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DC Electronic Load

🎥 Introduction

Watch a full project overview on YouTube.

This open-source programmable DC electronic load is designed to test power supplies, batteries, and other DC sources. It simulates a variety of load conditions to evaluate performance and reliability.

The design was inspired by several community projects, especially Scullcom’s Electronic DC Load.

Load front photo

⚙️ Key Features

  • Supports up to 50 V and 8 A input
  • Power dissipation: 200 W continuous / 300 W peak
  • Five operating modes: constant current, power, resistance, step load, battery test
  • Remote voltage sensing
  • User-friendly interface: rotary encoder + numeric keypad
  • PC application for real-time monitoring, control, and data logging
  • Fully open-source: hardware, firmware, and software

🛠️ Tools Used

Tool Usage
Autodesk Eagle Schematic and PCB design
Fusion 360 3D modeling for the enclosure and front panel
PlatformIO + VS Code Firmware development and microcontroller programming
Qt (C++ with Qt) Desktop application for monitoring and control