an obvious sign that this is a cheap liquid crystal display. But the meter is a really nice touch. I’ve included a picture of mine with an optional trigger plugged in that allows you to trigger different charger protocols. My dummy load came with a paper backing on both sides of the acrylic window. I had to remove the two screws on the bottom to get the inside sheet off. They don’t come off easy. I recommend getting a dedicated USB power meter to go with this for testing USB cables. I sent for a Qway-U2 meter, but it ships from China, and won’t arrive for a few weeks.
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Works 10x better than I thought and the one that I got seems to be an updated version for it has connectors for separate power connections along with a system power switch.
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